‘Media should refrain from defaming individuals’

SHILLONG:  Information and Public Relations Minister AL Hek said that the practice by many of the media house of character assassination is an unhealthy trend.
“The basic role of the media is to report facts. There is no justification for the media to adopt a tactic of character assassination to defame the image of any public leader or individual without any evidence or proof,” Hek said while speaking at the inaugural function of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Mawphor Khasi daily newspaper here on Thursday.
He said that the credibility of such media houses who are trying to indulge in character assassination is also in question.
“We cannot always fool the readers. The readers understand if the news report was reported with a malign intention to defame the image of others,” Hek said.
IPR Minister said that the readers would also applaud any news report with facts and evidence.
He also said that the newspaper cannot disown the news item and article which is published.
Expressing the same concerned, Deputy Chief Minister Rowell Lyngdoh urged upon the media persons that they should not mould their own opinions while writing the news report.
“The job of the reporters is to report facts. But what is happening today, we see even in the news report there are views and opinions especially in the vernacular media,” Lyngdoh  who had himself served as an editor of one of the vernacular paper before joining politics said.
He said that people are free to give their views and opinions in the editorial page.
“The media person cannot use the newspapers to attack or criticized anyone without having the necessary proof and evidence,” Lyngdoh asserted.
Giving a brief history about the newspaper, Mawphor Editor DL Siangshai said that the newspaper was launched in January 26, 1989.
He also informed that the first Editor of the newspaper was Stand Hope Kharsyiemlieh.
Initially, it was published as a weekly, Siangshai said that it become a daily within one year after it was launched.
“The newspaper is the also first Khasi newspaper to be published in colour newsprint,” Siangshai.
Besides Government Chief Adviser DD Lapang, the other who were present on the occasion include UDP working president Paul Lyngdoh, KHNAM working president Adelbert Nongrum, owner of Mawphor, RM Marwein among many others.