Today ’s newspapers lack vision, says M V Kamath

“Newspapers of today lack vision. They prefer to entertain readers, have developed a tendency to give less information and they hardly educate,” veteran journalist and Prasar Bharathi chairperson M V Kamath said on Saturday.

Delivering a talk on challenges in journalism at the ‘Mangalore Today’ conclave held at Dr T M A Pai International Convention Centre to mark the decennial year of ‘Mangalore Today’ English monthly, Kamath stressed on the need for newspapers to have a vision. Besides providing entertainment, they should also inform and educate the public.

Earlier Kamath was felicitated by former Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde for his distinguished career in journalism. Justice Hegde delivering a talk on ‘Law and common man’ said society could not work without law.

Describing rumours of the Indian judicial system dying a slow death as without any substance, he said there was no dearth of law but only dearth of infrastructure.

Emphasising that judiciary was doing its best to dispose of the maximum number of cases possible; he said there was no proportionate increase in the infrastructure facilities.

The allocation for judiciary was just 0.0078 per cent, he said. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) president Dr Ramdas M Pai who spoke on education stressed the need to introduce vocational courses from secondary year onwards.

“Students failed miserably in life because most educational courses are not job-oriented,” Pai observed.

Dr Pai also said the Sheikh in Dubai had invited MAHE to open a medical college in Dubai and the institution was considering the proposal seriously.

NITTE Education Trust president N Vinaya Hegde delivering a talk on ‘Infrastructure and Urban Development’ wondered how the civic authorities allowed 24 buildings on a particular road in the city that was just 12 feet wide.

“Why did a single intellectual citizen of Mangalore not file a public interest litigation,” he asked adding “Should I call people spineless or cowardly?”

Without mincing words Hegde said the builder himself should be made responsible for any building violations.

He also warned that Mangalore was on its way to becoming another Chennai or Bangalore if the number of slums continued to increase.

Laser Soft Infosystems Chairman Suresh Kamath delivered a talk on ‘Scope of IT’ while MRPL-ONGC former vice-president V K Thalithaya spoke on Industry and Environment.

Karnataka Bank Chairman Ananthakrishna presided and spoke on banking. Mangalore Today chief editor V U George welcomed the gathering.

The 10th anniversary issue was released by Dr B R Shetty.