CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that contribution of media to society cannot be ignored in the present day world, but maintaining credibility is a major challenge confronting it.
He hailed media as an important pillar of democracy and advocated freedom of the press, but said it should frame its own code of conduct to ensure whatever media persons write or telecast is in the interest of the society and the nation.
"The contribution of media to the society cannot be ignored in the present-day world, but maintaining credibility is a major challenge before the media.
"If they are able to maintain credibility, they would certainly be successful in their mission or profession," he said at an event here, according to an official release.
He said that in the pre-Independence days, leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak had taken media as a mission, and not profession, with the aim to get the country freed from the clutches of the Britishers.
To achieve success in the profession, media persons should maintain their credibility, he said.
Today, professionals like advocates, doctors and media persons need to work with missionary zeal and stick to ethics for the betterment of the society, he said.
Media has grown manifold and so has the competition among them, Khattar further said. "The aim of the media should be to work to eliminate social evils, enlighten the people and refrain from giving news not based on facts," he said.
Referring to social media, the chief minister said the world has become a global village and this form of media was emerging as the fastest way of disseminating news.
"But authenticity of the news should be verified before circulating it on the social media," he said, and urged media persons to separate news from views as this could present someone in bad light before the audience.
