Saturday, April 13, 2013

“No news channel today, is purely a news channel.”

Ambika Soni, Union Cabinet Minister of Information & Broadcasting, talks to Anuradha Preetam about the need for self-regulation in the Indian Television Industry and how the government’s policies are helping people to fight corruption and seek greater empowerment.

B&E: Within this decade there has been a proliferation of 24x7 news channels. How is that affecting our lives today?
Ambika Soni (AS): In India, we have 800-odd channels at present. Half of them are news channels. The pressure is on broadcasters to stay ahead in the scramble for eyeballs. It is not always easy. The media has become very intrusive. It has entered our living rooms. But the fact is that it is having a huge impact on forming opinion, influencing mindsets, generally by setting agendas through repetitive news. So I think the responsibility is on the broadcaster to ensure that what is put out is thoroughly investigated.

B&E: How do you judge the content currently available on Indian television?
AS: There are systems in place and we are only trying to fine-tune the existing systems. There is an inter-ministerial committee, which takes a call whenever complaints come in. It either sends an advisory to the broadcaster or orders the programme to be taken off the air. In a worst case scenario, a channel’s uplink-downlink facilities could be terminated. Since there are no broadcasters in the panel, there is no question of favouritism.

B&E: But the public perception about the committee’s functioning is that it is not very effective. What is your take on this?
AS: Yes. There is a feeling, especially amongst elected representatives, that this system is not effective enough. But then, how would another committee work? After all, people in that committee would be human beings too. And there would still be protests each time an advisory is sent out, no matter the kind of committee that is put in place.

B&E: Regulation for broadcasters is quite talked about. And we hear that you support “self-regulation”. Your comments...
AS: The mandate to me from the PM is that we should impose self-regulation. I have always felt the same way, and the directive from the PM has made my task easier. In June 2011, we put in place a self-regulatory apparatus – the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council. It is a task force headed by the Information & Broadcasting secretary and includes broadcasters and representatives of cable operators along with government officials.

B&E: So you think “self-regulation” is the best way to keep some channels from going overboard?
AS: No news channel today is purely a news channel. It is news-based entertainment. There are some who air a thought-provoking documentary here or raise a social issue there. But then, they don’t get the TRPs. So I must try to help resolve the issue of TRP mechanism. Or the industry must do it. If the government does something, there is resentment. Either we all have to make our little contributions or it will take much longer. But I do appreciate the role of the broadcasters in self-regulation.

B&E: So how does your ministry fit in this whole business of “self-regulation”?
AS: We have a mechanism in the ministry and we are not dismantling it. We are covering 800 channels. The ministry has put in place a 24X7 recording centre. It records at random 300 channels round the clock. We keep the tapes for two weeks. I want to give it a try for 6-8 months. Let’s see how it works. The complaints have decreased since last year. We have also formed a nodal agency that at time of a crisis, man-made or natural, springs into action instantly. We have made arrangements from our PIB room to link up with every district HQ so that if the Home Minister or any other minister speaks from here, it is a direct telecast to every district.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
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