‎Srinagar, Sept 30 (KNS): Education and Health Minister Sakina Itoo on Wednesday said the government was working on a new media policy and assured the Legislative Assembly that fresh guidelines for journalists would be framed within four months.
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‎Itoo said a committee had already been constituted to frame the policy and had sought four months to complete the exercise. She said the committee was working in coordination with the Information Department.
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‎“We are incomplete without media,” Itoo said, stressing the role of the press in the functioning of the government and democratic institutions.
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‎She, however, said politicians could not hold the media solely responsible for the problems arising from social media.
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‎“We too are responsible for the social media mess. We cannot blame the media for everything. We too have set social media reel makers,” she said.
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‎Itoo also referred to what she described as an instance involving an MLA, saying the legislator was allegedly running a social media page in the name of a domestic worker.
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‎She said some of the content being uploaded on the page was “quite uncomfortable”, while making the point that public representatives also needed to examine their own conduct on social media.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
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‎Drawing a comparison with Doordarshan, Itoo recalled a time when people would wait to see their news being broadcast on the public broadcaster.
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‎“Everyone used to be excited to get our news run,” she said, referring to the earlier importance attached to television news.
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‎She said the situation had changed with the growth of social media and expressed concern over what she described as the misuse of the dignity of public representatives.
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‎Itoo said politicians themselves had a significant responsibility in addressing the current social media environment.
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‎“We politicians are more responsible for the mess,” she said.
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‎The minister also appealed to Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to consider restricting the use of mobile phones inside the Assembly.
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‎She said allowing phones inside the House could contribute to the recording and circulation of proceedings and content on social media.
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‎Itoo assured the House that the new media policy would be framed within the four-month period sought by the committee and would provide fresh guidelines for journalists and the media sector.(KNS)