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Media Persons deserve support: Ghatowar

By Nava Thakuria |

The DoNER minister P. S. Ghatowar, while appreciating the role of media in India, criticized a section of newspaper and news channels for their exaggerated news with an imposed views and also unwanted role of journalists as ‘fortune-teller’ in the time of elections. The soft-spoken politician from eastern Assam also highlighted about the limitation of resources faced by the working journalists in the State.


“The journalists and other media employees deserve necessary support and care from the managements and the society in general. We should extend our supports to the media persons such that they can reciprocate it for the growth of our nation,” Ghatowar, also a former State labour minister added.


Inaugurating the upper Assam office of News Network, a newly launched news channel from Guwahati, on January 17 at Padmini Resorts at Tinsukia, the central minister also urged the media persons to dedicate their time and space for the benefit of common people and also the conservation of nature.


Welcoming the gathering, Rana Zaman, CMD of News Network, committed for all possible help and cooperation for a news channel that is needed to ‘maintain the credibility and authenticity of any news and other programmes telecast’ through it. This is a mission to be accomplished by News Network and hopefully it would never be deprived of the required supports from the civil society groups and the subscribers in this endeavor, Zaman added.


Two distinguished personalities based in the locality namely Purnananda Barua, a senior journalist and Jainal Abedin, an acclaimed conservationist were felicitated on the occasion. Another senior journalist Himen Bhattacharjee, who is the president of Tinsukia District Journalist Association, argued that many media house-owners were showing reluctance in selecting the honest and dedicated representatives from different parts of Assam. He asserted that without the contribution from committed media correspondents no media house can support the cause of authentic journalism.


Two MLAs namely R. P. Singh (from Tinsukia) and Raju Sahu (from Chabua) also addressed the audience, where the popular singer Lohit Gogoi presented a song dedicated to the success of News Network. The editor of the news channel, Nava Thakuria assured that News Network would try its best to provide space for broader discussion relating to various burning issues of the society. The meeting was concluded with the vote of thanks offered by Sanjiv Prakash, the news editor of News Network.

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Senior journalist based in Guwahati.
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