ITV

Tag: media

  • NBA challenges amended Cable TV rules in Kerala High Court

    NBA challenges amended Cable TV rules in Kerala High Court

    New Delhi: The Kerala high court has directed the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) not to take any coercive action against members of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) over non-compliance with the Cable TV Act.

    The court issued the orders on a plea filed by the NBA which represents several news channels against certain provisions of the amended Cable TV Rules which provide for an oversight mechanism over the content of news channels. The court has also issued notice to the ministry and sought its stand on the NBA’s petition within two weeks.

    In its plea, NBA contended that the amended provisions in the Cable TV Rules create an oversight mechanism that gives the executive “unfettered, unbridled and excessive powers to regulate the content of the television channels of the news broadcasters”.

    NBA’s counsel told the court that the amended rules are similar to the new IT rules which NBA had challenged recently. “Under the amended Cable TV Rules also, the oversight mechanism would be headed by an additional secretary-level officer who would have the power to overrule decisions of the self-regulatory body already in place and which is headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court,” he added.

    Last month, the Centre had notified the Cable Television Network (Amendment) Rules, 2021 to provide for a three-layer statutory mechanism for the redressal of consumer’s complaints relating to the content broadcast by TV channels.

    The amended rules stipulate a three-layer grievance redressal mechanism – self-regulation by broadcasters, self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of broadcasters, and an oversight mechanism by the central government. The rules require each broadcaster to establish a grievance or complaint redressal mechanism, appoint an officer to deal with the complaints, display the contact details of their grievance officer on their website or interface and be a member of a self-regulating body.

    As per the rules, any person aggrieved by the content of a programme of a channel may file his/her complaint in writing to the broadcaster first. “The broadcaster shall, within 24 hours of a complaint being filed, generate and issue an acknowledgment to the complainant for his information and record. The broadcaster shall dispose of the complaint and inform the complainant of its decision within 15 days of receipt of such complaint,” the rules stated.

  • Kaizzen appoints Ashish Gupta to lead its new research wing, Kaizzen Insights

    Kaizzen appoints Ashish Gupta to lead its new research wing, Kaizzen Insights

    New Delhi: Public Relations and digital media agency Kaizzen on Tuesday appointed Ashish Gupta as director to lead its new research wing Kaizzen Insights.

    He will be working closely with Kaizzen founder Vineet Handa. Gupta brings with him over three decades of experience in business journalism and has worked with The Times of India, Indian Express, Outlook Business, Business Today and Fortune India in the past. He will do a deep dive into issues of contemporary importance and try to figure out solutions to these complex challenges affecting the country, said the agency. 

    “Ashish is a highly experienced and respected business journalist with over three decades of experience in mainstream media and I welcome him to our India leadership team. His deep understanding and insights of varied sectors and industries will be a great asset for Kaizzen,” said Kaizzen, founder and CEO, Vineet Handa. “I believe that with the launch of Kaizzen Insights we will be able to transform Kaizzen into a knowledge-based and data-led communications consultancy. This will also help our existing clients in getting more informed communication and policy advocacy services.”

    Prior to joining Kaizzen, Gupta was working with Fortune India as deputy editor and chief of bureau. He has written extensively on the Indian economic reforms, national budgets and monetary policies over the years, gyrations of the stock market, infrastructure challenges and the rise of new-age technologies. He has also tracked the rise and fall of various corporations in different sectors. Before Fortune India, he was the deputy editor at Outlook Business magazine and prior to that worked as an associate editor at Business Today.

    “I am excited to join Kaizzen as director, Insights, and hope to work with Vineet in his new endeavor to make the transformational journey a success. I hope to bring all my journalistic and other experiences to work for further growth of the company,” said Gupta.

  • New IT rules will empower and protect social media users: Ashwini Vaishnaw

    New IT rules will empower and protect social media users: Ashwini Vaishnaw

    New Delhi: The new IT rules will empower and protect users and ensure a safer social media ecosystem, said the union IT and communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who recently took charge of the ministry post the cabinet reshuffle.

    “Reviewed the implementation and compliance of Information Technology Rules, 2021 along with my colleague Rajeev Chandrasekhar ji. These guidelines are empowering and protecting users and will ensure a safer and responsible social media ecosystem in India,” Vaishnaw said in a post shared on Koo, which is considered a competitor to Twitter in India.

    Vaishnaw’s statement comes amid a continued standoff between the government and some social media platforms over the new rules. Twitter, which had been in the eye of the storm over its alleged failure to comply with the new IT rules in India, on Sunday named Vinay Prakash as its resident grievance officer for India, according to the company’s website.

    The new rules notified on 25 February, came into effect on 26 May recommend a three-tier mechanism for the regulation of all online media portals and publishers, over-the-top (OTT) platforms, and social media intermediaries. Under the new rules, each significant social media company with over 50 lakh users is required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies, and a resident grievance officer. All three should be resident Indians and their details be put on the company’s website.

