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Mandya Aug 17: At a time when we are celebrating the 79th Independence Day with enthusiasm, the Chief Minister’s Media Advisor K.V. Prabhakar called on journalists to find out the consequences of our country’s transition from political leadership to economic leadership. 

He spoke after inaugurating the Press Day program organized by the Mandya District Journalists’ Association and congratulated the awardees. 

Dust has to be removed on the models set by our Indian journalism, which successfully led the country’s freedom struggle.  He said that we need to give life to our models again. 

Our journalism at the threshold of the freedom struggle was financially poor. But there was wealth in the political and social will to build the country. But today, journalism has come up from financial poverty and has fallen into poverty of social will. He explained that the main reason for this is that the country is in the hands of political leadership and is in the hands of economic leadership. 

Earlier, all economic forces were controlled by governments. Thus, it was possible to implement nationalization of banks, land reforms, free education, workers’ rights and welfare state programs. 

But today, since economic forces are controlling the governments and leading the country, the entire social system has turned upside down and the citizens have become mere consumers. Even if we withdraw our own 500 rupees from our own bank account, there is a fee for it. If poor Boregowda gets up in the morning and steps out of the house, he has to cross taxes, fees, GST, fines, interest, and compound interest to return home.  There is a situation where even beedi, matchboxes and bananas have to be brought home after paying GST. He said that the fact that journalism, which should ask the question of why this happened, has become forgetful is a sign of danger.

As the first step in wresting the country from the hands of political leadership to economic leadership, corporate powers took over newspapers and channels. Thus, the media has shown the people what the corporate powers have decided, while the corporate powers have turned journalists into mere stenographers.

Thus, development journalism and investigative journalism, which had their eyes on the people’s food plate and kitchen hardships, have been turned towards the bedroom. The cameras, which had their eyes on the people’s stomach and clothes, have become knotted around the waist below the stomach. This is not the model of Indian journalism. He said that we need to give up the dust that is sitting on our models at the same time that we are celebrating Press Day.

 Whether it is Independence Day or Press Day, we need to revive the values and credibility of both without being limited to celebrations. If journalism does not solve its problems, journalism itself is in danger of becoming a big problem. Therefore, I think that a meaningful Press Day celebration is to give life to our lost models by seriously criticizing ourselves. Let us all work hard for this, he called upon us.

Addressing the children of the award-winning journalists, KVP said that the best place in the world is the mother’s lap. Therefore, children should not only get high marks but also be given the values of life, the human responsibility of taking care of their parents, and love. He called upon them to come out of their mobile addiction and develop human relationships.

 District in-charge Minister Chaluvarayaswamy, Film Academy President Sadhu Kokila, businessman Zafrullah, State President of the Working Journalists’ Association Shivanand Tagadoor, Media Coordinator to the Housing Minister Lakshminarayan, MLA Darshan Puttannaiah and many other dignitaries were present.