Bhubaneswar, Nov 26: Speaking on ‘Role of Media in Democracy’ here on Friday at the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), the former news editor of national daily The Hindu said that freehand should be given to media so that freedom of press is not stifled. Media should work on several issues and highlight them so that the government takes a pro-active step to resolve the issues at the earliest. Besides media should also highlight the issues faced by common men for the benefit of the mass and their social and economic upliftment.
This prompts the government to take corrective measures in several policies meant for them. Senior journalist and founding editor of ‘The Wire’ Siddharth Varadarajan opined that the media should be kept free from all political interventions while covering news stories for the overall development of the society. Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda pointed out that media should maintain unbiasedness. Prof Lourduraj, Dean, Xavier School of Communications (XCOMM) said democracy is related to media because media operates within a democracy. The objective of such a programme is to bring media professionals, students, and also the researchers so that people can research on ‘Role of Media in Democracy, he noted. The programme was jointly organised by XCOMM and Odisha Television Ltd.
