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Tag: News Broadcasters Association

  • “Digital has emerged as alternative platform for information dissemination”: Arun Jaitley

    “Digital has emerged as alternative platform for information dissemination”: Arun Jaitley

    MUMBAI: The Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley has said that in the last two decades, conventional contours of the issues pertaining to freedom and responsibility of media had changed due to changes in the nature and content of media and the definition of news. 

     

    According to the Minister, news in the electronic media today is being defined by what the camera could capture. “In the current paradigm, technology has become a driving force for these changes. The impact of technology was profound as information dissemination was taking place 24×7 across different technological tools and media platforms including the digital space,” he added.

     

    Jaitley stated this while delivering the first Justice J. S. Verma Memorial lecture on the ‘Freedom & Responsibility of Media’ organised by the News Broadcasters Association.  

     

    Elaborating further, Jaitley said that technological developments had defied the contours of censorship and the challenges for the media lay within, in the context of ownership patterns, financial sustainability and financial models, which led to aberrations such as paid news.

     

    According to Jaitley, the challenges before the media were to ensure quality, credibility along with the responsibility to play the role of an educator in handling sensitive issues. The challenge also lay in maintaining high ethical standards on the issue of conflict of interest where media needed to be very careful.

     

    Regarding digital media, the Minister said the financial models would evolve as the medium matured. The digital platform also needed to evolve its own standards of responsibility as it had emerged as an alternative platform for information dissemination.  

     

    The Minister further mentioned that media responsibility was critical in addressing matters related to security, social tension, privacy of the individual and the issues that involved a subjudice connotation. “Media needs to avoid the conduct of parallel trials in reporting matters that were subjudice,” he said, adding that constructive deliberations on all issues relating to media freedom and responsibility needed to be initiated amongst all stakeholders. 

     

    During the course of his address, Jaitley recalled the outstanding contribution of Justice J. S. Verma in the domains of Human Rights, gender equality, probity and media freedom as the conscience keeper of the society. 

     

  • 400 cable operators demonstrate outside I&B Ministry

    400 cable operators demonstrate outside I&B Ministry

    NEW DELHI: Senior officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry met members of the Indian Broadcast Foundation (IBF) and the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) along with other stakeholders to discuss hurdles in the way of digitisation of cable television.

    The discussion primarily centered on carriage fee and the format of agreements between the various stakeholders including subscribers.

    The broadcasters were emphatic that carriage fee should be done away with it. Senior officials including joint secretary (broadcasting) Sanjay Murthy agreed to consider the various issues that were raised at the meeting.

    A ministry source told indiantelvision.com that the meeting was part of a series that was being organised to ensure smooth switch over to digital addressable systems.

    Around 400 local cable operators, who are members of Cable Operators Welfare Federation (COWF) demonstrated outside Shastri Bhavan, which houses the ministry, to gain entry and express their point of view at the meeting. Around 150 of them were later detained by the police and taken to Parliament Street police station where they were later let off.

    The ministry source, however, said that local cable operators (LCOs) who are the members of the taskforce had been invited to the meeting but only one of them had attended.

     

  • NBA meets against backdrop of attacks on electronic media

    NBA meets against backdrop of attacks on electronic media

    NEW DELHI: The executive committee of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) in a meeting today has reviewed the state of the electronic news media in the light of recent attacks on mediapersons.

     
    The NBA had last month vehemently condemned the brutal assault by policemen on journalists and cameramen who were covering the police action outside the ashram of self-styled godman Baba Rampal in Hissar, Haryana.

     

    In a press statement, NBA president Rajat Sharma had said, “This was a frontal attack on the freedom of the press. The whole nation was watching on television as policemen in ‘khaki’ were openly beating up journalists and cameramen who were merely doing their job of reporting.”

     
    When contacted, Sharma said the meeting was a routine one but NBA sources said there was a general discussion on the working of the news media in addition to routine matters relating to the Association.

     

  • NBA condemns assault on mediapersons in Hissar, wants action against policemen

    NBA condemns assault on mediapersons in Hissar, wants action against policemen

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) vehemently condemned the brutal assault by policemen on journalists and cameramen who were covering the police action outside the ashram of self-styled godman Baba Rampal in Hissar, Haryana on 18 November.

     

    In a press statement today, NBA president Rajat Sharma said: “This was a frontal attack on the freedom of the press. The whole nation was watching on television as policemen in ‘khaki’ were openly beating up journalists and cameramen who were merely doing their job of reporting. Policemen in uniform deliberately damaged expensive TV cameras and cellphones belonging to news channels and reporters, in full view of their senior officials.”

