Just a few months ago, entire India and Indians across the world had mourned the sad demise of the country’s one of the most popular presidents, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. In spite of the fact that Kalam was a Muslim, the eyes of Sangh Parivar activists also were full of tears when the former’s mortal remains were laid to rest. The same Indians are now fighting with each other over trivial and silly issues and dubbing each others as ‘anti-nationals’. Popular Indian celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are being targeted by a section of people only because of the fact that the superstars bear ‘Muslim’ names.
The reason behind this paradigm shift in a short period of time is obvious: The mass media, which had played an impartial and apolitical role in presenting Kalam before the people, made apparent attempt to demonise the two celebrities, twisted their statements and indulged in partiality and prejudice for ‘political reasons’. These two phenomena make it clear that media is capable of both uniting and dividing Indians overnight.
Standing on the threshold of 2016 I am juxtaposing these two phenomena because it was on this day six years ago, i.e., on January 1, 2010, we took a deep plunge into the ocean of media and continued to swim towards the destination till today fighting all the odds. During its six-year-long eventful journey coastaldigest.com gained great popularity and widespread recognition. Our strict adherence to the ethics of journalism at a time when the media giants are engulfed in the flames of sensationalism, communalism, favouritism, and commercialism, has strengthened our foundations in the Fourth Estate.
We have never compromised any of our goals and principles and we have stayed grounded. As part of its commitment to promote truth and justice, coastaldigest.com has exposed several myths propagated by mainstream media and social media and unearthed hundreds of hidden facts even in ‘most sensitive’ and ‘extremely intolerant’ circumstances.
Now, we are all set for new experiments, initiatives and ventures: Within a few weeks coastaldigest.com will wear a new look. A reader-centric layout with special emphasis on development oriented journalism and informative columns is being readied for the launch. Throughout the year special surprises are awaited for the readers. The long-pending demand for a full-fledged television news channel headquartered in Mangaluru, the educational and industrial hub of Karnataka, is also expected to be met by the year-end.
No year can be perfect for all. But, we can ignore the negative and embrace the positive. The positive vibes can defeat the negativity. The New Year has brought new ideas and hopes for us to make our world a better place to live. This is time to hit the ‘reset button’ for 2016 with fresh hopes, fresh promises, fresh plans, fresh efforts, fresh responsibilities and fresh commitments. Wish you all a Happy New Year and sixth anniversary of coastaldigest.com.
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