  • SC to hear Centre’s plea on new IT Rules on 16 July

    SC to hear Centre’s plea on new IT Rules on 16 July

    New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the proceedings in connection with petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre’s new IT rules before various high courts.

    The Centre had approached the apex court on Tuesday seeking transfer of all pending pleas challenging its new IT rules to itself, and had also sought a stay on the proceedings in various courts. However, the bench said that it will not pass any order as of now, except tagging the transfer petition with the said special leave petition (SLPs).

    The Court will now hear the Centre’s plea on 16 July along with a pending matter related to the regulation of over-the-top (OTT) platforms. 

    Numerous petitions challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, are currently pending in various high courts across the country.

    The new rules notified on 25 February, came into effect on 26 May recommend a three-tier mechanism for the regulation of all online media. According to the new IT Rules, social media and streaming companies will be required to take down contentious content quicker, appoint grievance redressal officers and assist in investigations. The rules also seek to regulate the functioning of online media portals and publishers, over-the-top (OTT) platforms and social media intermediaries.

    Some of the pleas pending before the Delhi high court have sought striking down of specific part of the IT Rules on the ground that it allegedly violates Article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, Article 14 of the Constitution by creating an unreasonable classification and by setting up a parallel adjudicatory mechanism to be overseen by the officials of the executive and is ultra vires the IT Act.

  • ZEEL gets MIB’s nod to transfer digital publishing business to Rapidcube

    ZEEL gets MIB’s nod to transfer digital publishing business to Rapidcube

    New Delhi: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has received the approval from the ministry of information and broadcasting for the transfer of the digital publishing business division to Rapidcube Technologies.

    The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has also granted its approval for the same.

    The company’s board had already given the go-ahead for the transfer of the Digital Publishing Business Division of the Company to Rapidcube through a Business Transfer Agreement last year on 17 December. Established this year, Rapidcube is a private company limited by shares and is the wholly owned subsidiary of Zee Media Corporation Limited.

    “The company has received the approval from the ministry of information and broadcasting and department for promotion of industry and internal trade, as required under the press note four of 2019 dated 18 September, 2019 and the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2000,” it said in a BSE filing.

  • News Broadcasters Association challenges new IT rules in High Court

    News Broadcasters Association challenges new IT rules in High Court

    New Delhi: Over a month after the new IT rules came into effect, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has filed a plea in the Kerala high court challenging the new rules stating that they give government authorities “excessive powers” to “unreasonably and impermissibly restrict” the freedom of speech and expression of the media.

    In a detailed statement, the NBA said the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, are ultra vires to the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 apart from being violative of Article 14 (equality before law) and 19(1)(g) (right to freedom to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business) of the Constitution. It also stated the challenge is to Part III (Code of Ethics and Procedure and Safeguards in relation to Digital Media) of the IT rules as they create an “oversight mechanism giving the executive unfettered, unbridled and excessive powers to regulate the content of digital news media”.

    “The grievance redressal mechanism created and the powers delegated have a ”chilling effect” on the content of the media. The writ petition also states that the executive by creating such a structure, has made inroads into judicial power and vested itself with powers reserved exclusively for the judiciary and such exercise of power is without jurisdiction,” the statement read.

    The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) represents the private television news & current affairs broadcasters, and currently has 25 leading news and current affairs broadcasters (comprising 78 news and current affairs channels) as its members. According to NBA, the IT Act also does not contain any provision for dealing with the “content” of any programme and therefore, the rules are ultra vires the parent Act.

    The rules violate Article 14 as there is neither any parity nor any valid exercise of classification in the rules as ‘intermediaries’ have been equated with ”digital news media”, it said. The Programme Code contains vague, imprecise, and ambiguous terms concerning “content” such as “good taste”, “snobbish attitude” and therefore, does not align with the judgment of the Supreme Court.

    Meanwhile, the Centre has recently approached the Supreme Court seeking to transfer all pleas regarding the new IT rules to itself. Several digital news media platforms have already challenged the 2021 IT rules in various lower court courts. 

    The new rules notified on 25 February, came into effect on 26 May recommend a three-tier mechanism for the regulation of all online media portals and publishers, over-the-top (OTT) platforms, and social media intermediaries. Under the new rules, the digital publishers are required to take urgent steps for appointing a grievance officer, if not done, and place all relevant details in the public domain. “They also need to constitute self-regulatory bodies through mutual consultation so that the grievances are addressed at the level of publishers or the self-regulating bodies themselves,” according to the ministry.

    In June, Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), composed of digital arms of 13 leading media companies of the country had also moved the high court against the rules, which it said: “violate the fundamental right of equality (Article 14) and freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1)(a)”. According to DNPA, the online news portals of traditional media houses, which run newspapers and TV channels, do not come within the purview of IT Rules

    The Foundation of Independent Journalism (the non-profit company that publishes The Wire) and legal website, LiveLaw has also filed petitions against the new rules.

