ITANAGAR, 15 Nov: Governor BD Mishra and Chief Minister Pema Khandu have in separate messages conveyed greetings to the media fraternity of the country and the state on the occasion of National Press Day.
The day is celebrated on 16 November every year to commemorate the constitution of the Press Council of India in 1966.
“This celebration of free press and freedom of expression will instil new zeal and passion for supporting the unity and integrity of the nation amongst the members of the fourth estate,” the governor said in a message.
Describing media as the nerve of the society, Mishra said it plays a vital role in dissemination of information to the masses, based on facts and truth.
“Being proactive promoters and partners in developmental programmes, the media has to play its role for enabling a just and corruption-free administration and well informed citizenry,” he said.
The governor said that, during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, the members of the media fraternity were at the forefront with the Covid warriors. “With their energetic contribution, we as ‘Team Arunachal’ have been able to contain the spread of this dreaded virus,” he said, and expressed confidence that the media fraternity would “continue its excellent work for social uplift, particularly helping the weak, poor, downtrodden, women and children and the preservation of the environment for a better and progressive tomorrow for all.”
“On this special occasion, I call upon all my fellow citizens to uphold the freedom of the press,” the governor said.
The chief minister in his message reiterated his government’s commitment to ensure the welfare of the small but vibrant and growing media fraternity of the state.
“As a committed friend of the press, I am happy that, despite various hurdles, the media fraternity in Arunachal Pradesh has never ceased to grow. In fact, it has grown in leaps and bounds despite the fact that resources to run media houses have remained stagnant over the years.
“The least I can do is appreciate the zeal of our journalist friends to serve the people as the fourth pillar of democracy,” Khandu said, adding that “democracy cannot survive in its truest sense without a vibrant, fearless and aware media fraternity.”
Commending the theme of this year’s workshop, ‘New media – Journalism in the present era: Challenges, lessons and future’, the CM expressed hope that the state’s journalists, both old and new, would “retrospect, introspect and evolve with a positive way forward without flouting the basic fundamentals of the profession.” (Raj Bhavan & CM’s PR Cell)
