Self-regulation is a must for media: Surendra

Media, should not only be supportive of the needs of the management, but has to also be conscious about its responsibilities towards development of the society, said Press Academy chairman Tirumalagiri Surendra.

Speaking at a felicitation function organised by ‘Swranandhara”, an evening daily on Sunday, Mr. Surendra said that media should be vigilant in bringing to fore the misdeeds of the rulers and should also never hesitate to bring to light the good work.

“Self-regulation is must for media. I have written a book on the values and the role of media in society and I will be releasing it soon. I hope the book will be of some help to the new generation journalists,” he added. Moved by the praises showred on him by the city elite, Mr. Surendra said that he would act as bridge between the State Government and press and strive for the welfare of the journalists' community.

Veteran journalist and Padmasree award winner Turlapati Kutumbha Rao said that the appointment of Mr. Surendra as Press Academy was a new chapter in the history of Press Academy.

Minister for Major Industries Kanna Lakshminarayana said that Mr. Surendra was not only a senior journalist but also a writer with a vision, who penned books on “Jalayagnam” and on the life of Chief Minister K. Rosaiah. Former minister Mandali Buddha Prasad said that the modern-day journalists were not giving priority to language and were often using harsh and unsavoury words while filing their stories.

“Telugu language in journalism is fast deteriorating. I hope Mr. Surendra would restore the pride of the Telugu language in journalism. We should digitalise the works of great editors like Narla Venkateswara Rao and editorials in ‘Andhra Patrika', ‘Bharati' and ‘Krishna Patrika' for the future generation,” he said.

Former minister Devineni Rajasekhar (Nehru) asked the new Press Academy chairman to take up the issue of allotment of the house sites to journalists which was pending for more than three years.