     
    The NBA president has urged the Chief Minister of Haryana to ensure that action be taken immediately against the men in uniform who ordered and carried out the unprovoked attacks on journalists and cameramen.  

     

    “The NBA clearly wishes to put it on record that such a naked show of unbridled ‘khaki’ power is unacceptable under any canon of democracy. The powers-that-be must understand that the journalists were only carrying out their lawful duty of disseminating information to the people even as events were unfolding right in front of their eyes.

     

    “For over two weeks now, the nation has been watching the spectacle of a state police looking completely helpless in arresting a self-styled godman hidden by his goons in his ashram and producing him before the Hon’ble High Court. On the contrary, the police today unleashed its power on helpless journalists doing their lawful duty.

     

    “The NBA considers this attack a blot on the face of democracy, and an assault on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression as enshrined in the Constitution,” Sharma said.

     

    “The Chief Minister must take exemplary action against the culprits to ensure that such shameful incidents are not repeated in future,” added Sharma.

     

    Meanwhile, the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) also strongly condemned the beating up of journalists and camerapersons who were covering the clashes between the police and supporters of controversial godman Rampal.

     

    It said it had been reported that while some journalists have been injured, camera and equipment of photo journalists have been damaged or broken. Even DGP S N Vashisht, confronted with evidence, had to concede a journalist was beaten up and that he will investigate the matter.

     

    The DUJ calls for the institution of a high level enquiry to probe the beatings of journalists. While demanding immediate compensation for those who have suffered injuries and damage to their equipment, the DUJ reiterates its demand that a compensation and insurance cover be put in place for media persons who while covering such conflicts have to face various hazardous tasks.

     

    The DUJ would also like to state that no one is above the law. The use of women and children as protective shields and exposing them to grave risks is highly condemnable and cannot be tolerated.

     

     

  • Viewers of pay TV channels should not be burdened with ads: Javadekar

    Viewers of pay TV channels should not be burdened with ads: Javadekar

    NEW DELHI: Even as a few broadcasters continue to grapple with the ad cap issue in the Delhi High Court, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today said pay channel viewers should not be burdened with advertisements.

     

    He said that while the government felt the logic of permitting advertisements was logical in the case of free-to-air channels, it would shortly decide whether this kind of restriction should also apply to pay channels who also earned through subscriptions. FTA channels have no other means of revenue apart from advertisements.

     

    The Minister was answering a question relating to the 10+2 ad cap presently permitted to all television channels. 

     

    The News Broadcasters Association and other stakeholders have already challenged the 10+2 formula in the Delhi High Court and it is pending hearing.

     

    While the NBA contends that news broadcasters being free to air do not earn any other revenue, the government has reiterated that the ad cap was part of the Cable TV Networks Regulations 1994 and the Cable TV Networks (Regulations) Act 1995. 

     

  • Rajat Sharma named as new NBA president

    Rajat Sharma named as new NBA president

    MUMBAI: The News Broadcasting Association (NBA) has just concluded its annual general meeting. India TV chairman and editor in chief Rajat Sharma has been named as the new president of the association for the year 2014-2015.

     

    Meanwhile, MCCS CEO – ABP News Ashok Venkatramani continues to be the vice president of NBA and News24 Broadcast India chairperson and MD Anurradha Prasad has been named as the honorary treasurer. She takes the place of former Network18 group CEO B Sai Kumar who quit the company a few months ago.

     

     The other members of the board are NDTV group executive vice chairperson KVL Narayan Rao who was the president for four consecutive years, TV Today Network director Ashish Bagga, Times Global Broadcasting Company MD and CEO MK Anand, Zee Media Corp CEO Bhaskar Das, Odisha Television director Jagi Mangat Panda, Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing whole time director MV Shreyams Kumar.

  • Govt. reconstitutes task force for DAS phases III and IV

    Govt. reconstitutes task force for DAS phases III and IV

    MUMBAI: Days after Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that digitisation in the country will progress as per the new deadlines; the government has come up with a reconstituted task force for implementation of digital addressable system (DAS) in phases III and IV.

     

    The new task force will constitute I&B additional secretary chairperson, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) principal advisor for broadcast and cable satellite, I&B Ministry joint secretary broadcasting, representative from the MSO Alliance, five independent MSOs one each from north, south, east, west and north east regions, five registered LCO associations one each from north, south, east, west and north east regions, representatives from the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, News Broadcasters Association, Association of Regional Television Broadcasters of India, DTH Association, FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, CEAMA, Department of Telecommunications, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, DG: Doordarshan, DG: All India Radio, BECIL, BIS, five prominent consumer organisations one each from north, south, east, west and north east regions and 33 state level nodal officers one each from the states/union territories governments.

