Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (EC/HB)
Udupi, May 4: Stepping into another milestone, Daijiworld on Tuesday May 3 inaugurated its brand new Udupi franchise office, under Kishoo Enterprises, at Mandavi Trade Centre, Kadiyali here. The company's earlier office in Udupi was located at Mythri Complex.
On the same occasion, Daijiworld Television studio, located in the same premises, was also launched.
Bishop of Ballary diocese Dr Henry D'Souza inaugurated the new office while Sri Sugunendrateertha Swamiji of Puttige Math along with state advisory council member of Jamaat-e-Islam Akbar Ali inaugurated the business space, and Udupi district superintendent of police Annamalai K launched the studio, in the presence of Udupi CREDAI president Jerry Vincent Dias and owner of Mandavi Trade Centre, Daijiworld founder Walter Nandalike, CEO of Kishoo Enterprises Kishore Gonsalves (Kishoo Barkur) and Daijiworld Udupi manager (operations) Kevin Rodrigues.
Sri Sugunendrateeertha Swamiji in his address lauded Daijiworld and said, "By opening its new office here, Daijiworld has made Udupi shine even more. The name 'Udupi' comes from the word 'Udupa' which means the lord of the stars, that is the moon. Like the moon, Udupi being a sacred place gives light to the entire world. With Udupi as its base, now Dajiworld is spreading Udupi's name across the world.
"May Daijiworld light up the world and inspire everyone. It has a huge role to play in society. The media guides and moulds the world today and shows the way to the people. In today's world media is like a guru. Even a guru needs the media to convey his message. Media plays an important role and it has a lot of responsibility. If media publishes/telecasts news with discretion, it can guide the society in the right path. In this regard, the responsibility of electronic media is even greater, as people believe what they see and hear. Today good or evil can be created by the media - if the media shows more of violence, people tend to emulate and become violent. Hence media should exercise discretion and be like a guru that leads the world in the right path, and thereby strive to spread peace and harmony," he opined.
He also appreciated Daijiworld for having representatives from all major communities as guests for the programme and said that it reflects Daijiworld's policy of unbiased reportage. "Daijiworld is doing excellent work by being impartial in its news coverage. It has brought pride to Udupi and inspired many. The reason for disharmony in today's society is that there is not much interaction between people of different communities. Misunderstandings can be cleared if there is better interaction, and when media is able to bridge this gap, it will lead to peace. Daijiworld has done this by bringing people of all communities together on its platform, and I wish that it continues to do so. May Daijiworld grow in a huge way all over the world," he said.
Bishop Dr Henry D'Souza said, "I am very happy and honourd to be here. I congratualte Walter Nandalike, Kishoo Barkur and their entire team. This morning I met someone who said he reads daijiworld for obituaries, I replied that I read daijiworld to see what the living are doing.
"From past 15 years Daijiworld has rendered excellent service and gained much recognition everywhere through its coverage of major incidents like the Paryaya, church attacks of 2008 and plane crash at Mangaluru airport. I have seen people from Mangaluru and Udupi spread across the world come together on daijiworld. It plays a special role in connecting Mangaluru and Udupi to the world.
"The media's role is to educate, motivate and entertain people, but more importantly, it should uphold the Constitution and see that no one is suppressed. Media plays a major role in promoting harmony and co-existence in society. It should bring to light atrocities, break barriers between people and strive to end communalism. I feel proud and happy to say that Daijiworld is doing this. But this is the responsibility of not just the media but of everyone. It is our duty to live together in harmony," the bishop said.
He also recalled his long association with Kishoo Barkur and lauded him for his hard work.
"May Daijiworld continue its work and I hope that in the next 15 years, it starts offices in Delhi, Beijing, New York and Rome. May you prosper and may others also prosper because of you," he added.
