Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has exhorted the media to free themselves from the clutches of corporates and the ruling class to highlight the actual issues faced by society.
He was speaking while inaugurating a ceremony held here on Thursday to posthumously present the Swadeshabhimani Kesari Awards of 2018 and 2019 to M.S. Mani, former editor of Kerala Kaumudi, and political cartoonist Yesudasan in honour of their contributions to journalism.
Faulting the media fraternity for its alleged failure to desist from succumbing to corporate capitalism, Mr. Vijayan said the ‘watchdogs’ of the democratic society had reduced themselves to the role of the ‘lapdogs’ of the rulers. Objectivity too had been largely abandoned in the pursuit for commercial success, he said.
Problems overlooked
“The failure of the Indian media, once known for their grit and determination, were pronounced during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when problems of the common populace were overlooked to amplify the narrative of the administration. Similar scenarios had unfolded during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, demonetisation and the controversial farm laws. Many mainstream news outlets refrained from going beyond the claims propagated by the government, while some did not hesitate to project the moves as ones meant for the betterment of society,” he said.
The changing journalistic preferences had resulted in several burning issues such as poverty, communal riots, moral policing, unemployment, price rise and misery during the pandemic-induced lockdown getting sidelined, the Chief Minister added.
Partisan journalism
Mr. Vijayan accused the media of resorting to partisan journalism in the State in order to rake up baseless controversies against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The lack of trust towards institutionalised media had led to the soaring popularity of the social media.
He also gave away the State Media Awards for 2018 and 2019 and the State Photography Awards for 2019. The pandemic had forced the postponement of the award presentation.
Transport Minister Antony Raju presided over the function. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran, Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar, Kerala Media Academy chairman R.S. Babu, Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) State general secretary E.S. Subash and Information and Public Relations Department Secretary K.R. Jyothilal and director S. Harikishore also participated in the function.
