Vinit Wahi /
Abu Road, Rajasthan– The media is the only institution that can arrest the moral decline being witnessed in society and show it a new direction, veteran journalists and experts said during the opening of a five-day media conference here.
In order to play this role effectively, media persons need to change their perspective and work to promote values in order to help develop an ideal society, instead of just depicting the society’s ills, the speakers told some 2,000 media professionals from India and Nepal taking part in the event at the Shantivan complex of the Brahma Kumaris.
The conference, with the theme ‘Value-based media for healthy and happy society’, was organized by the Media Wing of Rajyoga Education and Research Foundation and Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya.
Justice V. Eshwaraiah, Chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes, observed that the media was not untouched by the overall decline in moral values, but it was the duty of media outlets to show society the right direction.
Noting that the media could not be regulated from outside, Justice Eshwaraiah said if the media was to play the role of a watchdog it was incumbent on it to walk the talk of media ethics and adopt professional honesty.
Dr Shakeel-Uz-Zaman Ansari, Member, National Commission for Backward Classes, pointed out that one reason the media’s influence was negative was that instead of conveying news it was engaged mostly in purveying views.
Speaking on the occasion, B K Nirwair, Secretary General of the Brahma Kumaris and Chief Editor of the World Renewal magazine, said what journalists write will not have the desired effect if journalists did not practice what they preached.