He was the youngest intern at the Hindustan Times newspaper. Just a first year BMM student then, he had enough of fame and recognition both at the newspaper and in the college. Yet he felt a certain vacuum within himself and a deep desire to do something for the society. As a young intern he soon realised that the mainstream media is controlled by commercial interests rather than human interest stories. There is almost total neglect of quality stories that happen in villages and sometimes even in cities. Everybody eloquently criticizes media about their over-sensationalisation of stories, their lack of quality coverage etc, but do nothing about it. People hardly react to the media.

This disillusionment with the mainstream media set off a spark within Prabal. With the support of Ashoka’s Youth Venture he began a project-cum-campaign, viz., Media 4 Change, a social venture that aims to sensitize media students to be responsible mediapersons, to create a socially responsible media and to encourage common people to critically evaluate the media rather than taking them lying down. His own experience in the mainstream media made him aware of the power of the media to bring about social change through continuous coverage of quality community stories. As a first step with the help of fellow mass media students Prabal launched SLAP, an independent newsletter that aspires to be a platform for social change.

“It (SLAP) is a mirror of our ideas, the ideas of the young and daring Indian youth,” says Prabal. “It is the mouth-piece of Media 4 Change. Through it we are turning our dreams into reality.”

Designed to be a youth shout box, SLAP, a tabloid newsletter, believes in ‘slapping’, i.e., voicing youth opinion against everything that is not quite right. Apart from covering normal news, SLAP acts as a representative of the youth spotlighting those working to improve the society.

There are about 55 media students who are devoted to this project. They aim to distribute the newsletter (3rd issue is on the way) among mass media students and media related institutions. While his college mates called it a publicity stunt, media professionals considered it a foolish step.

“I kept updating everyone about my venture and when the first issue of SLAP was out, everyone found a lot of sense in my venture. Now around 2,000 people including media professionals and media students are part of the project,” says Prabal beaming with joy. Though financial constraints have affected the regular publication of the newsletter, the campaign finds its momentum through the internet via blogs and emails. You can read the SLAP blog at: http://www.media4change-slap.blogspot.com/

“The time has come,” says Prabal, “to change ourselves. Things don’t change all by themselves. I have to change myself, my way of life and way of thinking. If the system is corrupt, I can at least change my attitude towards it. I have to stop tolerating lawlessness. If I tolerate lawlessness at home, at work, on streets, then I have no right to blame others who do it. At the same time changes do not happen in a moment. It takes time and one needs to be patient and persevering in his/her efforts. If the dream is yours, then be passionate about it. It will bear fruit.”