The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Media should be a moral watchdog: Speaker

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Media should be a moral watchdog: Speaker

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, NOV. 16. The Speaker, K. R. Suresh Reddy, has exhorted the media to function as a moral watchdog to ensure that the press maintains high standards of reporting without being influenced by extraneous factors.

Speaking at a seminar on `Democracy - People's Welfare - Role of Media' organised by the Press Academy of Andhra Pradesh to coincide with the National Press Day here on Tuesday, Mr. Reddy said media cannot be influenced by factors such as political clout or financial push. Care should always be taken not to undermine or exaggerate reporting of welfare measures, economic reforms and people's problems.

Protecting democracy

He said the conventional channels of providing investigative reporting had become a thing of the past and information technology has taken the lead. It is the duty of everybody to protect democracy despite all risks and perils, he added. He admitted that journalists come under attack, as a section of the society did not tolerate freedom of the Press.

Analytical reports

The former Deputy Editor of The Hindu , R.J. Rajendra Prasad, said he credited people with protecting the Indian democracy for the last 57 years whereas the situation was not so in neighbouring countries. He felt the media had to follow up important new events and enlighten the people. Journalists should study official documents and reports available with the Government and legislature and write in-depth analytical stories to bring out the facts.

The Associate Professor in NALSAR university of Law, Madabhushi Sridhar, felt legislation should be brought in to protect those who expose irregularities and the sources of information. The APUWJ president, D. Amar, blamed commercial interests of certain newspaper managements for putting pressure on journalists.

The Press Academy chief, I. Venkat Rao, presided.

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