MUMBAI: Zee News Ltd ? which is to be renamed as Zee Media Corp ? is exploring whether it makes sense to merge the Essel group?s print media interests (DNA) with its news broadcasting business. Today, the company filed a notice with the Mumbai stock exchange wherein it has said it has got board approval to fuse its news broadcasting business and its print media interests.

DNA has six editions and according to the IRS Q4-2012 it had an average India readership of close to a million daily. In Mumbai it has been giving other players such as The Times of India and The Hindustan Times a run for their money. Zee News on the other hand is among the top 3 news broadcasters in the country with news and infotainment channels in Hindi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, UP/Uttarakhand, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, and a business channel in Hindi.

Said Zee News in the statement to the BSE: ?Considering the growth plans of the company and the business synergies in print and electronic news media, the board has approved in-principle combination of ?news publication business? of Diligent Media Corp Ltd - a promoter group entity engaged in printing and publication of English daily ?DNA? and the ?news broadcasting business? of the Company. A committee constituted by the board shall engage / appoint independent professionals to advice on the appropriate structure / manner of combination and its valuation, cost-benefit analysis, procedural and others aspects for consideration by the audit committee and the board in due course.?

When indiantelevision.com contacted Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal, he said even though everything was in a preliminary stage there was an active possibility of a merger fructifying.

MUMBAI: News television broadcaster Zee News has decided to take on a new sobriquet. The management has announced that the company is to be renamed as Zee Media Corp in a filing it made with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) this afternoon. Sources reveal that the company is soon going to launch its official promotion campaign.

Zee News, an off-spring of the Subhash Chandra owned conglomerate Essel Group, constitutes Hindi news channel Zee News, Hindi business channel Zee Business and other regional news channels.

Zee News reporters have started signing off with ?Zee Media? as opposed to ?Zee News? in their piece to camera starting from today.

Says a media observer: "The management has been working on revamping the channel. It brought in Alok Agarwal from Chiel Worldwide who has a creative background. Expect to see Zee Media presenting a snazzier and more modern and relevant packaging for today?s audiences in the not too distant future. This should help to attract newer audiences. Also, Zee News had been making headlines for all the wrong reasons because of the infamous Zee- Jindal controversy last year. TV viewers? memories are short and this change could prove a smart image makeover which could make those memories even shorter."

MUMBAI: A parliamentary panel has suggested constitution of a statutory body such as a media council to look into the content of both print and electronic media or revamp the Press Council of India (PCI). In case a new body is formed, it will have the power to take strong action, particularly in cases of paid news.

Asking the information and broadcasting ministry to act swiftly on the paid news syndrome, the parliamentary standing committee on IT suggested either the PCI should be wound up on the constitution of the media council or it should be revamped with powers to take care of the print media, while a similar statutory body should be set up for the electronic media.

"In both the cases, media owners or interested parties should not be part of the proposed media council or in the revamped PCI," the standing committee said in its report tabled in parliament on Monday.

The committee regretted lack of "effective" government action to tackle paid news and also noted the poor disposal status of paid news complaints by PCI wherein 11 of the 40 cases have been closed because of lack of pursuance.It said PCI should function like a regulatory authority so that it can adjudicate the paid news cases and award penalties to guilty individuals and organisations.

Paid news, it felt, has also acquired different dimensions and stressed on evolving a mechanism for a clear demarcation as to what is an advertisement and what is not.

"Clearly, the government has not taken effective and conclusive action to deal with the menace," it said.

The committee supported reviewing election laws and rules to curb the menace of paid news in election process and empowering the Election Commission with taking action against defaulting candidates and media houses indulging in paid news.The Committee also touched on the issue of cross media holding and monopoly which it felt was also contributing to the paid news menace, recommending that the ministry and the telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) consider the issue on a "priority basis" and act promptly upon it so as to prevent monopolistic trend in the media. (TRAI is already studying the issue at the instance of the Ministry.)

The committee said the working conditions of journalists and autonomy of the editorial staff was giving rise to the paid news syndrome and sought better faculties.

