Opinion
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Letters to the Editor
Caution needed
Sir, - Your Editorial `Hurried and ill-considered' (Jan. 10) on the entry of foreign capital in the print media makes interesting reading. You have raised a valid point that the print media being a vital and dynamic instrument to gauge public opinion on matters of national concern and security, it has to be regulated well and that we cannot indiscriminately allow foreign participation in view of inherent dangers. It is a different matter with audio-visual entertainment channels. Visual or audio projections can never be a substitute for the printed world. We, in our country, have enough talent and skill in the field of journalism to manage a healthy, constructive and intellectually satisfying print media. On the other hand, in respect of high-tech ventures we may need foreign technology and it may be necessary to open up the investment avenues for foreign participation so that we can benefit from their expertise.
In fact, during the days of our independence movement and during the post-independent era, we have always had a powerful, highly vocal and transparent print media, free to express its views. So, as rightly pointed out by you, let us be cautious in opening such a vital part of our political and democratic machinery to foreign participation.
V.R. Narayanan,
Chennai
Sir, - I thought your Editorial on the issue of foreign investment in the print media was half-hearted. As a journalist, I also found a similarity in the arguments you proffered and those being made by the Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, defending the ban on foreign journalists. The fact is that newspaper barons in India have carved up the country into bantustans, acting as a mutual aid society and keeping out of each other's preserves. This has stifled journalists and journalism for far too long.
George Abraham,
Thiruvananthapuram
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