ITANAGAR, 17 Nov: The state’s press fraternity celebrated the National Press Day (NPD) with a programme organised by the Arunachal Press Club (APC), in collaboration with the information & public relations directorate, at the APC office here on 16 November.
The celebration was attended by, among others, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, IPR Minister Bamang Felix, and MLAs Laisam Simai and Gabriel D Wangsu.
Expressing gratitude to the media fraternity for their contributions towards the state and the society, Mein assured to provide assistance for infrastructure and extension of the APC building.
“It is the media which constantly bring out the important news from all walks of life and disseminate for the general public and state government for awareness,” he said.
Stating that the media have come a long way in the state, he appealed to the press fraternity to “keep an archival gallery in the APC building, so that the contributions of pioneers (journalists) can be remembered.”
“It was in 1988, when the first newspaper of the state, Echo of Arunachal, began, but today, the existence of media houses has grown up, and thus the responsibility of the journalists has also increased,” said Mein, and advised the journalists to “adhere to the ethics of journalism to shape a better Arunachal with pan-Arunachal ideology.”
Stating that it is the journalists who open the government’s eyes with their critical and analytical reports, he suggested to the journalists to “follow the path paved by pioneers such as late Taro Chatung and late V Ravindran, who helped in nurturing journalism in the state.”
“The state government led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu has always been concerned about the welfare of the media fraternity, and has assured to implement the journalist pension scheme and an advertisement policy for newspapers and electronic media houses,” Mein added.
Felix in his address advocated “free and unbiased reporting and dissemination of accurate information.”
“Freedom of press begins with the responsibilities; thus the onus is with you to report on truth and facts, instead of instigated and malicious reporting,” he added.
Responding to a memorandum submitted by the Arunachal Electronic & Digital Media Association (AEDMA), he requested the DCM to “look into the matter of allocation of a separate advertisement fund for AEDMA, so that it can be addressed by the end of December.”
Simai advised the journalists to “ensure inclusive information towards the cooperative society with clear purpose and responsibility.”
Senior journalist Pradeep Kumar Behera (chief editor of the Arunachal Observer) was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution towards the growth of the press in the state. This was followed by presentation of the award to the winner of Late Taro Chatung and V Ravindran Excellence in Journalism Award.
In the category of investigative, politics & governance and human interest journalism, Sangge Droma of Arunachal Today, Nanman Jugli of Arunachal Today and Topi Ete of Newsfy were awarded.
Since there were only two submissions from the print media for the V Ravindran Award in the category of investigative and human interest journalism, the award was cancelled on the advice of the jury members.
