Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called upon the media, which prided themselves for their freedom, to introspect whether they are actually independent in reality. Journalists face the disconcerting prospect of being increasingly controlled by capitalist forces who sought to further their vested interests.
He was speaking after giving away the Swadeshabhimani-Kesari award and the State media awards for the year 2016 here on Monday.
The Swadeshabhimani-Kesari award, which carried a plaque, citation and a purse of ₹1 lakh, was presented to former Deshabhimani Resident Editor and General Editor K. Mohanan, former Rajya Sabha member, in honour of his contributions to journalism.
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Mr. Vijayan said the media had been increasingly finding their credibility questioned with the emergence of neo-liberal forces in the industry in recent times.
Marking a significant shift in their style of functioning, media outlets had been reduced to entities that merely conveyed information without highlighting their underlying aspects. In effect, the freedom enjoyed by journalists had been confined to the boundaries set by influential sections, he said.
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Caution
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Presiding over the function, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran cautioned against the neglect of ethics against the backdrop of the highly competitive media environment. He added that several unhealthy tendencies had crept into the functioning of the media in recent times.
The State media awards in various categories were presented to journalists Unni Balakrishnan, T.K. Sujith, P.R. Sunil, M.V. Vasanth, Manu Shelley, Jaison Maniangattu, S. Sujaya Parvathy, S. Sarath, Sreejith Kandoth and S.V. Rajesh.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.K. Prasanth, V.S. Sivakumar, MLA, district panchayat president V.K. Madhu, poet Prabha Varma, Kerala Media Academy chairman R.S. Babu, senior journalist and award jury member Thomas Jacob were also present.