News
Media industry hard-hit by economic crisis, parliamentary sub-committee told
The local media industry has been hit hard by the prevailing economic crisis as money spent on advertising decreased by around 70 percent while production costs were on an incessant rise, journalists and media organization representatives informed the National Council Sub Committee on Economic Stabilization of Parliament.
This sub-committee met on Thursday at the Committee Room I in the parliamentary complex. Due to the power cuts during prime time telecasts, the number of commercials received by TV stations has decreased and in the current economy, they have to bear high costs for the production of programmes, journalists pointed out to the committee headed by SJB MP Patali Champika Ranawaka.
Journalists representing newspapers pointed out that due to the increase in production costs including the shortage of paper, there has been a major setback in the publishing industry including newspapers. They also pointed out that because of this situation, the pages of the newspapers had to be limited and the prices increased.
They further pointed out that due to the reduction of newspaper pages, there is no space for the news sent by provincial journalists and they have not even been able to make payments for published material.It was also revealed that it is difficult to even pay salaries to the permanent staff of some newspaper organizations. They also pointed out that in this situation newspaper printing has decreased by 60%-70%.
Thus, newspaper journalists pointed out that the circulation of newspapers among the people has been greatly reduced due to economic issues, non-publication of local news, etc.In addition to the economic crisis, it was also revealed that the newspapers and radio have to face a major challenge due to the current digital media trends including social media.
It was further expressed that the government should make a joint effort to reach one goal by all media organizations to prepare the people to face the current crisis. Attention was drawn here to the need to act in the same way that the media acted in times like the tsunami disaster, defeating terrorism and overcoming the covid crisis.
Paying attention to all these comments and suggestions, the committee chairman said that based on these facts, he is expected to include proposals related to the media sector in the next report and submit them to the National Council.Journalists representing mainstream media organizations such as television, radio and newspapers as well as web media and social media were invited to this meeting.
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
It has been reported that Attorney at Law Rakitha Rajapakshe, the son of former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged links with the underworld.
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