Electronic media may soon come under Press Council Act

The TRAI had recommended that government should not regulate the media and there should be a single regulatory authority for print and electronic media.

The Press Council of India is in the process of considering its earlier proposal for amendments to the Press Council Act to bring electronic media under its jurisdiction, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said today.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on whether the government proposes to set up a common statutory regulator, Rathore said the Press Council of India (PCI) is in the process of considering its earlier proposal for amendments to the Press Council Act, 1978 to bring electronic media under the jurisdiction of the PCI, which may be considered after receiving the views of Chairman PCI.

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He further added that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology had in its 47th report recommended that there should be statutory body viz Media Council having eminent persons as its members to look into all media contents both from print and electronic media.

The TRAI, he further said, had in its report on Cross Media Ownership has recommended that government should not regulate the media and there should be a single regulatory authority for print and electronic media.