NEWSPAPER SOCIETY GIVES SUGGESTIONS ON
BROADCASTING REGULATIONS
Indian Newspaper Society (INS) President
Mammen Mathew has welcomed the government's move to consult
industry on the shape the Broadcasting Bill should take. In
a statement made last week, Mathew adds that the INS is against
any cross-media restrictions contained in the Bill, which
had been drafted by the previous government.
The previous draft, written and introduced in Parliament in
1997, states that newspaper owners cannot own more than 20%
of a broadcasting company. It also lays limits on broadcasting
firms owning newspapers. Mathew believes that cross-media
restrictions are a western concept. However, they are outdated
and governments in several western countries are dismantling
these regulations. He opined that the Indian monopolies regulator,
the MRTPC, would be able to do the job of restricting monopolistic
instincts of newspaper and TV firms.
Mathew says that the Broadcasting Bill should be drafted keeping
in mind that many players should be allowed to operate in
every aspect of the television business and that the broadcasting
authority should be given teeth to monitor and regulate the
television sector effectively.
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