UDUPI: “Bringing societal grievances into the limelight and exposing administrative loopholes is the core duty of journalism. Even amidst the relentless boom and speed of modern social media networks, mainstream media organizations must steadfastly commit themselves to upholding truth and accuracy,” asserted Dr. Shubha H.S., Director of the Manipal Institute of Communication (MIC).

She was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Press Day Celebrations’ organized under the aegis of the Udupi District Working Journalists Association, in active coordination with the Udupi Press Bhavan Committee and the Lombard Memorial (Mission) Hospital, Udupi at the local IMA Bhavan.

Highlighting the gender disparity in contemporary news reportage, Dr. Shubha noted with concern, “Women are heavily stereotyped in mainstream news narratives as either victims, mainstream politicians, or sports personalities. The practice of interviewing or seeking professional opinions from women operating as high-level policymakers, technical experts, or academic researchers remains critically low across media houses.”

Marking the celebration of journalism, veteran cartoonist James Vaz was conferred with the prestigious Press Day Honor for his decades of creative contribution to print media. Following the felicitation, S.H. Santosh Kumar, Administrative Officer of the Dr. Br.R. Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, participated as the resource person and delivered a specialized lecture on “Stress Management and Personality Development for Journalists.”

The association also presented student merit scholarships to the talented children of local journalists who cleared the recent SSLC and PUC board examinations with high distinction. Furthermore, an official smart card under the state government’s free bus-pass scheme for rural journalists was formally distributed to beneficiary journalist Yogish Kumbhashi.

Subrahmanya G. Kurya, President of the Udupi District Journalists Association, presided over the convention. G.C. Lokesh, State General Secretary of the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), and B. Manjunath, Assistant Director of the Udupi Information Department, shared their thoughts as chief guests.

Prominent figures present on the dais included KUWJ State Executive Member Astro Mohan, National Executive Member Arun Kumar Shirur, Joint Convenor of the Udupi Press Bhavan Committee Ankit Shetty, and District Treasurer Harish Kundar. District General Secretary Nazir Polya delivered the welcome note, while Secretary Umesh Marpalli introduced the keynote speaker. District Executive Member Ajith Aradi read out the merit students’ register, Michael Rodrigues read out the citation plaque, Vice President Uday Kumar Mundkur proposed the vote of thanks, and journalist Akshatha Girish Aithal beautifully anchored the entire event.

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