GUWAHATI, Feb 16 � The two-day national seminar on �Rights and Responsibilities of Journalists� organized by the Journalists� Association of Assam (JAA) got under way at the Sankaradeva Kalakshetra today with about a hundred journalists from across the state participating.
Inaugurating the seminar, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi appealed to the press fraternity to uphold the ethical and moral standards of journalism in spite of all the odds faced by them, as an impartial and responsible media was critical to a healthy growth of society.
Referring to the Journalists� Protection Act, the Chief Minister assured the media fraternity that the State Government would do its best for ensuring safety and security of the journalists of the state.
Speaking on the occasion, eminent journalist Dr Nanda Kishore Tirkha said that the increasing dominance of the corporate sector in the media was causing serious professional hazards to the scribes of the country.
Veteran journalist Dr Rajendra Prabhu said that the paid news syndrome was eroding the media�s credibility and hence must be abolished for the growth of healthy journalism.
Pragyananda Choudhury, Member, Press Council of India (PCI) and Prasanna Mahanti, secretary general of the National Journalists� Union of India (NJUI), among others, also addressed the session.
Veteran journalist Jadu Kakati was felicitated on the occasion, while the Jatindranath Bargohain Award was conferred on poet and critic Nalinidhar Bhattacharya.
In the second session, a seminar on the �Role of journalism, press freedom, and journalists rights and responsibilities� was held which was chaired by veteran journalist DN Chakravartty, president of JAA.
