Karnataka Journalists Union Holds ‘Hermann Mogling Samsmarane’ on Press Day
Mangaluru: The publisher of the first-ever newspaper in Kannada Language Hermann Friedrich Mogling was remembered on the Press day at Sahodaya here on July 1.
Information officer Khader Shah along with the former Registrar of St Aloysius College Prof A M Narahari garlanded the statue of Harmann Mogling.
Later a stage programme was held at the Sahodaya Hall. The programme began with welcoming the guests by the General Secretary of KJU Taranath Gatti, Kapikad.
Addressing the gathering, Khader Shah said, “I am very much delighted to be here on this day to inaugurate the programme by garlanding the statue of Rev Harmann Mogling. Because today I have completed my 20 years as a Journalist. It is a meaningful celebration, in olden days we did not have the facilities, and one can imagine how difficult it was to print a newspaper in 1843. Hermann Mogling using stone slabs to print the papers. He decided to name the paper as Mangaluru Samaachaara, and the first issue was printed on July 1, 1843. Mogling is one of the visionaries for the unified Karnataka.”
Khader further said, “Now we have the social media and writers directly publish their opinion through social media. Begate the Corona lockdown, the print media was printing newspapers containing 25 to 30 pages, but it has decreased to 10 pages which shows that the COVID pandemic has hit the media field very hard. Many media houses are in fear of closing down.”
Addressing the gathering Principal of Karnataka Theological College Dr H M Watson said, “Today while celebrating the Press Day we are remembering Hermann Mogling. Being a Christian missionary, he was involved in missionary work, and while he was in Mangaluru, he mastered the Kannada Language. Hermann Mogling contributed immensely to Kannada Literature. We should name any road in Mangaluru after Hermann Mogling for his contribution to Kannada journalism. Mogling had mastered Kannada and started the first Kannada newspaper “Mangaluru Samachar”. I hope in the coming days all journalists will strive hard to name a road in Mangaluru after Hermann Mogling”.
Former Registrar Prof Narahari speaking on the occasion said, ” Hermann Mogling contributed a lot in the field of Culture and tradition of Dakshina Kannada. In the olden days, news used to spread from mouth to mouth, but now through the social media news spreads very fast. People do not think whether the news is true or false. Nowadays, Print media has reduced its pages and retained credibility. I read some newspapers along with a few websites that give accurate news. If any incident occurs, the electronic media telecasts the news the whole day in various angles. Media is the fourth pillar of the constitution. When the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary fails to perform well, the Media should correct them. But we see that the media is losing its credibility because of the paid news. Journalists should follow the principles and ethics of journalism. Now during the COVID pandemic, private hospitals were not treating the patients. Only the government hospitals were treating the patients. But now the private hospitals have started to treat the patients. We should appreciate Kerala because they are treating the Corona patients systematically in all the hospitals.
Managing Director of V4 News Channel Lakshman Kundar, Director spearhead Media Canute Pinto, Proprietor of www.mangalorean.com Violet Pereira shared their experiences on the occasion.
Press identity cards were distributed to the members of KJU by president Harish Bantwal.
President of Karnataka Journalists Union Harish Bantwal delivered the presidential address. Taranath Gatti Kapikad compered the programme. Ishwar Varanashi delivered the vote of thanks.
