Create awareness on FDI in media: INS chief

NEW DELHI: Indian Newspaper Society president and PTI chairman M P Veerendra Kumar on Wednesday asked journalists and non-journalists to create public awareness on the issue of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the media.
"Let there be a public debate and let opinions both for and against FDI in media come out in the open," he said adding nothing would be served by being complacent in the fight against foreign investment.
He was speaking at a reception organised by the Kerala Union of Working Jounalists (Delhi Chapter) on his election to the two posts.
Kumar said he was planning to organise a seminar in the first half of December to highlight the pros and cons of the issue.
"If FDI could be allowed in media which is one of the pillars of democracy, justifications could also be found to bring in the same in the other three organs, judicary, legislature and executive too," he said.
Throwing a poser to the votaries of FDI in media, he sought to know with whom would the media in India and Pakistan side in the event of a war, if it were to be controlled by Rupert Murdoch in both the countries.
"Then the media would side with profit," he added.
Disapproving the price war being resorted to by papers, he said it would only help to kill smaller publications.
Now that media has been thrown open to FDI atleast partially, the foreign players were not bringing in any new papers, but only gaining control of existing ones, he said.
Kerala Forest minister K Sudhakaran also spoke on the occasion.