I&B Ministry
Giving information effectively a major challenge: Naidu
NEW DELHI: Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said information is “ammunition to fight social evils such as corruption, poverty, illiteracy and terrorism”.
To ensure last mile reach and keep pace with the changing communication paradigm, the government communication needs to incorporate innovative and out of the box ideas. Innovative ideas such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat and the MoU signed with Amar Chitra Katha for comic books on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan influenced the masses at large.
Naidu was addressing the Indian Information Service Officer Trainees of 2015 batch currently undergoing at training at Indian Institute of Mass Communications (IIMC) here, who had called on President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday. Minister of State for I and B Rajyavardhan Rathore and senior officers of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.
Naidu said to effectively design communication strategy for various government programmes and flagship schemes was a major challenge for government communication managers. He added that communicating success stories about developmental programs like Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India campaign) would inspire and motivate citizens and would engage them as stakeholders in the governance process.
The Minister emphasized on the need for India Information Service (IIS) officers to learn and adapt to the new technologies, tools and techniques to enhance reach of the government; especially in the age of social media.
“The social media perspective has changed the way we communicate and govern today, which provided challenges and opportunities for the officers to enhance government outreach,” Naidu said.
In his interaction, the Minister emphasized on the need to be progressive in thought and take pride in the role and responsibility assigned to each officer. He specifically mentioned the initiative taken by the Ministry to institutionalize capacity building through appropriate training programs at different career levels. Naidu also assured the officer-trainees that the quality aspect associated with capacity building issues in the training programs would be improved to meet the communication challenges.
Rathore advised the officer trainees that there was a need to continuously learn and add value to their skills as well as the organization where they would be working.
IIS Officer Trainees also shared their experiences of the past nine months of training with the two Ministers.
I&B Ministry
MIB halts news TRPs for four weeks over sensational US-Iran conflict coverage
Government flags panic-mongering in television war coverage
NEW DELHI: India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting directed the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) to suspend television ratings for news channels for four weeks amid concerns over sensational coverage of the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Iran.
According to media reports, the move intends to curb excessive dramatisation in television reporting that could trigger unnecessary public anxiety.
Officials have observed that several news broadcasters are amplifying developments in the conflict in ways that may fuel panic among viewers. By temporarily halting the publication of viewership data, the ministry hopes to ease the competitive pressure on channels to chase ratings through sensational content.
The suspension will remain in effect for one month for now. During this period, television news channels will continue to broadcast as usual, but their audience measurement figures will neither be counted nor released.
Authorities will monitor both the evolving geopolitical situation and the tone of television coverage during the pause. The four-week suspension could be extended if the government believes the risk of panic-mongering or sensational reporting persists.
