I&B Ministry
Streamline media grievance redressal, SC asks govt
NEW DELHI: Action was taken in 52 cases of television and two of radio in the past three years for violation of the Programme or Advertisement Code of the Government. Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said the action in most cases was limited to apology scrolls, or switching off channels for a brief period.
This included in the case of TV 19,15 and 18 cases in 2014, 1015 and 2016, respectively, and one each in the case of FM radio in 2015 and 2016.
Meanwhile, the minister said the Supreme Court had, on 12 January 2017, advised the Government to formalise the complaint redressal mechanism including the period of limitation within which a complaint can be filed.
The court also said the concerned statutory authority which shall adjudicate upon the same including the appellate and other redressal mechanisms, leading to a final conclusive determination.
At present, an Inter-Ministerial Committee takes action on complaints forwarded to it. In addition, there is self-regulation at the level of the Advertisement Standards Council of India, the Broadcast Content Control Council and the News Broadcast Standards Authority.
The Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) under Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 comprising officers from Ministries of Home Affairs, Defence, External Affairs, Law & Justice, Women & Child Development, Health & Family Welfare, Consumer Affairs and a representative from Advertising Standards Council of India, to take cognizance suo moto or to look into specific complaints regarding content on private TV channels on any platform including FM Radio channels.
As and when there is a prima facie case of violation by private satellite TV channels and private FM channels regarding content aired by them, the matter is placed before the IMC for its consideration/recommendations. Thus, IMC functions in a recommendatory capacity. The final decision is taken on the basis of the recommendations of IMC by the Ministry after which action is taken such as issuing warnings or advisories to the channels or asking them to run apology scrolls on their channels or directing the channels to be taken off air for a limited period depending on the gravity of the violation.
Apart from this, the Ministry has also issued directions to States to set up District level and State level Monitoring Committees to regulate content telecast of local TV channels carried on Cable TV Networks.
Also Read:
SC to MIB: Get mechanism to deal with complaints on TV, radio shows
MIB urgently seeks pending 78 channels’ equipment details
Govt warning to TV channels on b’cast norms breach
Mittal wants self-regulation for new media, Rathore says IT Act adequate
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.
