NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University hosted the fourth lecture series titled “Role of Media During COVID-19” under the ‘Global Alumni Connect’ initiative by Alumni Affairs Office (AAO), JNU.
Vice-Chancellor, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar Chaired the session.
The program was initiated by Prof. Ravikesh, Chairperson of Alumni Affairs Office (AAO), JNU who welcomed the Vice-Chancellor and the guest speaker Umesh Upadhyay along with all participants from India and abroad. He shared the vision of AAO-JNU and its role in establishing a network among alumni.
Prof. Kumar presided over the session and gave his insight on the role of media and its responsibilities to foster hope during the pandemic. The initiatives of reaching out to JNU alumni who are present in different parts of the world was taken by the Vice-Chancellor, who emphasized on making the university self-reliant and raise funds for students who come from an underprivileged background. Eminent Television journalist and alumni of JNU, Umesh Upadhyay shared his insight on the ‘Role of Media during COVID-19’.
Umesh Upadhyay is a veteran television journalist and is presently serving as the President and Director of Media at Reliance Industries Limited. The webinar was joined by many JNU alumni and students of JNU and other Universities.
While addressing the participants, Vice-Chancellor Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar mentioned that the University is trying its best to connect with the alumni so that they can contribute to the betterment of their alma mater. Praising the initiatives taken by the Government of India to fight the pandemic, Prof. Kumar mentioned that “India has done exceedingly well in dealing with the active COVID-19 cases and bringing down the fatality rate of the COVID-19 patients.”
He also mentioned that “India had successfully come up with its own unique ways to fight with the pandemic and its impact on the economy.” He emphasized on the need for optimism when the entire country is battling the catastrophe. He also pointed out the selective media houses that have been constantly spreading negativity through their news.
Umesh Upadhyay, the speaker of this webinar spoke about the role of International Media and its take on India’s response to COVID-19. He said that the popular International Media houses were engaged in criticizing and defaming India based on their pre-set narrative of India as a malnourished and poorly equipped country.
Umesh Upadhyay criticized the International Media that found local crime news of Kerala newsworthy when India was dealing with Indo-China Border issues and managed to handle the pandemic better than most Asian countries. He analyzed the reason behind of International Media’s biases towards India and mentioned that their presumptions are the result of imperialism, based on colonial narratives.
Upadhyay while criticizing International Media houses’ negative response towards India mentioned that India is amongst those countries which have vested its trust in its Government and have managed to deal with the pandemic in a better way.
He emphasized on the fact that “truth is subjective and media houses should responsibly deal with it.” Sharing his experience as a journalist, Umesh Upadhyay stressed the need for responsible journalism and get the facts checked before criticizing the government of any country.
He said that the Indian Government should take action against International Media houses if they continue to construct a negative narrative of India without doing much research on actual facts.
The session was concluded by addressing the questions posed by participants of the webinar. The session also addressed the role of national and local media during the time pandemic and the need of responsible journalism while keeping the political influences aside. The session was concluded with the Vote of thanks by Prof. Ravikesh, Chairperson of AAO-JNU.
