BANGALORE, Feb 14 (The Hindu): Terming “paid news” in some newspapers a “menace” affecting journalism and democracy, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president R.V. Deshpande on Saturday urged the Fourth Estate to shun it.
Addressing journalists at the inauguration of the two-day national executive meet of the National Union of Journalists (India) here, the Congress leader urged the managements of newspapers, which sold their news columns, to “introspect”. He urged Prasar Bharati, the Press Council of India and the NUJI to take up this issue and come out with recommendations to curb it . Agreeing that these are the days of brains and brands, he said that the media should follow ethics of the noble profession.
Information Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu was critical of commercialisation of the media.
Dinesh Gundu Rao, MLA, Chanchalapati Dasa, ISKCON vice-president, and P.K. Roy, NUJI president, were present.