Journalist should be seeker of truth: Dua

Journalist should be seeker of truth: Dua
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 19
“Journalism is a profession not meant for the chicken-hearted’’, said Mr H.K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune Group of Newspapers and the former Ambassador to Denmark, at the 26th Convocation of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Dayanand College of Communication and Management organised here today.

Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, Mr Dua said that the curiosity to know more and more is one of the best equipments for a journalist who should be a seeker of truth. He added that pursuing a profession like journalism requires a lot of courage and must be followed in a sustained manner.

Mr H.K. Dua called upon the students to resist all kinds of pressures from various sources once they enter the profession. He stressed that people repose a lot of trust in the press and journalists should ensure that this trust is not belied.

Having served as press adviser to two former prime ministers of India, Mr Dua, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, expressed great concern over the tendencies that have lately come up in the press. He lamented that most newspapers were not reporting the peripheral India and that the sole objective of a newspaper or a channel is maximisation of profit while idealism in journalism becomes a casualty.

Out of the 258 students, 198 students received post graduate diplomas from the chief guest. These included 30 students of journalism, 11 of public relation, 23 of mass communications, 10 of industrial relations and personnel management, 3 of international trade, 4 of financial management and 6 of French and 5 of German.

Dr Maddury Vishnumurty Gold Medal was awarded to Riya Juneja of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management for standing first at the all-India level. Talking about the various college activities, Dr P.K. Vasudeva, principal of the college, informed that the college is affiliated to Rajendra Prasad Institute of Communication and Management of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, which has 95 affiliated colleges in India and seven overseas. Vasudeva also informed that the institute had started several new courses including those on retail marketing, TV journalism and insurance and risk management. He added that talks with Panjab University for affiliation are also currently on.

Vice-Chairman of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Chandigarh, Padamshree, Chandra Mohan and P.R. Aggarwal, Secretary, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, were also present on the occasion.