Kozhikode,
7 February 2010
Nearly 60 women journalists from across India and
an equal number from different parts of Kerala met
in Kozhikode from 5 to 7 February 2010 for the eighth
annual conference of the Network of Women in Media,
India (NWMI). This represents the first gathering
in Kerala of such a large number of women working
in a variety of media in multiple languages.
The NWMI is a national network that aims to provide
a forum for women media professionals to share information
and resources, exchange ideas, promote media awareness
and ethics, and work for gender equality and justice
within the media and society.
The main theme of the three-day
meeting was the media and democracy. As professional
women in the media, we strongly believe that the
present crisis in the media, of which “paid
news” is a grim symptom, requires urgent,
serious intervention by media professionals working
together to safeguard the principles and values
of journalism and the credibility of the news
media, which are both critical factors for the
effective functioning of our democracy.
A panel discussion on this issue
was one of the main public events organised by
NWMI in which eminent journalists Mrinal Pande,
the new Chairperson of Prasar Bharati and T.N.
Ninan, Chairman and Editorial Director of Business
Standard, as well as editors of several leading
Malayalam newspapers, participated. They spoke
about the phenomenon of “paid news”
within the context of the ongoing deterioration
of ethics and standards in the media, suggested
several steps that could be taken to curb this
trend including naming and shaming those publications
that resort to such practices and consumer resistance
to media that is selling its viewers and readers
short.
Well-known social and political
activist Aruna Roy, who inaugurated the conference,
also spoke about the need for a more constructive
intervention from the Fourth Estate on several
key issues confronting the country today including
attacks on tribals and minorities. She said that
society looked upon journalists as “empowering
agents” in a democracy and that any campaign
for human rights was incomplete without the participation
and support of the media.
During the conference, issues
such as the Kerala media’s coverage of terrorism
as well as the practice and politics of veiling
and unveiling, especially within minority communities,
were also discussed. Likewise the apparent disinterest
of much of the mainstream media in issues related
to local self-government raised questions about
the media’s role in promoting democracy.
Another major learning emerged
from several presentations on the current state
of what is commonly known as “the Kerala model
of development,” issues concerning women’s
health in Kerala, myths and realities about women’s
status in Kerala, what decentralised local governance
and anti-poverty schemes have meant for women in
the state. These insights emphasised the complexity
of any society and the need for journalists to go
beyond demographic data and other statistical indicators.
Back to Interesting news
|
