Union minister Venkaiaha Naidu inaugurated the Regional Editors Conference's Chennai conclave Thursday morning.

NEW DELHI: The media should not mix news and views Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday, but he added at the same time that the media "needs to practice self regulation for the sake of national interest."

Naidu, who inaugurated the Regional Editors Conference's Chennai conclave Wednesday morning, didn't elaborate on what he thinks "self-regulation in the national interest" means.

"The challenge before the media is to ensure quality, credibility and responsibility," Naidu said, adding that social media "defies traditional modes of regulation and censorship."

Naidu also acknowledged that the Narendra Modi government is engaged with the media so it can highlight the government's programmes.

"The Regional Editors Conference is an attempt to take the government's development programmes to the last mile. The media is a partner in the progress of the country, and has to play a crucial role in inclusive development," Naidu said.

As for regional media, Naidu said he's "happy to note" that regional print media has witnessed growth in terms of circulation and revenue. That's important, he said, because regional media is "a crucial link to communicate with people" across the country.

New media has a brought a paradigm shift and using that, the crowd-sourcing of ideas has become an important way to ensure people's participation in governance, Naidu said he believes.

"Information is a great ammunition to fight poverty, inequality, corruption and even terrorism," Naidu added.

