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New Delhi, Apr. 2, 2019: The need of the hour today in the Indian media industry is to separate news from views, and a journalist must always be prompted to work for the betterment of the society, said Dr. Sachidanand Joshi, the Member Secretary, Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts (IGNCA). Media was earlier called as a watch-dog, then we started calling it barking dog and now we can call it as a biting dog, commented Joshi while inaugurating two days National Conference on Freedom of Press and Media Self Regulation held at the National Institute of Social Communications, Research and Training (NISCORT), Vaishali, NCR Delhi, on 29 and 30 March, 2019.

In the current scenario where the credibility and journalistic thrust of Indian Media is questioned by people from different walks of life, the conference provided a platform to study, critique and propose ways and means to revitalize the role of media to be a catalyst of change in society. The conference was held in association with Eureka publications, Pvt.Ltd, Pune.

The two day conference included presentation of twelve research papers by media professionals, and academicians across the country, key note addresses related to the main theme, a workshop on “devise mechanism for alternate methods of content evaluation” and a panel discussion on the “impact of TRP and media  self regulations in India” by eminent panelists.

Dr. K.G. Suresh, the director general of Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC), New Delhi, presided over the valedictory function of the conference, which awarded certificates and mementos to the paper presenters, panelists and participants.   

While addressing the gathering Suresh was convinced in saying, that Indian media is engulfed with the problem of reporters not going to the grass roots where stories happen. Many media houses today operate from news rooms to cut the expenditure on productions. This reduces the scope and relevance of real journalism. Political parties should not own media houses, as there is a risk of distorting news based on their ideologies, preferences and choices. These affect the freedom of press in India, said Suresh.

The conference also conferred life time achievement awards to Dr. Sachidanand Joshi and KG Suresh for their outstanding contributions in the field of mass communication and journalism in India. Dr. Jose Murickan, the director of NISCORT along with Mr. Abhishek Shukla, the Managing Director & Chief Editor- Eureka Publications gave away the awards. “Though I receive different awards every year, NISCORT award is something special and I will ever cherish it” said Dr. Suresh after receiving the award.

NISCORT is the media college of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), situated in NCR-Delhi, and offers BA, MA and diploma courses in media and communications.