“The priorities of today’s journalism have changed. Love for the nation used to be the driving force behind journalism in India. It is no longer true. Today, it is just another business driven by profit orientation,’’ Irrigation Minister and BJP leader Govind Karjol said in Belagavi on Sunday.
He was speaking at a conference, “Journalists and the Law”, organised by the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ).
“Mahatma Gandhi used the media to create awareness among the people about the freedom struggle. B.R. Ambedkar used the media to fight oppression and caste-based discrimination. As a journalist, Gandhi contributed greatly to Indian nationalistic thought. His writings about how the Congress was to be treated as a social movement and not as a political party are of great importance. Gandhi advised Congress leaders to wind it [party] up after Independence. But we have forgotten that,” he said.
According to Mr. Karjol, the values of journalism that inspired the people during the freedom movement are no longer to be seen now-a-days. “The format, pace and style of journalism are changing very fast. Young journalists should adapt to that,’’ he said.
The Minister released a book on the proposed plans of KUWJ for the next three years.
A Kannada booklet on “Journalists and the Law” written by Uma Mahesh Vaidya was released on the occasion.
KUWJ president Shivanand Tagadur said that the responsibilities of journalists are getting more and more serious with advancing technology and with vested interests using media reports for political gains.
“We should develop skills to sift through the heap of misinformation and identify the truth. We should not shy away from speaking the truth and standing for it,” he said.
The next KUWJ State conference will be held in Vijayapura, Mr. Tagadur said.
