Kalam's media mantra for partnering national missions

Thursday, 16 November 2006, 20:30 IST
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New Delhi: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Thursday rolled out an eight-point mantra for the media to enable it effectively partner in national missions that touch the lives of every Indian. Speaking at a function here to mark the 40th anniversary of the Press Council of India, the president also commended the "healthy practice" of The Hindu newspaper in appointing an ombudsman and recommended this be followed by other media outlets. Kalam's mantra comprises: * A media movement to make India a developed nation 2020, * Transformation of India into a corruption-free society before 2015, * Promote an enlightened society where education has a value system and religion is a spiritual force, * Bring honor to womanhood, * Partner in the PURA (Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas) movement, * Celebrate every aspect of the successes of the people, particularly those living in rural areas, * Scan and digitize all old issues of the print media since its establishment and store this in a digital library to preserve our national heritage and make it available for research, and * Evolve a code of conduct for ensuring that all reporting is analyzed, evaluated, and researched prior to publication. The final mantra, Kalam contended, was "essential for peace, prosperity and safety of the nation". In this context, the president commended the "healthy practice being evolved and followed by a newspaper which is published all over the country. "They have appointed a consultant exclusively for maintaining the standard of the newspaper reporting and nurture the name of the paper, thereby ensuring that all the guidelines are adhered to by the reporters. "There is a constant review of the quality of reporting and improvement in the guidelines. This may be followed by the media organizations all over the country to continuously improve the quality and maintain the consistency of news reporting," Kalam contended. Speaking about the need for a pro-active media, Kalam referred to his experience after he addressed the Kerala assembly earlier this year on the state's missions for ensuring prosperity. "The media in Kerala is very alert and dynamic. They took up the mission and extended the discussion to the people and all the political leaders, inviting suggestions from all of them," he pointed out. "Malayala Manoroma (newspaper) ensured that (my speech) reached all the readers and various active development groups. Also, the media organized six workshops, in different places in the state for discussing the ten missions. "The media finally submitted their recommendations to the government for implementation. This proactive step undertaken by the media shows how it can be an effective partner in national development," Kalam said. The fourth estate, according to the president, "definitely has to get transformed into the media of a billion people" to play a "vital role" as a partner of India's economic development. "The combination of economic development and preservation of values system drawn from our civilisational heritage will transform India into a happy, prosperous and safe nation," Kalam maintained.
Source: IANS