Members of the Mokokchung Press Club during the observance of the National Press Day 2025 in Mokokchung on November 16.
Mokokchung, November 16 (MExN): With misinformation increasingly shaping public discourse, the Mokokchung Press Club (MPC) marked National Press Day 2025 by focusing on the profession’s struggle to safeguard credibility in a rapidly changing information environment. Supported by the DIPR, Nagaland, the programme centred on the theme “Safeguarding Press Credibility Amidst Rising Misinformation.”
Speaking on the theme, Limalenden Longkumer, Editor of Mokokchung Times, said credibility is essential for journalism, describing it as a foundation built on trustworthiness and warning that once it is lost “there is no foundation to stand upon.” He identified misinformation—from fake news to paid news—as a major threat.
Longkumer outlined three approaches to safeguarding credibility: in general, in the Nagaland context, and in the Mokokchung context. Generally, he said journalists must “take deliberate steps” to ensure the media remains trustworthy in a world filled with half-truths and propaganda. He stressed that journalists are not influencers or content creators, and that accuracy must outweigh virality or speed. Publishing without proper fact-checking, he said, undermines the profession’s purpose. Verification, transparency, ethics, and editorial independence, he noted, must guide newsroom decisions, with follow-ups essential to fully inform the public.
He said conscious efforts toward media literacy are needed to help the public distinguish truth from falsehood, as influencers are not held to journalistic standards. Accuracy, transparency, and independence, he said, must guide every media house, adding that “no one else will come to build our credibility for us.”
In the Nagaland context, he said journalism in the state still works with a mindset of the past century while the industry has advanced. The continued focus on the “5Ws and 1H,” he said, is inadequate for modern reporting, which requires context, impact, and societal response. He urged journalists to observe the work of national agencies—not to imitate them but to learn necessary skills.
He also warned against the rise of paid news, calling political, financial, and corporate paid news illegal, unethical, and damaging. Once content is labeled as sponsored, he said, journalists are reduced to “presstitutes,” and if such practices become accepted, “then there will be no need for journalists.” On Mokokchung, he reflected on the MPC’s role and said competition among local media houses is healthy but must be grounded in ethics. While institutional safeguards are necessary, responsibility ultimately lies with individual journalists.
Delivering the presidential address, Sashimeren said the theme is timely amid rising misinformation on social media. The event was chaired by Imnatola and included a Q&A session moderated by Tsüngtaluba Imchen, concluding with a vote of thanks by Imnawapang Jamir.
