Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that the media itself should find ways and means of removing the deficiencies and aberrations that have crept into in recent years.
"I have always believed that the vibrant and fiercely independent media in our country is an asset for all of us. It has served us well in dissemination information, educating the public and keeping a critical eye on the work of the government," Dr. Singh said, while speaking at a function here yesterday to mark 125 years of the Malayala Manorama group.
"As the media "has grown in size and evolved over the years some aberration shave also crept in, but the good thing is that these aberrations are being discussed and debated. It is for the media itself to find ways and means of removing the deficiencies it suffers from. It is in this area that groups like Malayala Manorama can play a leadership role," he added.
Dr. Singh further lauded Malayala Manorama, India's largest-selling regional language daily, for playing an important part in the freedom movement and in nation building through its journalism.
"Malayala Manorama was born out of great idealism, its founders were deeply committed to fighting social injustice and upholding human rights," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said he was acquainted with Manorama since his school years and he has a great respect for the organisation for its effort to uplift the marginalised.
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"In a totally literal state like Kerala, there many good journalists, cartoonists and photographers and most of them have been associated with Manorama at some point of their career," he said.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari highlighted the importance of regional language media and said that it will continue to rise in the coming years.
" Hindi and vernacular media comprise 89 per cent of the total readership in India," he said.