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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

MALAYALA MANORAMA’S 18TH EDITION (ALAPPUZHA) INAUGURATED


MALAYALA MANORAMA’S 18TH EDITION
 (ALAPPUZHA) INAUGURATED
  
Defence Minister A.K. Antony Monday inaugurated the 18th edition of Malayala Manorama daily.Speaking on the occasion Antony said presenting facts objectively to the people is the prime task of media and not that of setting agenda. Antony said even in today's highly competitive atmosphere, media should not forget that their prime task was to reach facts and information to people. "The prime task of media is to present facts correctly. They should not insist that agenda setting should get precedence over dissemination of facts," he said.

Alluding to the space given to controversies by media in the state, Antony said for Kerala it was now important to evolve a political consensus on development as the state had not kept pace with the economic strides made by the country as a whole. While economy of several developed countries was struggling to come out of of crisis, India had been able to move forward. But Kerala had not been able to keep the pace of growth the country had gained,he said. It was now essential to evolve a political consensus on the sustained development of the state without being marred by controversies and media had a major role to play in that process, he said. Welcoming Malayala Manorama to his home district, Antony said the present day Alappuzha was just a shadow of what it had been in the past.

Popularly known as the "Venice of the East", Alappuzha was known for its flourishing industry and commerce as well as high socio-political consciousness of people. But over a period,the glory of Alappuzha had faded much. It was, however, heartening that there has been vigorous attempts from all quarters to regain the past glory, he said. Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal said Malayala Manorama had always given a sense of direction for developmental issues of Alappuzha and addressing its socio-economic issues in a right perspective. Malayala Manorama Chief Editor Mammen Mathew welcomed the gathering and Editorial Director Thomas Jacob proposed a vote of thanks.

                                                            Prof. John Kurakar


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