False news spreading faster than speed of technology says VP Naidu at Udupi event

Udupi: Increase in speed of technological progress has also led an increase in the spread of false news, said Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.

He was speaking virtually at the sixth MV Kamath Endowment Lecture organised at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) near here.

The news industry must return to value-based professionalism and impose self-regulation to restore its sanctity, the vice president said.

“Freedom of the press, censorship, reporting methods, social responsibility, the decline of values, morality, pure journalism, false news, reporting for profit, and the Internet are the challenges facing the news industry. Pure journalism too sometimes presents misleading information, with good catchy titles. Recently the news of the suicide of a movie star was glorified. These are all strategies to increase readership, I hope that such practices are eliminated soon,” Naidu added.

“News organisations must draw a line between news and views. Dr MV Kamath had done it well. He was respected both at home and abroad because of his ethics and lifestyle,” Naidu said.

“Social media companies are racking up revenues from traditional media such as newspapers. We should also enact a law as done by other countries that allows print media a share in social media’s revenue,” Venkaiah Naidu opined.

“Nature and culture, value and morality must be nurtured. You have to do regular yoga for physical fitness. We should renounce junk-instant foods and accept good food” Naidu advised.

Even in this time of the Internet, millions of people continue to read the newspaper with coffee in the morning. I also read newspapers in the morning, but without coffee,” Naidu joked.

MAHE Vice-Chancellor Dr HS Ballal also spoke at the event. Manipal Institute of Communications Director Dr Padmarani delivered the welcome address, Lecturer Shruti Shetty conducted the program and Anupa Lewis delivered the valedictory address.