BENGALURU– Vartha Bharati Editor-in-Chief Abdussalam Puthige on Wednesday said the country today needs journalists who stand for truth and justice rather than those who pursue celebrity status.
Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on “Who Are the Real Journalists in the Digital Age?”, organised as part of Press Day 2026 celebrations at Gandhi Bhavan, Puthige said journalism should remain rooted in public interest and social responsibility.
The event was jointly organised by the Karnataka Media Academy, the Department of Information and Public Relations and the Karnataka Working Journalists’ Association.
Puthige said journalists should not merely report events but also facilitate informed public discussion on issues affecting society.
“Dialogue and debate are the first steps towards solving any problem. A true journalist is one who ensures that such discussions continue meaningfully and remain focused on the real issues. Society today needs journalists with a spirit of activism who stand for justice, not celebrity journalists,” he said.
He observed that people no longer look to journalists for sermons but expect them to provide credible information, uphold the truth and advocate justice. According to him, journalism has survived several technological transitions because its strength lies not in the medium but in its values.
“Technology, tools and platforms keep changing. What does not change is the commitment of public-interest journalism and the sensitivity of a journalist,” he said.
Puthige described journalists as both mirrors and guides of society, saying they have a responsibility to remain vigilant, question those in power and help shape informed public opinion.
Referring to financial fraud, he said bank scams involving nearly ₹6 lakh crore between 2014 and 2025, as cited in the Reserve Bank of India report, deserved sustained public debate. He argued that if the media had consistently highlighted such issues, they would have remained at the centre of public discourse.
He also urged journalists to focus on economic inequalities, pointing out that nearly half of the country’s population survives on a monthly income of around ₹6,000.
Speaking on the changing media landscape, Puthige said many newspapers had shut down over the decades, but television news channels, once considered their biggest challenge, had witnessed an even sharper decline within a much shorter period. He added that numerous digital news platforms had also ceased operations within a decade of their emergence.
Despite these changes, he said, long-established newspapers continue to retain public credibility because of the trust they have built over the years.
Earlier, Karnataka Media Academy Chairperson Ayesha Khanum delivered the introductory address.
Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, former minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Telangana Media Academy Chairman K. Srinivasa Reddy, Kannada Development Authority Chairman Prof. Purushottama Bilimale, Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi President Woode P. Krishna, Information and Public Relations Commissioner M.N. Anucheth, Karnataka Working Journalists’ Association President Shivananda Tagadur, Karnataka Women Journalists’ Association President Dr R. Poornima, Media Academy Secretary Sahana M. and Academy member M.N. Ahobalapathi were among those present. — VarthaBharati
