Against falling prey to politicians

PRASHANT ACHARYA, EOI, Siliguri, 25 May 2014: Upon witnessing several media houses and scribes getting lured by politicians and political outfits to gain undue popularity before the masses, Indian Journalists’ Union secretary Geetartha Pathak today urged the media fraternity of Siliguri and Darjeeling against falling into such a temptation.

While on his recent visit to Kalimpong and Siliguri, Pathak told the EOI that politicians and businessmen have found it a lot more financially beneficial to own television channels and use them for campaigning and promoting their popularity, adding now-a-days almost all news channels are owned either directly or indirectly by politicians.

Pathak, who works as a senior journalist with the Assam Tribune and is also president of the Journalist Union of Assam, noted that in Guwahati, his hometown, as many as three out of seven TV channels are owned by politicians while the state’s forest minister owns a newspaper.

He said media houses and field journalists should work to sustain the democratic rights of the nation and its citizens as the general public reposes strong faith in the content published by newspapers and TV channels. The veteran journalist noted selfishness shown by a few media houses has put the credibility of journalism into question.

Apart from politicians, businessmen are also eager to hold a strong grip on the media, according to Pathak, and such individuals either have a share in media companies or they gift valued stock market shares to media houses in lieu of favourable news.

He also said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has restricted the trend of cross-media ownership, but despite the ruling, some politicians still own TV channels as well as newspapers with a view to gain public sympathy and popularity by getting news items published in their favour.

In the end, Pathak requested members of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration to support the media and ensure to work under a democratic framework for the welfare of the general populace and society.