People's Democracy

 Media Role Vital: Somnath

LOK Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the media had a vital role to play in bringing the work of the parliament to the people and a number of initiatives to facilitate a closer interaction between the media and the parliamentary institutions were on the anvil.

Inaugurating a seminar on “Press, Parliament and the People” at Constitution Club here on February 23, Chatterjee said that while covering the disturbances and furor in legislatures, the press should give adequate space to debate on substantive issues.

The speaker noted the positive impact of the live-telecast of the parliamentary proceedings that had been started from the previous session. A proposal to open the meetings of the parliamentary committees to the media was under his consideration.

Addressing the seminar organised by the Delhi Union of Journalists and Appan Menon Memorial Trust, union information and broadcasting minister, S Jaipal Reddy regretted that there was a deterioration in the quality of substantive reporting and in-depth analysis in the Indian media, but added that the media should correct this through self-regulation.

While facilitating foreign direct investment, the UPA government would treat media differently from other sectors of the industry, ensuring the nation’s “culture, security and opinion sensitivity were safeguarded”.

He informed that the constitution of a new wage board for journalists and a media commission to look into the issues related to the media in the emerging scenario were under the government’s active consideration.

Among those who addressed the seminar were veteran socialist thinker Surendra Mohan, CITU president, Dr M K Pandhe, social activist Razia Ismail and senior journalists Upendra Bajpai and Siddhartha Vardarajan and Prabir Purkayastha of Delhi Science Forum.

The seminar adopted a resolution, demanding announcement of a media commission and the new wage board for journalists in the current session of the parliament.

After hearing field reports from journalists, Dr Amit Sengupta and Rajesh Ramachandran, who have recently returned from Nepal, the seminar also passed a resolution condemning the suppression of the press freedom there and called upon likeminded organisations to join the DUJ in the struggle for restoration of democracy in Nepal. (INN)