National interests must come first, Venkaiah tells media

HYDERABAD: Union minister for information and broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu exhorted the media fraternity on Sunday to act in a manner that keeps the interests of the nation in mind. “All of us are citizens of the country first,” he stressed.

“Our actions should not compromise interests of the country. Even creating unrest in society or disturbing the peaceful atmosphere is unwarranted. Three things should be kept in mind — laws of the land, country’s interests, and the nation above everything else,” he said, in an indirect reference to the government ordering a one-day blackout of NDTV India for its coverage of the Pathankot attack last year. The government’s action has been severely criticised in some quarters as compromising the freedom of the media.

He went on to say that the media should refrain from sensationalism and focus on issues that are close to truth and reality. “News is no more news in present times. Now news is mixed with views. Views should be confined to the editorial page, where one can freely express their view. What Venkaiah Naidu speaks should be presented as it is. Views about my speech should come in editorial pages,” he said.

He said violence, obscenity, and vulgarity dominate cinema and the electronic media. Self-regulation is the need of the hour to focus on healthy and enlightened debates.

Mr Naidu was speaking after inaugurating the one-day orientation programme for Urdu journalists at the Salar Jung Museum Auditorium. He claimed that his ministry was taking several initiatives to give a fillip to regional media (Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Tamil etc.). Increasing the duration of daily Urdu bulletins on Doordarshan is on the cards, Mr Naidu stated.