Journalists demand empanelment, ads, and support for small newspapers

Andhra Pradesh: Visakhapatnam District Revenue Officer (DRO) Bhavani Shankar assured that the concerns of small and medium newspapers will be reported to the state government through District Collector Harendra Prasad. The assurance came after journalists, under the banner of the AP Working Journalists Federation, submitted a memorandum at the District Collector’s office on Friday.

Memorandum highlights issues of small and medium newspapers

Representatives from the Broadcast, Small, and Medium Newspapers Associations, along with the National Association of Journalists (NAJ) Secretary Gantla Srinu Babu, detailed the challenges faced by small publications. They urged the government to address issues such as empanelment delays, accreditation, and financial support through advertisements.

DRO assures fair support and justice

DRO Bhavani Shankar said that advertisements are being allocated as per existing rules and pledged to provide maximum support to resolve journalists’ concerns. He assured that the government would be informed about the issues through the District Collector.

Key demands: Empanelment, accreditation, and ads

Journalists urged the government to:

Expedite the empanelment process for small and medium newspapers.
Grant accreditation to eligible newspapers if immediate empanelment is not feasible.
Provide incentives and annual government advertisements to sustain small newspapers.

Further representation in Amaravati

The journalists announced plans to meet senior officials and public representatives in Amaravati on February 28. Their agenda includes discussing newspaper empanelment, housing, land issues, and other challenges faced by journalists.

Widespread participation

The event saw participation from various journalist associations, including Federation District General Secretary G Srinivas Rao, Broadcast Association President Irothi Easwar Rao, Secretary Madan, Small Papers Association President Jagan Mohan Rao, executive members DP Naidu, Varaprasad, B Prasad, Nelarozu, Chakravarthy, Rajasekhar, Venkat Reddy, B Naidu, Srilatha, Renuka, Patnaik, Sirisha, Vasanth, Ganesh Reddy, Jeevan, and along with several executive members and media representatives.