Governor Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, Sh. VP Singh Badnore has said that media should develop self regulatory mechanism to place true picture of the issues concerning people before the government. He said role of the media is very important in raising issues concerning to common people and it can also help in addressing these issues. The Governor was addressing the Regional Editors’ Conference here today. Citing some incidents of paid news, Shri Badnore said that media should come forward to check this menace. He invited public suggestions to improve the infrastructure and the public convenience in Chandigarh and added that media should play its role in getting these suggestions to the administration.Welcoming the participants, Director General of PIB, Shri A.P.Frank Naronha said the Government considers the media as an important stakeholder in its agenda of development. “The media has an onerous responsibility as both a facilitator and a watchdog to ensure that the fruits of development are distributed to the deserving,” he said. He added the media, especially regional media, can play an important role in this venture.During the inaugural session, Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh and Member Parliament, Smt. Kirron Kher were also present.
Giving the background of the conference, Shri Naronha said the Regional Editors Conference has been organized with an objective to provide an opportunity to the editors of the regional press to interact directly with the ministers on the crucial issues concerning their respective ministries. While the participants will get to know the relevant context and deeper background behind a particular initiative, programmes and policies, it will also help the policy makers in getting the feedback from the media which could be useful for further improvement, he said.Highlighting the role of PIB in information dissemination and communication, Shri Naronha said besides traditional modes of communication PIB is also reaching to the regional press and public through social media in big way to make them aware of government policies and programmes. In two-day conference six central Ministries viz, Home affairs, Women & Child Development, Road Transport & Highways, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Development for North East region are participating. Union Ministers of the concerned Ministries would preside over the respective sessions and address the Editors about the policy issues and initiatives pertaining to the Ministry. In the Conference, editors from the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and Chandigarh are taking part..