PM asks journalists to be fair, accurate

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday described journalists as “conscience keepers” of society and said they could become agents of change if they remained true to their profession.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday described journalists as “conscience keepers” of society and said they could become agents of change if they remained true to their profession.

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Inaugurating the year-long centenary celebrations of Kerala Kaumudi, a leading Malayalam daily, Singh reminded scribes that accuracy and fairness should be their guiding principles.

“It is easy to uphold accuracy. Fairness does not merely imply the absence of bias in reporting, but also bearing in mind that truth often lies somewhere between extreme positions adopted by interested parties. In an increasingly complex world, journalists should also take pains to relentlessly update and educate themselves,” he said.

Chief minister VS Achuthanandan, who offered felicitations, said timely interventions of the media had helped unearth many scams in the country. However, he cautioned the media about the “growing unhealthy practice termed as paid news”.

The celebrations marked the inaugural function of the Rs 300 crore new terminal at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport.

Singh said his government would take steps to create a world-class aviation infrastructure.

“The projected growth of aviation sector has a potential to absorb investment over $120 billion with job creation for lakhs of workers directly and indirectly,” he said.

He also said initiatives would be taken to make airport facilities user-friendly and achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.