Avoid sensationalism, PM tells media

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called upon the media to avoid sensationalism and to exercise restraint while reporting socially sensitive matters.

Inaugurating the golden jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) he said, “The desire to be sensational should be avoided. Restraint should be exercised so that nothing that divides our society and country is written, broadcast or telecast.”

The Prime Minister said that the media had a very important role to play in promoting communal harmony and inter-community dialogue.

“The unfortunate incidents of the past few months have brought out worrying fault-lines in our society. The tragic developments in Assam and their reverberations in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore ,Chennai, Hyderabad and other places have shown that we cannot afford to take social peace and harmony for granted. We need to be constantly vigilant and work continuously towards promoting greater communal harmony and inter-group and inter-community dialogue,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that a conscious effort should be made to build bridges between communities and regions.

He said that an independent and responsible media was a pre-requisite for sustaining a society with numerous religions, ethnicities, languages and view points. The media was not just a “reliable barometer of public opinion. It is also a conscience keeper of the nation”.

Presiding over the function, Chief Minister Ommen Chandy said the media played a greater role for the development of the country.

Defence Minster A.K. Antony said it was doubtful whether the present-day journalists had the same professional freedom that had been enjoyed by their predecesors. Their freedom was restricted due to the contractual mode of appointments introduced by various newspaper managements, he said.

Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs K.V. Thomas said that the media which had enormous power should exercise it with greater responsibility. Sensational reporting would be counter-productive and would do more harm than good.

Welcoming the gathering, K .C. Rajagopal, president, KUWJ, urged the Prime Minister to take steps to amend the Working Journalists Act to bring the electronic media under its purview.

Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, Union Urban Development Minister, Kamal Nath, Union Minister of State for Home, Mullappally Ramachandran, Union Minister of State for Power K.C. Venugopal , and Union Minister of State for External Affairs, E.Ahammed, were present.