Content Code: the ball in many courts

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

New Delhi, Aug 24: With the Supreme Court stepping in to lay down coverage norms in media, the information and broadcasting ministry deciding to accord high priority to content code and News Broadcasters Association (NBA) setting up a high powered team to facilitate self regulation, the ball of content code is now in three courts.

More than any media market in the world, what should flow into the drawing rooms is a very contentious topic in India. Every evening, 380 channels vie for the attention of about 500 million Indians. This is the world’s most competitive media market where channels are desperate to adopt almost all possible trick to gather eye ball and the consequent ad revenue. Meanwhile, another 200 channels are vying for permission to launch services.

While the I&B ministry mulls an umbrella code that will set guidelines for news and entertainment channels, the Supreme Court is looking at the news content. Also at stake is the independence of the news media,which is a constitutional right.

G Krishnan, president, NBA and CEO, Headlines Today told FE, “The SC has taken this decision with the Arushi murder case in mind. The media has to come together on this and explain to the court that media’s role in this case is a rarest of rare examples in the history of media coverage. Even for the mistakes done my media, the police and the misleading investigation was partially responsible. We have to appeal to the court that it wouldn’t be appropriate to take decision by generalising media’s role based on this exceptional case.” The case involved the alleged murder of a teenaged girl in Noida, that created a massive interest among th public and the media.

Earlier this month the secretary of I & B ministry, Sushma Singh had said that the ministry will accord high priority to the content code issue and will look at reviewing the existing draft content code to suit the changing times. The ministry claims it has received over 240 complaints of content code violation from individuals, civil society organisations and other watchdogs in the past few years. The ministry had sent 80 plus show cause notices and warnings to broadcasters in the same period.