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Put smile on reader, Kalam tells media
| It should help achieve vision of India |
Be development partners, journalists told
Stresses on accuracy
NEW DELHI:
NEW DELHI: Put the cartoon back on the front page of newspapers and bring a smile on the face of the reader. This is President A.P.J Abdul Kalam’s advice to the Indian media.
“On the first page, when you see a cartoon, it puts a smile on your face. The rest of the news is about things like rape, theft and killing,” Mr. Kalam said during an interaction with PTI journalists here. “The man or the child or the woman is happy to see the cartoon. You must bring back the cartoon on the first page.”
The President recalled that he would look at the first-page cartoon in a newspaper when he was young. He said the editors might love political news, but the people hate it. As a young person, the first thing he would look at when he picked up a newspaper would be the cartoon.
“Be positive”
Urging the journalists to become development partners in achieving the vision of a developed India by 2020, Mr. Kalam said success stories and positive news should be highlighted. He asked the media to act as a motivator for people, particularly those hailing from rural areas. Observing that the media should be sensitive to the progress and problems in rural areas, Mr. Kalam said: “Media has to continuously monitor and report progress periodically to assess the efficacy of our system in reducing the [number of] people living below the poverty line.”
“When atrocities, problems or mis-governance are reported, efforts also may be made in the larger public interest to provide positive direction for improvement,” he said. Mr. Kalam also stressed on the importance of accuracy in reporting and the need to highlight issues pertaining to the energy sector, the performance of panchayats, and the northeast.
“Women have been struggling for 33 per cent reservation in Parliament. You can promote their cause by highlighting how women panchayat leaders are doing a good job,” he said. “Delhi is not the only place where things are happening,” said the President, advising the media to look beyond the capital for news. — PTI
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