The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Sashi Kumar: political class trying to appropriate media

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Sunday, Jun 03, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Sashi Kumar: political class trying to appropriate media

Staff Reporter

Vijayaraghavan award presented to Sashi Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior journalist and Chairman of the Media Development Foundation Sashi Kumar has said that the political class is trying to appropriate media in India and elsewhere in the world, and this is a matter of major concern.

Mr. Sashi Kumar made these observations while speaking after receiving the prestigious award instituted in memory of veteran journalist the late K. Vijayaraghavan from Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran here on Saturday.

He said there were several instances of the political class trying to use their clout as media owners to advance their pursuit of power. This trend was visible in different parts of the world and it was now gaining currency in India too.

Mr. Sashi Kumar, however, said media needed to periodically introspect whether it was being accountable to the trust reposed on it by the people as the Fourth Estate of democracy. It should put itself on the dock constantly and examine whether there was any erosion in the values or whether it was able to genuinely fulfil its commitment to the people in a democratic set up. This was particularly important because the other Three Estates of democracy— the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary— can not encroach upon the media to make it accountable, Mr. Sashi Kumar said.

Presenting the award, the Minister said in the wake of the competition triggered by the visual media, the print media was resorting to sensationalism and crass commercialism. This had seriously questioned the credibility of the media.

Lauding the contributions made by Mr. Sashi Kumar to the media, the Minister said by starting the first Malayalam channel `Asianet', Mr. Sashi Kumar could unleash an electronic media revolution in Kerala. Media critic Sebastian Paul, MP, in his Vijayaraghavan Memorial oration on ``Challenges before media'' said media in Kerala was facing one of the worst credibility erosions in its history.

He said apart from protecting the interests of the capital, media in Kerala was often alleged to be trying to pursue some mysterious agenda as well. The media was not able to effectively reply to such criticisms.

A.P. Viswanathan and K.G. Parameswaran Nair of Vijayaraghavan Memorial Committee were among those who spoke on the occasion.

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