SPEAKER PUTS FOURTH ESTATE TO THE FORE
Addresses 64th anniversary of SLPA
Media is a double edged sword with the ability to protect public money, fight against corruption and save democracy with vigour and power, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday.
“At the same time the media needs to maintain discipline, ethical values and fair play to ensure the forward march of a nation,” he added.
Addressing the 64th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Press Association (SLPA), Mr. Jayasuriya went onto say that there was a school of thought a few decades ago that the media was the fourth estate of democracy in addition to the three estates of, the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. As such, the media was one of the most important weapons to protect democracy, he stressed.
“However, the media has grown big and has become not the fourth estate but the first estate because it fights hard against corruption, misappropriation, crimes and misdeeds. The media has such power to make a saint out of a mobster and a mobster out of a saint. The media is so powerful,” Mr. Jayasuriya stressed.
He emphasised that the
However, the media has grown big and has become not the fourth estate but the first estate because it fights hard against corruption, misappropriation, crimes and misdeeds
media was being charged in many instances stating that it acted on the dictates of a commercialised society. The responsibility and commitment of the media personnel under such weaknesses must be to act with a strong willpower without succumbing to political and commercial pressure.
“The global village predicted by Mashal Mcluhan has become a reality today. No one can hide anything from anyone. If some one thinks he or she could control the Right to Information, it is a misconception as we all are committed to protect the RTI. The responsibility of the SLPA is to protect the RTI and thereby the rights of journalists,” Mr. Jayasuriya empghasized.
A group of veteran journalists who had served the media for decades were felicitated at the ceremony.