TNA spokesperson and parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran in response to a report on a statement he made said that action should be taken against unacceptable behaviour of media networks that reported a distorted version of his statement.
“A few days ago they used one phrase, I used in a speech out of context, and falsely reported that I had said that with the new Constitution, a separate state would be a possibility. That is false and contradictory to what I said. One of the main things I said in that speech was that we should give up the Eelam dream,” he said.
Former Information Director General Dr. Ranga Kalansooriya said that the reporting style of some media, especially, in quoting statements of Tamil politicians is distorting the meaning of original statements.
“Distortion of any comments by anybody is a violation of basic ethics in journalism. If a person allege that his quotations or statements are distorted or even misquoted by the media, the media should immediately correct them. The problem remains mainly with broadcasting. Because of the time limit, they try to summarise a story or a speech into a couple of seconds.
“Broadcasters should be careful about this. We have seen their editing angles have been alligned with their political angles,” Dr. Kalansooriya told the Sunday Observer.
Working Journalists’ Association former President Lasantha Ruhunage said some media organisations are trying to spread racism and extremism in the south.
“MP Sumanthiran had said that the Southern media had distorted his statements. Those media institutions are trying to incite racism highlighting his statements. The media should report responsibly. We see a trend of quoting statements of Sumanthiran or other TNA MPs by these media to create a turmoil in the south,” Ruhunage said.