No doubt about relevance of print media: Dr Ranjan
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, February 24 2023:
Even though there is increased access to internet and new age media, the traditional print media will always stay relevant in the society, said information and publicity minister Dr Sapam Ranjan.
Responding to cut motions moved by Congress duo K Ranjit and Okram Surjakumar during discussion on demand for information and public relations in the ongoing state assembly session on Friday, the minister said that survival of print media is a hot topic in the current scenario where access to internet has increased.
However, several studies suggest that the importance of print media will always stay.
The state has its own advertisement policy 2013 and most of the pending advertisement bills for local media houses have been cleared, he said.
The minister also informed that the department shares information on its official Facebook Page, Twitter handle as well as YouTube channel, which has the largest subscriber-base among the official YouTube channels of the state government 's departments.
He further said that the department is organising short term and diploma courses on journalism and mass communication, as well as media workshops regularly.
The most recent course was a six-month integrated mass media study course, which concluded on January 30 this year.
These courses are organised to impart knowledge on the changing scenario of journalism in the world.
Regarding update on government's official reports, Dr Ranjan said that official reports of the government are also updated on the department's website regularly.
The department has already set up Manipur Information Centre in New Delhi and the office is functioning properly, he said.
The minister also told the House that the journalist pension provided by the department has been enhanced from Rs 4000 to Rs 8000 while journalist family pension amount has been raised from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 in October 2022.On the other hand, the minister said, there is the need to regulate news reporting by some self-styled journalists on YouTube and Facebook.
While moving the motion, the opposition members expressed concern over the inability of the government to upgrade IPR into a major department, sluggishness in updating government's official reports and pending advertisement bills.