Don’t sensationalise news, says Governor

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarlilal Purohit said that news cannot be manufactured and should be factually correct.

“The journalist is free to make his own interpretation and present it to the reader or the viewer. It is possible that in the competition for increasing the circulation or viewership some journalists indulge in sensational reporting with a view towards capturing a larger share. But that, apart from being unethical, is also bound to boomerang after sometime,” he said, addressing the delegates at the South India Media Summit (SIMS) 2018 announced by Fourth Dimension Media Solutions.

Recalling his journalistic career, the Governor said, “I was a journalist for about 40 years before assuming charge as the Governor of Assam.

“I know that the challenges faced by the press and the visual media are huge.”

He added, “Collecting information, relaying the information in time, compiling the information after checking correctness and then projecting the information through newspapers or the visual media so as to benefit the common man are not easy to achieve.”

Media’s role vital

Commenting on SIMS 2018, Mr. Purohit said the objective of this summit was to further propel South India as an important contributor for the growth and development in the country.

“For this the press and visual media have to play a vital role. The right content being telecast in the form of drama and educational programmes will benefit the viewers immensely and provide society with the right kind of principled values,” he said.

He pointed out that the multiplication of schools of journalism and visual communication, particularly in South India, had ensured the availability of trained young minds.

“The media industry is poised for a quantum leap,” he added.

Exclusive summit

Shankar B., CEO, Fourth Dimension Media Solutions, said, “Whenever I attend any event or summit I wondered why there is no exclusive media summit for the south. The media industry in south is quite big. That’s how the idea to have SIMS evolved.”

Mr. Shankar said his team would take SIMS to other cities, including Hyderabad and Kochi in the coming months.

“We have also lined up a print summit, television summit and radio summit,” he said.