The parliamentary panel has also suggested that election laws and guidelines should be reviewed and strengthened to curb paid news in the election process, empowering the Election Commission to take action against the defaulting candidate as well as the media entity found indulging in paid news.

Some of the other recommendations include creating awareness among the people about the problems of paid news and disclosures of annual income by media companies from advertisements.

It has asked the Ministry to consider the recommendations and the developments associated with the Leveson Report in the UK on media ethics. The Ministry was also urged to chalk out a plan to ensure all the relevant guidelines were strictly enforced and followed by the authorities that till a structured mechanism was put in place,.

Observing that paid news was not only an election time phenomenon but was happening everyday, the Committee said that the Ministry had an important role to play in ensuring that news and information made available to the public was factual and fair. The Press Council of India, Election Commission of India, Editors Guild of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, TRAI and other self-regulatory bodies have "acknowledged the gravity of the menace of paid news."

(Meanwhille reacting to its being named by the Committee, a Zee News spokesperson said in a statement that: "Our attention has been drawn to a report on paid media by the Honourable Standing Committee on Information and Technology. The averments made on Zee News are exparte and are being taken up suitably.")

New Delhi : Zee News Ltd, which is the first Indian news network to reach out to 100 million viewers, has initiated B2B Agency Activations in top 10 advertising agencies of New Delhi and Mumbai respectively. Various activities are being conducted with an objective to establish Zee News Ltd. as India?s Largest News Network.

The activations aims at creating a top-of-the-mind connect to engage with the buyers, planners and decision makers with various interesting engagement activities like A to Z Contest, Dart Game, Message Board and Zee-Malgamation representing the cultural and lingual diversity where Zee News Limited is present in.

Zee News Ltd is not only the largest news network of India but also the right platform that reaches out to the growing news audience. It has always remained on the forefronts in the Indian electronic media industry and touches the lives of 100 million viewers. It is thus, instrumental in positively changing the way people think and significantly empowering India.

Mr. Rohit Kumar, Marketing Head, Zee News says, ?In the view of Zee News Ltd reaching out to 100 million people, we decided to celebrate our achievement with various agencies across India. With B2B Agency Activations we aim to tap into the minds of decision makers to build intellectual and emotional commitment to our brand.?

MUMBAI: The capital has once again come under the scanner with disturbing occurrence of a five-year-old girl?s rape by two men. Zee News has broadcast the first ever live interview of Gudiya?s (the name given to the victim) father with Mimansa Malik on the channel, first aired at 8.00 pm on 26 April in a special show apart from covering the shocking incident in its regular news bulletins.

Zee News Editor Sudhir Chaudhary said, ?Zee News has always been a pioneer in highlighting social issues. Zee News has been providing ?aam aadmi? a platform for voicing their concerns and being heard by others and the authorities in line with its philosophy ?Soch Badlo Desh Badlo?. We will continue to air and support such causes in the future as well, since we think the nation needs awakening.?

The incident took place on the evening of 15 April when the girl went missing and even after trying to look for her everywhere the family could not locate her. Fearing the worst the father rushed to the police, who instead of trying to help in the rescue operation just harassed the father. The police didn?t lodge a complaint till late after midnight after much persuasion and pleading.

Malik said, ?The next day no one from the police station even bothered to enquire from us about Gudiya. The neighbors heard her cries; they broke open the door and found Gudiya. We requested the police to come to the spot (and see it themselves) but they asked us to pick them from the police station. The police did not help us at all.?

The incident was recently reported across news channels, that a five-year-old girl had been held hostage and raped by a neighbor and his friend, in Gandhi Nagar, East Delhi. The assault was so brutal that it has startled the entire nation (recollection of the Damini / Nirbhaya case).

?Even Sonia Gandhiji has visited us and blessed the child and touched her forehead. She also promised that she will make sure that something substantial is done for the child. Even though she said this, nothing has been yet communicated to us. We are still waiting that she keeps her word.? He proclaimed.

The father of the girl wants to ensure that the accused be tried and the girl gets her justice. The latest atrocity does nothing to change the perception that authorities remain interested in only paying lip service to the cause of securing rights of women in the country, while little change is effected on the ground.