The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : It's introspection time for media: Sashi Kumar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 18, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

It's introspection time for media: Sashi Kumar

Special Correspondent

Platform to promote social entrepreneurship launched "The role of the media is to mediate what is happening and what has to happen"

CHENNAI: When Ashoka: Innovators for the Public recently launched its Chennai citizen's platform to promote social entrepreneurship, the role of media came under fire. Speakers and participants agreed that it was time for the media to introspect and play a greater role in bringing change.

"There is very little that the media does," Sashi Kumar, Chairman, Media Development Foundation, said.

"It has let us down ... This is not how it should be. It has become a profit proposition. We have to recapture the media and see how to make it more relevant to our times," he said, pleading for great involvement of the media since no other sector can create as much of a change.

Role of media

"We need process journalism that makes a difference to our lives. Not just event journalism. The role of the media is to mediate what is happening and what has to happen," he explained.

"We have a role in transforming the media as much as the media has a role in transforming the world," he concluded.

Social entrepreneurs

Venkatesh Raghavendra, Director, Global Partnerships for Asia, said that that the purpose of the platform was to create a network between the media and the social sector.

"We need to create a platform in different cities and different sectors to understand each other and improve lives for everyone... We should continue to meet and highlight work of social entrepreneurs," he said.

K. Pandia Rajan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ma Foi Management Consultants, spoke about the corporate social responsibility. "Companies are beginning to look at corporate social responsibility at three levels. One, where the company starts talking about what products and services it has to offer the society. Two, the process of offering itself and how it can be socially responsible there. And third, can I go beyond that and commit to offer human capital and invest in something?"

He said that many companies today are keen on making that jump from being just an organisation towards being an institution.

Good sign

"Companies are looking to move beyond traditional philanthropy, and are open to engaging with social entrepreneurs, and that is a very good sign," Mr. Pandia Rajan observed.

Earlier in the evening, Ashoka Fellows Dr. Thara Srinivasan, SCARF, and Ilango Rangaswamy, Trust for Village Self Governance, presented their work to the audience. Citizens interested in joining the Chennai Chapter of Ashoka can visit www.ashoka.org. or email lpaul@vsnl.com

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