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Parliamentary panel calls for media watchdog

The action should be taken before the general election, which are due in 2014, “to prevent resurfacing of the hydra head of paid news”, the parliamentary committee said in a press release highlighting the main recommendations. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint (Priyanka Parashar/Mint) — The action should be taken before the general election, which are due in 2014, “to prevent resurfacing of the hydra head of paid news”, the parliamentary committee said in a press release highlighting the main recommendations. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint **(Priyanka Parashar/Mint)**

4 min read . Updated: 06 May 2013, 11:40 PM IST Shuchi Bansal, Liz Mathew

Move could assume significance given the pressure facing a government battling a series of corruption allegations

New Delhi: A parliamentary committee on Monday sought to make a case for controlling the media—both print and electronic—through a statutory regulator, a suggestion that could assume significance given the pressure facing a government battling a series of corruption allegations.

The standing committee on information technology called for such a regulator on grounds that the media had been silent over the menace of paid news and the inability of the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) to contain the practice through a suitable mechanism.

Paid news refers to the practice of disguising advertising as journalism, for instance at election time as a means of allowing politicians to keep their poll expenditure below the stipulated limit.

The committee also urged the I&B ministry and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to take “concerted, comprehensive and swift action" on cross-media ownership and frame rules to restrict cross-holdings in the media sector.

The action should be taken before the general election, which are due in 2014, “to prevent resurfacing of the hydra head of paid news", the committee said in a press release highlighting the main recommendations.

The report of the committee for the year ended March was presented in Parliament on Monday.

The committee observed that “paid news" or “advertising" masquerading as “news" is not restricted to elections, but is used for marketing products, individuals and organizations.

It maintained that the ministry had an important role in ensuring that news or information reaching people was factual and neutral. Since it had failed in curbing paid news during elections for a decade, it needed to come up with a solution on a priority basis, the panel said.

The 30-member standing committee is headed by Rao Inderjit Singh of the Congress party, which heads the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition.

I&B minister Manish Tewari was carefully non-committal about the report’s findings.

“We hold the considered views of the standing committees in high esteem," he said. “However, a reaction to the current recommendations can be given only after a detailed study and analysis of the report."

The committee said bodies such as the Press Council of India, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the News Broadcasters Association and Editors Guild of India among others have proven ineffective in curbing paid news.

It cited a recent judgement by the Delhi high court on a case dealing with television content that argued in favour of a statutory regulatory body for the broadcasting industry, as self-regulation was ineffective.

The media industry disputed the observations made by the standing committee.

Man Jit Singh , chief executive officer (CEO) of Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd , the company that runs Sony Entertainment Television (SET), SET Max, Sony Pix and other channels, believes in self-regulation.

“Self-regulation is working extremely well and is conducted by the BCCC (Broadcasting Content Complaints Council)," he said. “It has taken up hundreds of cases covering concerns received from the general public and the I&B ministry, and taken appropriate action."

BCCC recommendations have always been fully complied with, he said.

“There’s not been a single instance of a channel challenging the BCCC findings. The IBF views this both as the strength of the BCCC process and of the willingness of the industry to accept self-regulation," said Singh, who also presides over IBF.

Sunil Lulla , CEO and managing director of Times Global Broadcasting Ltd , which operates the Times Now and ET Now news channels, echoed this view.

“I strongly endorse self-regulation and I believe it will only get better," he said.