Mizoram Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai has found fault with the young generation for not reading newspapers.
He was giving a lecture after presenting the media awards instituted by the Calicut Press Club. “The new generation is suffering from their lack of reading of newspapers. Nothing can replace newspapers. Neither social media nor television news channels can provide the kind of reading experience like a newspaper,” Mr. Pillai pointed out.
He urged the media to be self-critical in their work. “The erosion of social values may have affected the media too. Those in the industry should introspect about this. Mediapersons should find their own news stories instead of rehashing what is available on the Internet,” Mr. Pillai said.
He pointed out that sycophants did not have much of a role in a democracy, and that creative criticism was important. There is no need to be afraid of criticism from the media. The media may have to often give both negative and positive reports. However, the larger interests of the country should be kept in mind, Mr. Pillai said.
He claimed that the aberrations of the media and the political class should be resolved and not neglected. Neglecting the issue will be detrimental to democracy, he added.
Mr. Pillai later attended a commemorative event for the late industrialist C.K. Menon organised by the Vigil Human Rights Movement.