SP Annamalai said, "I have always called police and the press as 'comrades'. When anything happens, the police and press go to the spot at the same time, so they act as 'comrades'. Police has a responsibility to bring the situation under control and see that action is taken immediately. The press has a right to support as well as correct the police. At the same time, media should use discretion while reporting and not blow things out of proportion.
"In this age of social media, everyone thinks they are reporters, but the media's role is to report only the truth. Legislature, Executive and Judiciary are the three pillars of democracy, but when the Constitution was formed, the press was not mentioned at all, expect indirectly under Article 19A on freedom of speech. In 1961, the Press Registration Act came into bring, but nobody bothered about press freedom. However, in 1975, during the time of Emergency when press freedom was curbed, some presspersons took a stand and started printing blank pages to send out a clear signal that they would not allow the government to dictate what they must print. It is then that government and people realized the true power of the press, that it has the power to create opinons, reform and spark or end revolutons. In 1990s, the media became powerful and now it has become the first pillar of democracy. The press plays a very important role in society, and as a police officer, it is my responsibility to see that the press can work freely," he said.
He also said that he reads daijiworld everyday and appreciated the website for publishing even negative comments by readers about him. "This shows daijiworld is unbiased in publishing readers' comments. It gives me a sense of what people think of the police and helps us improve," he said, adding, "It is not easy to run a media. Surviving and growing for 15 years in the media field is a phenomenal achievement. Now, with this office, Daijiworld can go deeper into reporting from Udupi. I am very happy to be part of a media event. If I had not become a police officer, I would have probably been a journalist."
Akbar Ali in his address, while congratulating Daijiworld, stressed on the role played by the media and said, "Media is a powerful tool, it is so powerful that it can bring to power or take down a government. The main role of the media is to convey the grievances and needs of people to the government, and take the government schemes to the people while explaining their merits and demerits. Media should educate, inform, motivate and inspire people. Media has lot of responsibility too. It is a noble profession that has a lot of value. We think media is very independent that it is not bound to anyone - but a recent world report stated that India is ranked 147th in press freedom. The reason for this is government trying to control the media and influence of the corporate world.
"Today everything gets circulated instantly through WhatsApp even before it becomes news. The media's role is not just to transmit news but to bring out the truth before the people. When there is any assault case, debates rage depending on the name of the victim. Journalists should do their duty irrespective of the caste of the person involved, and should view at it only from humanity perspective. If news is healthy, then society will also be healthy. People believe media, even religious leaders never miss reading news. If reports are truthful even the poor will get justice. Reporters should uphold humanity and strive to spread peace. If religious leaders and the media get together to reform the society, they can be more powerful than politicians.
"May god bless Daijiworld with more strength to serve the society and grow to greater heights and take this society forward," he added.
Jerry Vincent Dias stressed on the importance of commercial support to media in today's world and said, "Today business is essential to media. About 15 years ago, when I went to Dubai, I saw that people were already hooked on to daijiworld. It was then that I decided to advertise on daijiworld. Media is necessary for marketing and reaching out to the people. Only then can we survive in business.
"Daijiworld is not limited to any community. Businessmen of Mangaluru, Udupi and NRIs find advertising on daijiworld beneficial. People invest only if the media is good. I wish that Daijiworld spreads its wings across India and the world," he added.
Daijiworld founder Walter Nandalike welcomed the guests and the gathering, while narrating the journey Daijiworld has walked so far in Udupi under the leadership of Kishoo Barkur.
CA Ganesh V Kanchan and Jerry Vincent Dias were felicitated by bishop Dr Henry D'Souza for their support to Daijiworld.
Kishoo Barkur proposed the vote of thanks.
Alwyn Danthy compered the event, keeping the audience engaged with his wit and humour.
Earlier in the day, bishop of Udupi diocese Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo blessed the premises. "Media is a powerful tool that can bring change in the society. But the change should always be a positive one that uplifts truth and justice in the society. On this occasion, I congratulate Kishore Gonsalves and his team as they bear the fruits of their committment to truth," he said.
The bishop was presented with a memento as a token of gratitude.