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NEW DELHI: After the Indian Broadcast Federation (IBF - representing
broadcasters) and the Indian Media Group (IMG - representing
Indian media companies), Indian news broadcasters are forming
their own "pressure group".
The proposed body is likely to be called the News Broadcasters
Association of India. It will comprise only Indian-promoted
news ventures. The likes of BBC and CNN have their own set
of problems and issues and, hence, would not be part of this
new proposed body that is likely to be registered soon.
The agenda that the body has broadly laid out is to address
specific news-related issues and take them up with the government.
Everybody remains a member of the IBF, but as the IBF cannot
take up specific issues, TV news networks have formed their
own association.
The first meeting of the grouping was held last week in Delhi
in TV Today office. No office-bearers have been elected as yet
though.
Admitted a news broadcaster, "We felt our specific needs
and issues need to be addressed without confusing them with
general (broadcasting) matters. That's what the intention
is behind setting up the News Broadcasters Association of
India."
An example of the kind of issues that news broadcasters might
take up include the draft of the Broadcast Bill, recently
prepared by a sub-panel of a 30-member committee overseen
by I&B secretary SK Arora, which hints at stringent content
regulation, particularly for news channels. If okayed by lawmakers
in its present state, it could well be the end of sting operations
and coverage of issues where high profile politicians and
personalities are involved.
Sample this part: "TV channels must not use material
relating to a person's personal or private affairs or which
invades an individual's privacy unless there is an identifiable
public interest reason for the material to be broadcast."
Who decides what constitutes an individual's privacy? The
government or the regulator? What this means of course is
that it's all up for interpretation.
It is this scope for interpretation that has news broadcasters
seriously concerned. More so since the onus of proving identifiable
public interest lies with the TV channel and not the other
way round.
The interests of the print media are addressed and protected
by the Indian Newspaper Association. That is the role the
News Broadcasters Association of India hopes to fulfil as
far as the electronic media is concerned.
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