The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Speaking out for and against the media

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Speaking out for and against the media

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

Voicing their views: Fr. Joseph Jeyaraj, director, Don Bosco Youth Animation Centre (third from left), interacting with students at a discussion on ‘Children and Media’ in Chennai on Tuesday. Harris Pakkam, director, Don Bosco Institute of Communication Arts (left), and Thomas Mariaraj, vice-principal, St. Bede’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Santhome, are in the picture.

CHENNAI: The Don Bosco Institute of Communication Arts (DBICA) Athirvugal on Tuesday served as a platform for students from various schools to air their views on the theme ‘Children and Media’ at St. Bede’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, Santhome.

The young speakers were vocal about the positive and negative aspects of the media. While Joshua, a student of St. Bede’s detailed the positive effects of the media on a common man’s life, Hajra Adam, a student of Sacred Heart Matriculation School, strongly felt the electronic media to be a bane in disguise. H. Karthik of St. Gabriel’s School, Broadway, voiced the negative influence of the media in his eloquent speech in Tamil. What the students expected from the media were voiced by D. Keerthika of Fatima Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Kodambakkam, and S. Shanmugapriya of R.C.M. School, Avadi.

Speaking of habits children develop because of the media, Shanthi Clement of Don Bosco High School in Vyasarpadi said school life was not like the one depicted in a popular television serial. “Students should understand that the media usually creates illusions” she said. Fr. Joseph Jeyaraj, Director, Don Bosco Youth Animation Centre, made a presentation to highlight how media could affect parent-children relationships. Chinnappan, lecturer, Visual Communication Department of Loyola College, spoke on advertisements and its impact on children. Kalaivanan of Kalai Arapervai Trust highlighted the media’s contribution towards children’s growth.

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