|
| Govt mulls commission for comprehensive media guidelines |
| Press Trust Of India / New Delhi Feb 16, 2009, 00:53 IST |
|
The government is mulling a proposal to set up a commission to frame comprehensive guidelines encompassing all forms of the media.
The recently-concluded Consultative Committee meeting of parliamentarians, chaired by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma, while discussing repercussions of media coverage after 26/11, called for a comprehensive approach to lay out codes for the entire media.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that tackling issues in piecemeal, like the government wants to do for the television media after the Mumbai terror attacks, might not have the desired results as it would still leave a large number of web-based and other electronic mediums unregulated. “There is a need to frame guidelines applicable to all forms of media and not just television,” said Hanan Mollah, Lok Sabha MP and member of the IB ministry’s consultative committee.
“In keeping with their times, two media commissions set up during Jawaharlal Nehru and Morarji Desai’s time were restricted to setting guidelines for newspapers only. Since then no effort has been taken despite significant improvements in television, radio and all forms of web-based media,” he added.
Parliamentarians have suggested inclusion of people from various media fields, politicians and social activists in the commission proposed to be headed by judicial experts. It was pointed out that the framework for setting up guidelines for media did not exist currently and that it would amount to ‘victimising the television media’ if the ministry went ahead with imposing guidelines on them by amending the Cable Television Network (Regulations) Act.
“Anand Sharma sought our suggestions on the proposed amendments to the Act and we could impress upon him that it is not possible to guide the media with any number of Acts and a Media Commission is the need of the hour. He agreed with our views and said he will put up the proposal before the government,” Mollah added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
