Bhubaneshwar: Jennifer Larson, Consul General of U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad, today emphasized that ” A free and open press is the cornerstone of any democracy,” adding that “Your commitment to fact-checking and responsible journalism is commendable and sets a high standard for others to follow.””
Addressing over 30 Odisha journalists at the valedictory session of the Countering Disinformation for Odisha Journalists training program held at KIIT campus, she underscored the significance of ensuring the public has access to accurate and verified information and highlighted how the program equipped journalists with essential tools and techniques to effectively identify misleading information.
She praised the U.S. Consulate’s involvement in this initiative, which provided fact-checking training for Telugu, Urdu, and Odia journalists across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha.
Encouraging the participants, Consul General Larson urged them to continue utilizing the skills and knowledge they gained to promote truth and transparency in their reporting.
The training programme, financially supported by the U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad, was executed by the Department of Journalism, Osmania University, in coordination with the Odisha Women in Media (OWM) group. Larson acknowledged the contributions of both OWM and the Department of Journalism, Osmania University, for their dedication to organizing the program successfully, before distributing certificates to the participants.
The event was organized at KIIT, included presentations from participants showcasing what they learned and the impact of the training. Some trained journalists have already started applying these techniques in their newsrooms, fact-checking videos, pictures and audio files before publishing news stories. Other graduates have begun training others in their newsrooms in these same techniques.
Gyan Ranjan Mohanty, KIIT Registrar; Sulochana Das, Bhubaneswar Mayor; Dr. Rajeev Panda, Associate Dean, School of Communication, KIIT also participated.
