Veteran social worker Sharad Patil on Monday said that increasing corporatisation of journalism has weakened press freedom by shifting the focus from public interest to profit and advertisements.
He was speaking at the release of ‘Mohol’, a book written by veteran journalist and author Pravin Bardapurkar, at Shrimant Baburao Dhanwate Sabhagruha in Shankar Nagar. The event was jointly organised by Vidarbha Gaurav Pratishthan and Ram Ganesh Gadkari Pratishthan.
Patil said that corporate ownership of media often leads to advertiser pressure, self-censorship and editorial compromises. He added that, unlike today, journalism in earlier decades placed greater importance on press freedom than on advertising revenue.
Praising Bardapurkar, Patil said the senior journalist worked with several newspapers while maintaining complete editorial independence and never compromised his principles to please management.
Senior poet Narayan Kulkarni Kavthekar, the keynote speaker, highlighted Bardapurkar’s contributions to journalism and literature. Speaking about Mohol, he said the book presents the author’s personal and professional experiences and sheds light on the lives of several personalities from the fields of literature, politics and journalism.
The programme was presided over by Dr Avinash Rode, while Manoj Pathak of Varnamudra Publication attended as the guest of honour. Bal Kulkarni, Nilesh Khandekar, Shyam Madhav, Vijay Jawandhiya, Sanjay Ranade, Shripad Aprajit and several other dignitaries were also present. The guests and the author were felicitated during the event, and Bal Kulkarni proposed the vote of thanks.
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