Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland, V Shashank Shekhar has said the fundamental role of the media is to be a medium through which the government can reached out to the common people and other stakeholders about its priorities and concerns.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the one-day Media Workshop ‘Vartalap’, organised by the Press Information Bureau, Kohima, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, at Eastgate Hotel, Kohima today.

The theme of the workshop was ‘SVEEP and Ethics of Election Reporting’.

The CEO said it is also mainly through the media that the government can get information about the problems and opinions of the people, which is very important and useful for the government in framing policies and programmes.

Stressing on the need to avoid miscommunication and misunderstanding, Shekhar asked the media to check the ground realities before reporting a story.

The CEO called on the media to play a constructive and positive role during this election by avoiding misinformation and checking rumours with facts.

Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer of Kohima, Shanavas C, who was the guest of honour, said free and fair elections happen only when eligible voters of a country or a state come forward on their own will, based on their conscience without any external influences.

DC and DEO Kohima Shanavas C. (Credit: PIB Kohima)

Emphasising on clean elections, Shanavas said it is the collective responsibility of the people, the government and the politician to see that election is conducted in a clean and democratic manner.

He also stressed on the need to educate and sensitise the common people on the conduct of a clean, free and fair and inclusive election. In this regard, Shanavas said the media can play an important role as the fourth pillar of democracy by giving constructive criticisms and ethical reporting.

The DC called on the media to create a positive effect by highlighting positive stories such as the two villages in Kohima, Thizama and Kiruphema Basa, which had declared to pursue a totally clean election.

During the programme, Assistant Director, PIB Kohima, K Sonikumar Singh delivered the welcome and keynote address.

Joint Director, Department of Information and Public Relation, Nagaland Asangla Imsong, and Joint Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland, Sharon Longchari, addressed the technical session as resource persons.

Joint Director DIPR Nagaland Asangla Imsong. (Credit: PIB Kohima)

Imsong spoke on the topic ‘Checking misinformation specially in social media during elections’. She highlighted elements such as click bait, imposter content, biased news and propaganda among others which are very prevalent on social media platforms. She also said social media platforms have become a breeding place for misinformation.

She further shared on various past incidents of misinformation on social media. She also spoke on the need to combat fake news and misinformation.

Longchari spoke on the topic ‘Do’s and Don’ts of election reporting – an ECI perspective’. She shared various provisions made for the media by the Election Commission of India. She also highlighted the media guidelines during elections.

Joint CEO Nagaland Sharon Longchari. (Credit: PIB Kohima)

Later, an interaction session was held where the media interacted with the resource persons on matters relating to reporting during elections and the guidelines laid down by the Election Commission of India.