Don't sensationalise news, Venkaiah Naidu asks media

Mobilising public support for development activities by governments is possible through media, said Naidu

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday urged the media not to sensationalise events while emphasising that the media serves as an effective ammunition in combating poverty, corruption and terrorism in the world.

Speaking after inaugurating the Regional Editors Conference this morning, Naidu advocated self-regulation by media houses and said that any criticism, if it is genuine would be acceptable, but while criticising the shortcomings, it is also important to portray the positive developments as well.

Mobilising public support for development activities by governments is possible through media, he said and termed the media as a medium between the government and the public.

He further said that he has asked the authorities of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to formulate a national policy on information and communication for the Union Government, as media is an effective component in any meaningful governance.

Stating that social media has emerged as a powerful and economical media, he said, "They are the tool to convey government initiatives for the development of the nation and also to assess public reactions on policies and programmes of governments."

Naidu further said, "The vernacular print media market has witnessed nine percent growth in revenue as per the FCCI and the KPMG report. Out of this growth, total contribution of advertising revenue in 2015 was Rs 62 billion, which was 9.5 per cent higher than the financial year 2014."

Expressing his delight over the impressive growth of print media in India, he said, "The revenue from circulation of vernacular print media has also witnessed eight percent growth, I am very happy about it."

Emphasising on the need to promote our mother tongue, Naidu said, "We should promote our mother tongue because as I told you language and culture have an interlink and we should follow tri-language formula, which has been accepted by the country as such."

The inaugural session of the Regional Editors Conference was attended by the Tamil Nadu Minister for Information and Publicity Kadambur Raju, Director General of Press Information Bureau Frank Noronha and other senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.