Mediapersons being silenced using laws, says Shamseer

Legal provisions are being used to silence mediapersons in the country, Speaker A.N. Shamseer has said. He was here on Monday (November 18) to give away journalism awards instituted by the Calicut Press Club.

Mr. Shamseer said that journalists were being haunted in the name of press censorship and laws related to Information Technology. For the past 10 years, the state had been telling them to surrender or get ready to see their institutions swallowed up by bigger corporates. A large number of mediapersons were facing attacks from various sources. The country, with a strong Constitution that guaranteed freedom of expression and personal liberty, was hanging its head in shame before the world.

Mr. Shamseer said the news media should act like a corrective force and tell the truth without fear or favour. “You can criticise the government, but it should be constructive, not destructive. Certain news channels air ‘breaking news’ without verifying facts. Questions should be posed courteously. Often, prime-time television debates are becoming cross-examination sessions,” he added.

B.L. Arun (Manorama News) was presented with the P. Unnikrishnan memorial award in general reporting (television), and T. Soumya (Mathrubhumi) and Attlee Fernandez (Malayala Manorama) were given away the Mushthaq memorial award for sports reporting and sports photography, respectively.

Published - November 18, 2024 07:09 pm IST