The Press Club of Kabisuryanagar celebrated its seventh annual day on Sunday. A seminar was held on Media and Common Man.
CPI(Ml) spokesperson Bhal Chandra Sadangi said there is a great danger to the freedom of the Press as owners of mines and real estate firms have floated several electronic and print media houses to protect their business interest to make their black money white.
President of Aska Bar Association Ajit Kumar Choudhury in his keynote address, lamented that journalists are poorly-paid and exploited by media houses for which statutory provisions should be brought forward to protect them.
Chief speaker, former Assembly Deputy Speaker Rama Chandra Panda said the colonial mindset of the administration is distancing people from governance. He demanded that statutory provisions be made for participation of journalists in media house management to protect journalistic ethics and promote investigative journalism. He released a book, Chari Dham Parikrama, authored by prolific writer Brundaban Nayak.
Former Kabisuryanagar MlA ladu Kishore Swain insisted on journalists being fair and objective in their reporting. Ganjam DIPRO Biranchi Narayan Pradhan and Kabisuryanagar NAC Vice Chairman Manoranjan Mohapatra also spoke. Press Club president Samarjeet Mohanty welcomed the guests.