Fortune India 40 Under 40 2026: Media must reinvent its monetisation model, says Uday Shankar

Journalism shaped Uday Shankar not just as a professional but as an individual, teaching him to understand society, ask the right questions and create value that benefits people. Those lessons continue to influence his approach as a business leader and entrepreneur, Shankar said at the Fortune India 40 Under 40 2026.

Speaking at a fireside chat titled ‘From Newsman to Entrepreneur’, Shankar, Vice-Chairman of JioStar , reflected on his transition from journalism to business, his approach to risk-taking and failure, and his vision for transforming the media and entertainment industry.

Journalism taught him to understand India

Shankar said journalism gave him an opportunity to travel across India and understand what people care about, particularly beyond the country’s urban centres. “I got to see India as a journalist. I got to see very closely what this country cares about, what this country doesn’t care about. And that has stayed with me forever,” he said.

He said his continued travels, particularly through rural India, have helped shape his understanding of society and influence his approach to business.

For Shankar, one of the most important lessons from journalism has been that businesses cannot create value for themselves at the expense of society. “The best way to create value is when the two come in sync,” he said.

Media needs to reinvent its monetisation model

Shankar said the media industry has innovated extensively in content, creativity, branding and distribution but has been slower to rethink monetisation.

“Media companies have done a great job of innovating on content, creativity, brand, distribution, everything. But they have been totally legacy-bound in inventing or innovating on monetisation,” he said.

Traditional revenue streams such as advertising and subscriptions, he argued, have remained largely unchanged even as the industry has transformed. With companies across sectors increasingly competing for advertising budgets, Shankar said media companies need to explore new ways to monetise their large and loyal audiences.

At JioStar, he said, the focus is therefore on developing new monetisation engines, including opportunities around content and commerce. Addressing entrepreneurs at the event, Shankar offered a simple message: businesses that create genuine value for society will ultimately be rewarded.

The right questions matter more than the right answers

Shankar said journalism also taught him the importance of asking the right questions.

A journalist, he noted, does not necessarily need to be an expert in every subject. Instead, journalists identify the right experts, ask questions, gather perspectives, and use their judgement to determine what matters. “A good journalist always asks really, really good questions—questions that get to the heart of the matter,” he said.

The same principle, he said, has stayed with him as a business leader. “Answers automatically come if you keep asking the right questions,” Shankar said, adding that he continues to approach business problems with a journalist’s mindset.

Fear of failure cannot stop risk-taking

Shankar has taken several significant bets during his career, including in sports and media, and played a key role in shaping the large-scale JioStar combination. Asked how he deals with the fear of failure while taking such bets, he said the fear is always present. “Only a fool doesn’t fear failure,” Shankar said. “I worry about everything.” However, he said the possibility of failure should not prevent people from taking calculated risks. “I obsess over what can go wrong, but I do not allow that to hold me back,” he said.

According to Shankar, persistence is equally important. “I have a tendency to not stop once I start,” he said, adding that continuing to pursue the right course of action eventually creates the conditions for success.