“POONCH TODAY” completes eleven successful years of daring journalism in the national interest

“POONCH TODAY” completes eleven successful years of daring journalism in the national interest

With the blessings and guidance of Bhagwan Shri Krishna, it’s an opportunity for me to announce that your own newspaper, “POONCH TODAY,” has completed eleven glorious years of professional journalism in the national interest. Amid huge pulls and pressures from every corner for its bold journalism and the policy of national interest, the newspaper never compromised with its journalism ethics and continued to remain one of the dominant journalism forces in the Jammu region in promoting nationalism, exposing corruption, and exposing forces inimical to peace and internal security.

The newspaper always worked in the national interest by highlighting issues of public interest, development, and internal security. We believe in calling a spade a spade, and due to this reason, many tainted forces in the political, social, and administrative setups stood strongly against this newspaper by launching various types of attacks with an agenda to demoralize the bold journalism of “POONCH TODAY,” but in the end, our truthful journalism emerged victorious in every attempt. It is important to understand that “boldness” is not a choice. It comes naturally when you do not have an iota of any type of self-interest. So “POONCH TODAY” believes in doing journalism purely on the merits of any issue. We are not in the journalism field to get any benefit from anybody or to please anybody, but just to serve our nation as a commoner by exposing the wrong forces of the social order in addition to supporting national mindset forces. Right from the launch of the very first edition of the newspaper, “POONCH TODAY,” we have maintained the tempo of truthful and bold journalism in the national interest for a continuous eleven years, and it requires a truckload of guts to do that. Even our adversaries talk highly of our journalism behind our backs, and we have not achieved this credibility accidentally, but because of our hard work and by maintaining professional integrity. By default, we stand strongly against the anti-national ecosystem and forces inimical to peace and internal security, and there is no compromise with that, come what may, because to us, national interest is supreme. We have been following the quote of Walter Lippmann right from day one of this newspaper: “There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil,” and we believe in this strongly. The national interest (nationalism) remained our top priority. No doubt, in the age of social media, “print media and electronic media” have been facing a viewership challenge, but as far as credibility and professionalism are concerned, social media stands nowhere in front of traditional print and electronic media platforms. Even in today’s age of artificial intelligence, in terms of credibility, “print and electronic media” will continue to enjoy an upper hand over social media platforms because of their teams of professionals and in-depth coverage of various issues with authenticity. Most non-professionals have occupied social media platforms and are projecting themselves as journalists without having a prescribed qualification. So, the government of the day needs to frame laws for digital media platforms to clear this elite field of journalism from the garbage. During the last eleven years of publication, “POONCH TODAY” newspaper has set the highest benchmark of professional journalism, and if God permits, we will continue to improve ourselves more and more because nation first is our agenda and nothing else. In the end, we are thankful to our readers for their trust in our journalism, their support, and their wishes. Jai hind. Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

With regards

Salil Raina (Owner and Editor)

M.Sc. Information Technology (M.Sc. I.T.)

M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication (MAJMC)