Mangalore: Exaggeration of News Needed at Times to Elicit Truth - Arvind Navada

Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (GA)

Mangalore, Jul 8: Media houses should interact with colleges and universities, since the next generation manpower for media comes from there" said Arvind Navada, Mysore Bureau chief, Vijaya Karnataka. 

Speaking on the occasion of the 'Press Day' organized by the Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists' Association, at Press Club in Mangalore on Tuesday, July 8, Aravind Navda revealed that most of the media students are not aware of the technology that media houses use and what they expect from them. Therefore, media organizations should keep in touch with educational institutions teaching media and journalism, so that they 'train' students accordingly. 

Denying allegations that young journalists lack research based journalistic abilities, Navada said that the young breed of journalists is doing a good job amidst pressure and competition.

He remarked that journalists are more stereotypical in their approach to a news story. He advised that they should rather look at stories from all possible angles, thereby widening their intellect. 

Navada asserted that media today is an 'industry' and to survive amidst competition, exaggeration of news is common. He told that there is nothing wrong in sensible exaggeration of news. Citing the Padmapriya case, he revealed that because of additional details and exaggeration that media carried in their reports, people came to know about many hidden truths.   

Manohar Prasad, senior reporter, Udayavani, recalled the good old days when quick reporting of news was a daunting task owing to the lack of technology that is available today. Voicing his concern over usage of language in news reports, specially those in regional languages, he stressed on the importance of using the right pronunciations and choice of words. He said that specific details should be given to the readers in news reports. 

Underlining the significance of print media, Manohar said that print media provide detailed reports to people compared to television reports, and hence are here to stay. He redefined the term 'news', stating that news does not mean 'North, East, West, and South’ as it has traditionally been known. He said that it is rather the plural of the word 'new', all the new things that happen around us. 

Harsha, President of the Association and senior reporter, Indian Express, was also present on the occasion.