Kochi: Democracy will not survive without media, Justice Devan Ramachandran of Kerala High Court said in Kochi on Saturday. He said it was natural for media to earn enemies as the play the role of the opposition. The jurist was addressing the valedictory function of the 60th state meet of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ).

“You should be ready to listen to society. Vested interests would be against the truth coming out. There should be tolerance to listen to all voices,” he said. Justice Devan Ramachandran also said that though it is impractical, it is necessary to regulate social media. He lauded the media for their eternal vigilance during the search for Arjun, the lorry driver who went missing in Karnataka’s Shirur, and Abigail Sara, the girl who went missing from Kollam.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the state meet earlier in the day. He said the media had a huge influence in strengthening democracy. He, however, called upon media to introspect if facts were being pushed back when they go after emotions and controversies.

“Media is on the path of a transformation and we live in the age of digital media. With the help of technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality, news channels are making amusing news shows. Even if there are such changes, it should be noted that the basic principles of journalism do not change. From this perspective, the fairness of contemporary journalism should be examined,” he said.

KUWJ state president K P Reji, Ministers P Rajeeve, M B Rajesh and P Prasad, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, MPs K C Venugopal, Benny Behanan and Hibi Eden, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, T J Vinod MLA, DCC president Muhammed Shiyas, BJP leaders A N Radhakrishnan and C G Rajagopal, KUWJ general secretary Suresh Edappal, former president M V Vineetha and former general secretary R Kiran Babu, state meet working chairman R Gopakumar and general convenor M Shajil Kumar among others addressed different sessions of the three-day conference which started on Thursday.