CM and Media

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday appealed to the media to criticize his government as much as possible, so that he could identify the gaps and shortcomings and take corrective measures and amend the ways in which his government functions. According to him, Sonowal likes sharp criticism from the media because criticizing the government on various problems afflicting the society helps the government understand the problems. Since the government cannot reach each and every stakeholder in society, it is from criticism in the media which helps the government take corrective steps, he said, adding that media criticism was also one important factor behind the success of the present state government. Sonowal, who has made a smooth sailing of his government in the past five years despite the ani-CAA movement, has also claimed that he particularly goes through those media reports which criticize the government, pointing out that he was trying his level best to find solutions to the problems being raised by the media. The remarks of the Chief Minister on the media comes at a time when the journey of newspapers in Assam has just completed 175 glorious years since the publication of 'Orunodoi' – a monthly newspaper- by the American Baptist Missionaries in Assam in January 1846. It is a fact that the media plays a crucial role in the functioning of a government. But then the media have to be free, fearless, unbiased, fair and courageous in order to be able to criticize a government. A newspaper or a TV news channel which is not free, which is not fair or unbiased, which is not fearless and which lacks courage and commitment cannot afford to be critical of a government. In Assam, it is however very interesting to note that the media have been critical of the government and its performance despite the fact that the local media is heavily dependent on government advertisements.