07-07-2006, 03:04 AM
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--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Govt may censor private TV channels
- Nidhi Razdan
Thursday, July 6, 2006 (New Delhi):
For the first time since the satellite TV explosion, the government wants to take total control by directly deciding if content violates norms imposed by them.
So, an external regulator appointed by the government decides content of a particular channel is anti-national, incorrect or false or obscene.
The channel can be punished with the harshest being to cancel the broadcasting license. The decision of the regulator will be final and cannot be challenged in court.
Speaking to NDTV, I&B Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said that this is still a draft bill and many of the provisions can be changed, but insisted there's need for some regulation.
Internal regulator
There will also be an internal regulator who will comprise industry representatives and members of the government.
According to the proposed bill the internal regulators will point out violations and issue warnings.
The code of content is being prepared by a committee headed by the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting and is likely to be in place by the next Parliament session.
"This issue will be taken up in the next consultative committee meeting. As of now we have not got down to discuss this," said Nikhil Kumar, Chairman, I&B Standing Committee.
However, most controversial is why a government appointed representative should decide whether a channel's content is anti national or incorrect.
Prove story
For instance would an interview of a Kashmiri militant leader talking of Azaadi be anti-national and if a journalist has to prove his story is correct will he be asked to reveal his sources.
Especially since the move for punitive action was triggered off by the home secretary.
VK Duggal, Home Secretary, wrote to the Information and Broadcasting ministry arguing that it is necessary to penalise channels for showing anti-national or incorrect content.
"This is censorship through the backdoor and should be never done. The government is scared of criticism and wants bring in censorship through the backdoor," said Kuldeep Nayar, veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha MP.
The I&B ministry maintains that just as the Press Council of India guides the print media, the censor board regulates the film industry. The advertising standards council regulates the advertisment industry.
Television channels also need regulation it believes that the proposed law allows the industry to regulate itself.
It is not regressive in nature there are important differences however.
Disguise for censorship?
Across television newsrooms and studios, the question on everybody's mind is whether the government's new bill is a disguise for greater control and censorship.
Yes, say many, who believe television in India will be throttled if the new legislation comes into force.
"State-sponsored, state-regimented discipline is just not acceptable. It's not good for this country and we have had a bad experience with it in the past," said Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR News.
Ironically Union Minister Jaipal Reddy who held the I&B portfolio, said at a seminar last year, "The Lakshman rekha is to be drawn by the press, not by the government or Parliament."
Self-regulation is exactly what media groups are talking about, like the Press Council of India, which has guidelines, not laws, that govern the print media.
Interestingly, there are already around 30 laws that cover the press, from defamation to national security.
"Each channel needs a self regulatory mechanism. Converting the press council into a media council could be the answer," said KS Sachidananda Murthy, Press Council of India.
It isn't just news channels; the obscenity debate has resurfaced, with many interventions proposed for music and entertainment channels.
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Govt may censor private TV channels- Nidhi Razdan
Thursday, July 6, 2006 (New Delhi):
For the first time since the satellite TV explosion, the government wants to take total control by directly deciding if content violates norms imposed by them.
So, an external regulator appointed by the government decides content of a particular channel is anti-national, incorrect or false or obscene.
The channel can be punished with the harshest being to cancel the broadcasting license. The decision of the regulator will be final and cannot be challenged in court.
Speaking to NDTV, I&B Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said that this is still a draft bill and many of the provisions can be changed, but insisted there's need for some regulation.
Internal regulator
There will also be an internal regulator who will comprise industry representatives and members of the government.
According to the proposed bill the internal regulators will point out violations and issue warnings.
The code of content is being prepared by a committee headed by the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting and is likely to be in place by the next Parliament session.
"This issue will be taken up in the next consultative committee meeting. As of now we have not got down to discuss this," said Nikhil Kumar, Chairman, I&B Standing Committee.
However, most controversial is why a government appointed representative should decide whether a channel's content is anti national or incorrect.
Prove story
For instance would an interview of a Kashmiri militant leader talking of Azaadi be anti-national and if a journalist has to prove his story is correct will he be asked to reveal his sources.
Especially since the move for punitive action was triggered off by the home secretary.
VK Duggal, Home Secretary, wrote to the Information and Broadcasting ministry arguing that it is necessary to penalise channels for showing anti-national or incorrect content.
"This is censorship through the backdoor and should be never done. The government is scared of criticism and wants bring in censorship through the backdoor," said Kuldeep Nayar, veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha MP.
The I&B ministry maintains that just as the Press Council of India guides the print media, the censor board regulates the film industry. The advertising standards council regulates the advertisment industry.
Television channels also need regulation it believes that the proposed law allows the industry to regulate itself.
It is not regressive in nature there are important differences however.
Disguise for censorship?
Across television newsrooms and studios, the question on everybody's mind is whether the government's new bill is a disguise for greater control and censorship.
Yes, say many, who believe television in India will be throttled if the new legislation comes into force.
"State-sponsored, state-regimented discipline is just not acceptable. It's not good for this country and we have had a bad experience with it in the past," said Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR News.
Ironically Union Minister Jaipal Reddy who held the I&B portfolio, said at a seminar last year, "The Lakshman rekha is to be drawn by the press, not by the government or Parliament."
Self-regulation is exactly what media groups are talking about, like the Press Council of India, which has guidelines, not laws, that govern the print media.
Interestingly, there are already around 30 laws that cover the press, from defamation to national security.
"Each channel needs a self regulatory mechanism. Converting the press council into a media council could be the answer," said KS Sachidananda Murthy, Press Council of India.
It isn't just news channels; the obscenity debate has resurfaced, with many interventions proposed for music and entertainment channels.