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indiantelevision.com Team
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.")
