“AI Won’t Replace You—It Will Empower You”: Walter Nandalike at Press Day Event

Mangaluru – “Artificial Intelligence will not replace your creativity — it’s here to complement your skills,” said Walter Nandalike, founder and MD of Daijiworld Media Network Pvt Ltd, in a powerful keynote speech at the Press Day celebration hosted by the Dakshina Kannada District Working Journalists’ Union at the Press Club on Wednesday.

Speaking on “Challenges in Media,” Nandalike reflected on his journey, recalling Daijiworld’s humble launch in 2001 and a memorable 2003 press conference held at the same venue. He credited early support from journalists as vital to the platform’s success.

Urging resilience, he told students, “If you do what you studied, you’ll survive. But do what you didn’t study—and you become a leader.”

He quoted a past keynote by Divya Vikas Keerti: “To become powerful, choose a government job, politics, or media.” However, he noted that media power today often carries fear, with once-bold voices now subdued.

Citing a Lokniti-CSDS study, he revealed that 63% distrust TV news and 89% mistrust online content, while newspapers remain the most trusted. He praised print for its time-bound accuracy, quoting Gautam Pai of Udayavani.

Walter outlined four pressing issues in journalism:

• Declining press freedom

He warned of AI’s impact, predicting that half of copywriting jobs could vanish in a year, yet emphasized: “AI can’t replace your originality or storytelling.”

Earlier, Umar U H, president of the Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy, inaugurated the event and urged honoring journalist Herman Mogling through a road or statue in Mangaluru.

Newspaper distributor Raghuram K was also honored for his decades of service.