News Broadcasting
Advisory issued to TV channels on reporting communal matters with caution
NEW DELHI: In view of the manner in which the Muzaffarnagar communal riots were reported, the government has advised all television channels to adhere by the programme/advertising code to prevent attracting penal provisions in section 20 of the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.
In a notification posted on its website, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said that it was issuing this advisory in exercise of powers under the uplinking/downlinking guidelines issued by it, the terms of permission granted to the channel to uplink/downlink TV channels and under Section 20 of the 1995 Act.
It noted that in the wake of the recent Muzaffarnagar communal riots, some TV channels had been telecasting inflammatory and provocative news/programmes in a sensational manner. Some TV channels had also been airing footage, video, interviews, etc. of leaders of diverse spectrum which could vitiate the situation in the entire area. These could further ignite communal tension, violence and create law and order problem not only in the riot affected area but elsewhere.
The Ministry said a strong need is felt that TV channels should take all steps to avoid telecasting such inflammatory and sensitive material and should exercise maximum restraint and caution in reporting matters of this nature. News, views or comments relating to communal tension/clashes should be telecast only after proper verification of facts and presented with due caution and restraint in a manner which is in the public interest of maintaining communal harmony. No news/programme should be carried by TV channels which are likely to foment disharmony or enmity between religious groups.
Section 5 of the 1995 Act read with Rule 6(1) (c), & (e) of the cable TV Networks Rules 1994 as amended from time to time are clear that ‘no programme can be transmitted/re-transmitted on any Cable Service which, inter-alia, promote communal attitudes; and is likely to encourage or incite violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promote anti-national attitudes.’
The Ministry therefore advised all TV channels to follow the provisions of the Programme Code scrupulously and exercise restraint and sensitivity while reporting such incidents and refrain from telecasting any material which could ignite communal passions and create law and order problem.
It also said any violation of the provisions of the programme/advertising code would attract penal provisions stipulated in section 20 of the Act and the terms and conditions of uplinking and
downlinking guidelines.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
