Nagaland media boycott State Govt news including Hornbill fest
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network
Dimapur, December 01 2014 :
Media houses in Nagaland have started to boycott the news of the state government including the ongoing Hornbill Festival from today.
The Nagaland government's failure to materialize their demand by November 30 has prompted the media houses to go ahead with the agitation.
The editors of newspapers in Nagaland have been pressing the state government to clear all the pending advertisement bills by November 30.These editors had submitted a memorandum to the chief minister on October 30 giving the state government a month's time to clear all the pending advertisement bills.
The editors also took a decision to boycott all government related news from December 1 .
Earlier, the Nagaland Press Association (NPA) said it is dismayed by the indifferent and lukewarm response of the various government departments which have yet to act on the directives issued to them for clearing all pending payments for advertisements that have been duly acknowledged and published by the media houses in good faith.
"Despite many difficulties faced, the newspapers in Nagaland have never shied away from fulfilling its duty i.e., serving public interest and giving support to the government machinery in its endeavour to fulfill its own responsibilities," the NPA said in a press statement jointly issued by its vice president H Chisi and general secretary Along Longkumer.
The statement also said non-payment of bills for services rendered by the newspapers in particular and the failure to acknowledge its needs in general goes to show the utter disrespect that our government has towards the media in Nagaland.
The NPA then expresses its solidarity with the stand taken by the editors of newspapers who have had to resort to issuing memorandums and public reminders to the government on non-fulfillment of its demands.
"The State government should look into the seriousness of the issue raised by the editors of newspapers in Nagaland and avoid the embarrassment of a media blackout of the Prime Minister�s upcoming visit and the Hornbill Festival from Dec 1-10," it added.