Assam: Author Kuladhar Saikia Delves Deep into ‘Changing Nature of Media’

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The press fraternity of Assam celebrated National Press Day today through various programmes and discussions. In Guwahati, the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) centrally observed the day at the PWD Convention and Training Centre, Dispur Last Gate.

Speaking on the occasion as the appointed speaker, former DGP and former AXX (Axam Xahitya Xabha) president Dr. Kuladhar Saikia delved deep into the topic ‘Changing Nature of Press.’

A fiction writer of repute with 30 books to his credit, Dr. Saikia opted not to get across any message directly during his entire speech. He raised a pertinent question: since a section of media persons claims that the media is the mirror of society, should it present anything and everything in their newspaper and other media that happens in society as it is? Through this question and his personal response to it, Dr. Saikia successfully drove home that the media needs to be accountable to their target audience and society. It needs to be judiciously choosy while presenting news, as news has an impact, positive or negative, on the target audience.

On the accuracy of the language, including spelling, that the media presents its news, Dr. Saikia said that since the media also plays a role in teaching students, albeit indirectly, their language should not be littered with errors, including spelling mistakes.

On the development of technology that has made the media faster than ever before, Dr. Saikia is of the opinion that the technology will develop at its pace. It is the media, to be precise, the legacy media like the print media, All India Radio, and television channels that have to keep pace with the digital media and other social media platforms like X and Instagram. The legacy media have to rise to the occasion to face this challenge and remain vibrant in the media world, he said.

On the rat race in the media for breaking news, Dr. Saikia said that this competition, as often as not, lands media persons standing in the witness box in the court. He dropped a broad hint that for the sake of reporting news items faster than others, a media person cannot compromise the reliability of his sources. This makes a media person end up with disseminating misinformation instead of information dissemination. Such practices erode the reliability of the audience on the media house he or she is associated with.

On fake news, Dr. Saikia cited the Mandela effect. Nelson Mandela did not die in the 1980s in a prison—he passed away in 2013, and not in a prison. However, a large section of people in the world believes that Mandela died in the 1980s in a prison. With the Mandela effect, Dr. Saikia drove home that fake news has an ill effect on a large section of the audience who takes everything that appears in the media for granted without giving any cognitive load to their brains.

Highlighting the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI), Dr. Saikia called for a proactive embrace of technological advancements. He encouraged media professionals to adapt by leveraging technology as a resource while ensuring its integration with linguistic and journalistic skills. Citing the example of Assamese being granted classical language status, he highlighted the pivotal role of the press in promoting the language on global platforms. He further stated that for Assamese to achieve global recognition, the press can play a significant role in facilitating its acceptance and outreach.

Earlier, the Director of Information and Public Relations, Manabendra Dev Ray, gave his welcome address. Senior journalists Prashanta Jyoti Baruah and Bhupen Bhattacharya also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Information and Public Relations Minister Pijush Hazarika greeted all journalists and said, “The media has an important role to play in national building by strengthening democracy.” He urged the journalists to work with accountability.

 Also read: Axam Xahitya Xabha is the entity, identity of the State: Kuladhar Saikia

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