Bjd's sasmit patra speaks on why national media can't afford to ignore regional stories

Tamil Nadu is a state with news channels run by political parties with a vested agenda, said Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai at the NBF National Conclave in Delhi. He was speaking during a

panel discussion on the topic of 'Future of News: Federalism & Free Press'.   Annamalai further stated that understanding the issues of the state is more important and not 

about states getting their space in national media. “In Tamil Nadu, some channels are run by political parties with an agenda. It is not about states getting the space in national media, it

is about lack of understanding of the issue at hand,” the TN BJP chief said.  ‘IF STORIES HOLD WATER, EVEN NATIONAL MEDIA CANNOT AFFORD TO IGNORE’: BJD'S SASMIT PATRA BJD MP Sasmit

Patra said that over the years, Odisha has elected BJD purely on the terms of governance. “BJD is a party that is in power for 22+ years. We have Congress & BJP in the state. A national

narrative is there, but despite that Odisha chooses a regional party not in terms of narrative, but governance,” said Patra. The national media can ignore a story, however, if it is picked

up by social media and gains traction, the other news mediums will be forced to follow the same, said the BJD MP. “If the stories are compelling from different states, if the stories hold

water, and if they hold national imagination, the national media cannot afford to ignore,” Patra cited examples like the success of Hockey in the state, as well as the way disaster

management has been handled over the years. He also cited the successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Odisha.  Patra further argued that if the stories start getting traction on

social media, the national media too will be compelled to cover the same. “The national media can afford to ignore for a certain period of time but today you have social media, which will

carry the stories in parallel and people will start looking for those stories and the national media will automatically start getting onto track.” Speaking about why Tanvir Sadiq, Chief

Spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), feels Jammu and Kashmir has been on the 'receiving end' of federalism, he said, "This country can only grow if the

federal structure is strengthened,” and added, “From J&K, you only see images of L-G, whereas, it should have been of a democratically elected government,” said Sadiq.