     

    The task force would act as an interface between the government and the industry in matters related to implementation of DAS in the cable TV sector and monitor the implementation of DAS. It also will have to analyse the roadblocks that may come in the way of digitisation and suggest measures.

  • MIB issues advisory to channels over depiction of rash driving scenes

    MIB issues advisory to channels over depiction of rash driving scenes

    MUMBAI: The death of minister of rural development Gopinath Munde a few days after him taking charge of the office shook not just the nation but the government as well. Taking note from the incident, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (MIB) has issued an advisory to channels regarding depiction of rash, negligent or dangerous driving scenes/images.

     

    The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MRTH) has highlighted that depicting such incidences on programmes, news features and serials could be against public interest. Therefore, the MIB has advised TV channels that on the request of the MRTH such images or scenes may not be usually portrayed on TV channels.

     

    In the case where such a depiction becomes unavoidable, the scenes/images must be accompanied by messages such as ‘over speeding kills’ , ‘driving two-wheeler without helmet is dangerous and illegal’ and ‘driving four-wheeler without seat belt is dangerous and illegal’.

     

    The MIB urges all TV channels including Doordarshan to be extremely cautious with regard to such situations. Letters have been sent to the News Broadcasters Association, Broadcast Contents Complaints Council, The Advertising Standards council of lndia, All TV Channels and Doordarshan.

     

    The advisory is applicable to print publications as well.

  • NBA seeks remedy from new I&B Minister

    NBA seeks remedy from new I&B Minister

    MUMBAI: With the new Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar taking charge of changing the way the Ministry works in the country, the entire media fraternity is keen to meet him and make him aware of the issues concerning them.

     

    The latest in the queue to meet the Minister is the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), a body that represents various national and regional news channels of the country. The group included NBA president and NDTV executive vice chairperson KVL Narayan Rao, vice president and MCCS CEO Ashok Venkatramani, India TV chairman Rajat Sharma, Zee Media group CEO Bhaskar Das and India Today group CEO Ashish Bagga.

     

    The main issues that were put forth were regarding carriage fees and the ad cap. “These are huge problem areas that need to be addressed because all news broadcasters are adversely affected. The minister has said that he would do whatever he can about our problems,” says a source.

     

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap regulation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in TDSAT which was then taken to the Delhi High Court where it is currently pending trial. News broadcasters say that they have been severely affected due to carriage fees.

  • NBA gets a regional competitor

    NBA gets a regional competitor

    NEW DELHI: Even as the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) is looking after the affairs of larger news broadcasters, an All India News Broadcasters Association (AINBA) has been established by regional news players to ensure ethical journalism.

     

     

    Azad News chairman MS Walia is the chairman of the new organisation, with Total TV chief managing director Anil Gaba as vice chairman.

     

     

    However, it was clarified that this is the interim committee of office bearers and fresh elections will be held within six months to form a permanent committee.

     

     

    The other office bearers are: general secretary Tejinder Pal Singh of Patiala based Channel 2, treasurer S K Gupta of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh channel TV100 and joint secretaries Dr Prakash Sharma (Jabalpur’s SMBC Insight Channel) and Amit Agarwal (Raipur’s Channel TSN).

     

     

    Members of the governing body are: I D Garg (Gurgaon’s Khabrein Abhi Tak), Pushpendra Singh Baghel (Khabar Bharti, Noida), Vikram Newaar (Tazaa TV, Kolkata), A K Sama (Fast News, Rohtak), and Naresh Mehta (Khoj India, Gurgaon).

     

     

    A spokesperson told indiantelevision.com that a number of Indian news channels had tied up with the government and various agencies to put together a unified platform to look at a collective solution for ridding the industry of the various problems that continue to plague it without a workable solution in sight.

     

     

    The AINBA comprising of heads/owners of small and medium news channels held its first meeting in Delhi where it elected the interim committee of founding office bearers. The office will be located in the national capital. Currently having about 15 or 16 members, it will soon start approaching other broadcasters to join.

     

     

    This is the first such association or representative body of regional news players in the country, which will work towards creating a level playing field in the country at par with the national news channels.

     

     

    Apart from focusing on the problems of the industry, the association will work towards ensuring clean and ethical journalism, work towards curbing paid news and ensuring guidelines for self-regulation.

     

     

    The association will also work towards creating a platform for news syndication and exchange amongst member organisations, collective marketing and distribution.

     

     

    The AINBA will also act as a unified body working in conjunction with the government and representing the views, issues and concerns of the broadcasting industry, and play an exemplary role in finding workable solutions.

     

     

    The current body that exists is the NBA that has 57 news channels including a few regional ones such as Sakshi TV, ETV, Mathrubhumi, People TV, Kairali, Odisha TV, Sun network news channels and others.