Editors once decided which stories mattered based on evidence, public interest and ethics. Today, recommendation algorithms and engagement metrics increasingly shape editorial decisions, prioritising what keeps audiences scrolling.

As young audiences increasingly turn to social media for news, Kashmir's journalists are adapting to algorithm-driven storytelling while grappling with the rise of influencer journalism, shifting audience habits and new ethical challenges.

In Kashmir, mounting censorship, political pressure, and shrinking job prospects are forcing a generation of aspiring journalists to abandon the profession, many before they even get the chance to begin, leaving behind a media landscape stripped of dissent, debate, and independent voices.