Main Minister Siddarahaiah was welcomed by the chairman of the Media Academy Karnataka Ayesha Khanum in the presence of the founder of the folk archive of rural India P. Sainath and writer Rahmat Tarikere at the press celebrations in Bengalur. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
“If there are times such that we have to fight to find real messages, does it mean that fake messages are on the rise?” He asked the main Minister Siddarahaiah, an interview on the “Fight for Real News” at the “2025 Day” celebrations organized by the Karnataka Media Academy, the Ministry of Information and Public Relations and the Association of Working Journalists.
He caused a risk of speculation in journalism and said: “Speculative journalism is dangerous for journalism itself and for society. False and speculative journalism should be faced.” He reiterated that the media had to work alone and fearlessly, he said, “The media should not calm anyone, including me. No matter how many lies are called about me on different channels, I do not call anyone.”
During the event for journalists, he also launched a free bus passage scheme for rural journalists and the “Health Sanjeevini” plan.
“Media Priority of Profits”
“The media and journalism are two different entities. Media organizations have become corporate monsters, while journalism is about finding the right facts,” said P. Sinath, a renowned journalist and founder of the Folk Archive of Rural India (Pari), who delivered a key speech to the “Battle of Factual Reports”.
He said, “The presence of conglomerates, which now control the huge lines of media media – almost 30% of Indian media and more than 70 channels, are almost 800 million viewers – made the media into a single large business entity and reduced journalists to stenographs of power”.
He attributed this trend as a key factor in the erosion of facts. “Corporations are trying to homogenize where they have diversity, but brilliantly reflect unevenness in society,” he said. He also added: “journalistic integrity suffers because the truth will not work because of interests.”
Finally, he urged that it was necessary to “break a corporate monopoly and bring the truth to the news”.
Published – 1 July 2025 9:26
