Stressing on the need to encourage developing countries to foster a journalistic culture that resists imperialist interests, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the rise of right-wing politics and their financial interests is posing a severe threat to humanity and freedom. He was speaking after virtually inaugurating ‘Cutting South’, a media festival organised by the Kerala Media Academy (KMA) in association with The News Minute, Newslaundry, Confluence Media, and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ). The two-day festival was held at the Ernakulam Town Hall on March 25 and 26.
“The world media narrative is controlled by the interests of certain news agencies based in imperialist nations. Some of these agencies even have sister concerns that manufacture weapons. They systematically build conflict between two countries through news, and then proceed to provide arms to both sides,” Pinarayi alleged, adding that many developing countries were falling victim to such nefarious interests.
Such an onslaught has led to the neglect of the proud history of language and media in Asian, African, and Latin American countries, instead paving the way for the emergence of a media culture focused on the concept of the ‘Global North’, he said. “In this context, the concept of a ‘Global South’ has great political relevance,” he added.
The Chief Minister further stated that Kerala was delighted to host a Global South media festival in the backdrop of the 175th anniversary of Malayalam journalism, emphasising on Kerala’s strong legacy of investigative journalism. He said that while addressing the numerous challenges faced by journalism today, it was also important for the media to look at themselves critically.
Kerala Minister for Industries and Law P Rajeev and Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan also spoke at the event. Referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent disqualification as a Member of Parliament, Rajeev alleged that the attempts to enfeeble the democracy of India was gathering steam. “The past few years have witnessed India gradually transform from a secular nation to a religious one, and from a democracy to an autocracy,” he said, further criticising mainstream Malayalam media for not bringing focus to the assault on media freedom in the country.
Satheesan, meanwhile, cited Kerala’s alleged restrictions on journalists while covering Assembly proceedings as an example of the state’s attempt to curb media freedom, adding that the surveillance in the state was reminiscent of George Orwell’s classic 1984.
On the occasion, Czech Republic journalist Pavla Holcová was awarded the KMA Mediaperson of the Year 2022 award. Raghu Rai was presented with the Global Photography Award, while Josy Joseph was bestowed the Global Media Book Award for The Silent Coup: A History of India’s Deep State. KMA chairperson RS Babu presided over the event, in which The News Minute’s editor-in-chief Dhanya Rajendran and KUWJ general secretary R Kiran Babu were also functionaries.