Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has objected to detrimental tendencies adopted by the media to boost ‘ratings’ even at the cost of abetting criminal activities.
Inaugurating a public meeting organised in connection with the 58th State conference of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) here on Saturday, Mr. Vijayan invoked the ethos of neutral journalism and urged the media fraternity to introspect to what extend they could afford to remain neutral in sensitive issues such as choosing between secularism and communalism.
He raised concerns over worrying practices that have led to mediapersons entering into “arrangements” with perpetrators in a quest for exclusive reports. “The media has been known to build public consciousness against anti-social activities. However, of late, there have been efforts by media outlets to liaison with criminal elements to egg them on illegal activities for the sake of earning the credit of having the incidents before their competitors,” Mr. Vijayan said.
