Minister for Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu has decried the tendency of giving prominence to sensationalisation of news by the electronic and print media and said that news should be treated objectively.
He was here on Sunday to inaugurate the golden jubilee celebrations of All India Radio Kalaburagi.
Mr. Naidu did not mince words while expressing his views about sensationalisation of news and said that anchors should avoid expressing their views as news and provide viewers the actual news.
Referring to the constructive role played by All India Radio and Doordarshan in retaining standards in the media, he said that though hundreds of new television channels had been launched in English and Indian languages, none could maintain the standards and impartiality of AIR and Doordarshan. He said that AIR and Doordarshan were the only ones which gave importance to agriculture, education and development sectors.
The programmes aired by AIR Kalaburagi including ‘phone-in’, talks on agriculture, health, and education, and interactions with agriculture scientists and progressive farmers had educated people belonging to different walks of life. Many programmes started by AIR Kalaburagi were copied by other stations. “It shows that radio still plays an important role in the lives of the people,” he added.Hailing the contribution of the region, Mr. Naidu said that the region was also home to the author of the first classical Kannada text ‘Kavirajamarga’, King Amoghavarsha Nrupatunga .12th century philosopher and social reformer Basaveshwara, Allamaprabhu, Akkamahadevi and 14th century Sufi saint Hazrat Khaja Banda Nawaz fought for social justice and struggled against patriarchy to extend equal rights for women, Mr. Naidu added.
He said that Hyderabad Karnataka region was known for its rich historical heritage with dynasties such as Rashtrakutas, Kalachris, Chalukyas, Vijayanagara, Bahamani, and Adil Shahi and the Hyderabad Nizams ruling it.
Mr. Naidu released a souvenir to mark 50 years of AIR Kalaburagi and a CD of Pandit Siddaram Jambaldini. Congress leader M. Mallikarjun Kharge urged Mr. Naidu to include Kalaburagi in the list of smart cities. Director-General of AIR F. Sheheryar and Basavaraj Patil Sedam, MP, were present.