  • Anuraag Srivastava appointed as CEO of Rainshine Entertainment, India

    Anuraag Srivastava appointed as CEO of Rainshine Entertainment, India

    New Delhi:  Rainshine Global, a US-based diversified media and entertainment company on Thursday announced the elevation of Anuraag Srivastava as the CEO of Rainshine Entertainment, India to drive its ambitious growth in the country. In addition, the company is expanding its content offerings globally and formally launching a new subsidiary – Rainshine Media Fintech.

    Rainshine Global will expand its global footprint by focusing on creating shows and films based on Indian and global themes for audiences outside India. It has already established teams and partnerships in the US, and the UK to curate content on universally relatable ideas and topics to attract viewers globally.

    Rainshine Entertainment (India) will leverage the escalating adoption of digital content in the country. Through strategic collaborations, acquisitions, and syndication it will introduce fresh content and expand its offerings to a larger audience. It will create a wide spectrum of short-form and long-form audio & video content ranging from podcasts, scripted series, feature films, and documentaries.

    Hasmukh on Netflix, Humble Politician Nograj on Amazon Prime Video, Men Without Music – an audio crime series on Audible, HoopNation – a docu-series on YouTube, Chattis aur Maina on Disney+ Hotstar, and the National Award-winning short documentary Amoli are part of the concepts and formats that the company has brought out. Rainshine’s owned and partner content studios like CM Studios, FirstAction, Manzar Studios, Rainbox Studios, Weirdass Comedy, and Indian operations of Rainshine Animation, will now be managed under this entity.      

    Rainshine Media Fintech, the new subsidiary will focus on developing a variety of financing options ranging from media credit and digital tokens created on Rainshine’s proprietary Blockchain platform. With a streamlined structuring, the company will delve and accelerate growth by diversifying and innovating in newer avenues as a pioneer in the media and entertainment industry. 

    Sharing his thoughts, Rainshine Global, chairman and CEO, Neeraj Bhargava said, “Our business in India is growing at a rapid pace. We have been successful in creating and exploring interesting formats. We are constantly trying to innovate and come up with fresh and unique ideas for feature films, shows in the digital & TV format, and podcasts. Anuraag has led this admirably and integrated our partner companies into a comprehensive offering. We have very high expectations of growth here and I am excited to have him take the lead for our business in India.”

    He further added that the company is also preparing for expansion in other areas, particularly global content and media financing.

    Talking about his new role, Srivastava said, “I am truly excited to be a part of Rainshine Entertainment (India)’s next chapter and thank Neeraj and the Rainshine Board for their confidence in me. We are growing rapidly, adding new capabilities, and as an industry are still in the early phase of growth in India. I am committed to building a company with a stellar team. Our focus will be on developing a reputation for great content and building our profile as an industry leader.”

  • Business Today appoints Sourav Majumdar as editor, Siddharth Zarabi to lead Business Today TV

    Business Today appoints Sourav Majumdar as editor, Siddharth Zarabi to lead Business Today TV

    New Delhi: After naming Udayan Mukherjee as its global business editor, the India Today Group on Wednesday announced two more big-ticket appointments as part of its larger plan to bolster its coverage of business news in the post-pandemic economic order.  
     
    The network has named prominent magazine editor, Sourav Majumdar, as the new editor of the Business Today Magazine, and Siddharth Zarabi, former editor of Bloomberg TV, as the managing editor of Business Today TV. 
     
    In a career spanning three decades, Majumdar has worked with several leading media outlets with leadership experience across platforms. He was initially associated with brands like The Financial Express and Business Standard in various capacities. In his most recent role, he was editor of the Indian editions of Fortune and Forbes. Prior to that, Majumdar was editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur.
     
    “It’s genuinely exciting to join an organisation that I believe is the Gold Standard of Journalism –the India Today Group,” he said of his new role at the ITG. “I look forward to being part of Business Today, as it makes a deep and dramatic transformation into a digital-first, multimedia offering with the magazine as a center-piece. India, and indeed the world, is witnessing dramatic change and we hope to bring compelling stories of this change to the readers of today.”
     
    Zarabi is a prominent prime-time business anchor, who has led newsrooms in marquee print and television media outlets, including Bloomberg TV India as its editor till recently.
     
    Noted for his stellar track record in covering Indian financial markets, macro-economy, regulatory and administrative architecture, he possesses first-hand experience of economic policy formulation in India since 1997, said the network in a statement.
     
    “I am delighted to be part of the India Today family. I look forward to being part of the Group’s latest foray as it expands and enlarges its business content offerings across television, print, and digital platforms to offer meaningful content as India navigates the post-pandemic economic era,” Zarabi said.
     
    Speaking on the appointments, the India Today Group vice-chairperson Kallie Purie said, “Every once in a while, the business arena goes through an irreversible change. In the midst of this disruptive flutter, the real journalists and real ideas reshape the world. We are happy to be on the leading edge of this transformational journey with the most credible journalists, an enviable legacy and a truly Omni platform multimedia BUSINESS TODAY Experience”