Journalists should be able to look beyond commercial interests to hold aloft the larger interests of society, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. The media itself will be affected if its own consciousness is not raised to that of the public consciousness.
Mr. Vijayan was speaking after presenting the State Media Awards for the year 2015 here on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister said that unhealthy competition in society and in the media is behind many of the recent controversies.
“It has now become the job of some reporters to create a subject for the evening studio discussions. The media houses do not seem to be concerned about what these discussions contribute to the society. But the society can see through this and many are sharing their concerns that such discussions are a waste of time. Such discussions should ideally be on important topics, with the participation of experts in the respective fields,” he said.
He said that journalism is a profession in which the practitioners can uphold self-respect, but lack of integrity will lead to a fall in self-respect too.
“It won’t be helpful if reports are created based on hearsay and baseless allegations. Media practitioners should discourage those who create news without any integrity. If even one journalist falls into a ditch, it gives a bad name to the entire media fraternity. The media should be able to highlight and support the various missions that the government has planned in key areas. There should be a rethinking on the role of the media in the development of the State,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the media has been in recent times facing criticism from the social and cultural spheres, from within the community and in social media.
“These criticisms point to the fact that there are some issues. This should be accepted and steps need to be taken to address it,” he said.
Ranjith John ( Deepika ) won the award for General Reporting. T.Soman ( Mathrubhumi ) won the award for Developmental Reporting. Russel Shahul ( Malayala Manorama ) was chosen for the News Photography award. T.K.Sujith ( Kerala Kaumudi ) won the award for cartoon.
Biju Pankaj ( Mathrubhumi News ) won the award for Television Reporting. Bineesh Baby ( Manorama News ) was chosen for the Television News Editing award. Binu Thomas ( Mathrubhumi News ) won the Television News Camera award. V.Sajeev ( Manorama News ) won the special mention for Television News Camera.
