Venkaiah calls for self-regulation by media

It assumes importance as the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recognised the critical role media has to play in efficient governance, he said.

Inaugurating the Regional Editors’ Conference organised by the Press Information Bureau, Naidu said ‘sensationalism’ had become the order of the day due to competition and TRPs. “By and large, the Indian media has been progressive and constructive. Media is the link between government and the people...So, you have greater responsibility. The I&B Ministry is in the process of formulating a national policy on communication,” he said. 

On handling of sensitive issues, he said, “The challenges before media are to ensure quality, credibility along with the responsibility to play a role of an educator. Whenever there is any crisis, media has to behave in a sober manner with self-regulation. At times, I feel sad due to competition and in the race for TRPs, sensationalism has become the order of the day,” the minister said. 

“In the context of various sensitivities prevalent in a multicultural society like India, it is imperative to strike a fine balance between freedom of speech and expression and the reasonable restrictions so as to maintain public order and integrity,” he added. Besides, he said the challenge was to maintain high ‘ethical standards’ on the issue of conflict of interest where media needed to be very careful.