By Our Correspondent
Guwahati, March 31,
Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA), while expressing concern over a recent court order sentencing a city based scribe for the inappropriate media coverage, made nearly a decade back, urges the media fraternity to pursue quality journalism with authentic facts.
The scribe’s body, in a statement issued today, pointed out that over enthusiasm as well as unwanted activism would only spoil the medium, which is facing tremendous challenges from the alternate/social media around the world. The mainstream media should be more cautious now as
it starts losing public supports, it added.
Notably, Bikash Sarma, former editor of a city based English daily, was convicted by the Kamrup district court following a defamation case filed in 2010 by Himanta Biswa Sarma, then a Congress minister in Tarun Gogoi’s cabinet and presently the State finance minister of BJP led government in Dispur.
The court imposed a fine of rupees 5,000 and simple imprisonment for one month to Bikash Sarma, as his newspaper quoted Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity leader Akhil Gogoi as making a statement that RH Khan, an accused scam star, gifted a car to the minister. But during the trial, Gogoi denied making any such statement, even though similar content was aired by few news channels too.
“Unauthenticated quotes or betrayal of sources may put the scribes in troubles and it should be our moral responsibility to crosscheck the facts before reporting. We must understand that more people may want to use media space for selfish interests, but it should be our priority to proceed with the wisdom only,” concluded the JFA statement.
