Naidu highlights perils of fake news

New Delhi, November 16

By starting their own newspapers, political parties and business groups are promoting their vested interests and compromising the values of journalism, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday. Highlighting the perils of fake news, he said it is time for media bodies to come up with a code of conduct for journalists.

Naidu was speaking at an event organised by the Press Council of India to observe the National Press Day and confer National Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar also attended the event. With business groups and even political parties setting up newspapers and TV channels to further their interests, the core values of journalism are getting eroded, the Vice President said.

He stressed that if a newspaper is run by a political party, it should clearly mention so. Naidu also urged journalists to exercise caution in the time of sensationalism. "Sensationalism has become order of the day, sensational news means senseless news," he said. — PTI