The December 30 Cabinet Note seeking amendments to the Cable Television Network Rules of 1994 that aim to regulate television coverage during military and anti-terrorist operations and restrain channels from running recordings of narco-analysis,lie-detector tests,judicial confessions,and graphic coverage of sexual crimes has been dispatched for comments to the Home and Defence ministries following the approval of the Law Ministry.
The Cabinet Note states that the Government has already been under pressure from civil society and the Supreme Court to address the growing menace of obtrusive content of TV channels.
The Iamp;B Ministry has admitted that the urgent necessity for amendments arose due to the aberrations noted in the coverage of the recent Mumbai terror attacks by the news channels in which the location,strategy or other operational details of the security forces had seemingly been compromised. The proposed amendments,the ministry has opined,will sufficiently empower the Government to take immediate action against the erring TV channels for any violations of the Code.
The ministry has especially criticised TV coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks,the Gurjjar agitation and the Amarnath protests,alleging that TV channels are in a race to catch more eyeballs and thereby earn higher rating points.
It has pointed out that while the News Broadcasters Association NBA has only 30 news channels as members,more than 200 permits have been given to run news and current affairs channels. The proposed amendments come at a time when the NBA has already drafted its own guidelines for crisis coverage post the Mumbai attacks.
The Cabinet Note is scathing on the quality of TV coverage of the Mumbai attacks where it says the entire electronic media was swamped by pictures of excessive violence even after the operation had ended. It has been noticed that the news items telecast by some TV channels contained details,identity,number of hostages or information regarding number of security personnel involved or the methods employed by them in a hostage situation that may endanger the security personnel as well as the rescue operation.
Similarly,live contact including phone-in calls and interviews with victims or security personnel or other technical personnel involved or the perpetrators of crime while the violence or the criminal activities are in progress tend to escalate law and order problem and may hinder national security.
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Attaching too much importance to the objectives of the perpetrators of crime on TV and thereby glamorising them facilitate publicity of such militant outfits and their ideologies and tend to evoke sympathy. This needs to be curbed.
Most of the news and current affairs TV channels tend to put the caption live even while replaying file shots and that creates apprehension in the mind of the viewers especially during crisis situation. There have also been instances where due to indiscretion in reporting of ongoing criminal investigation,cases have been jeopardised.
The ministry has listed 19 new amendments in the Cable TV Networks Rules to address various community and security concerns,remove ambiguities and empower the Government to exercise better regulatory control. While the approval of a delayed carriage of live feed of war or anti-terror operations is to be left to the discretion of a notified authorised officer district magistrate,sub-divisional magistrate or commissioner of police,permission for carrying any footage of a narco-analysis or polygraph test or judicial confession is proposed to be sought via a court order.
While a designated authorised officer who will be notified in the official gazette will clear all feeds of live war or terror operation coverage,live phone-in calls,operational details,unnecessary repeat footage and unauthenticated information related to investigations will not be permitted to be carried by cable services.
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The ministry has proposed a slew of amendments aimed at curbing TV channels showing explicit images of sexual violence against women and children,exposing the identity of such victims,showing emotional scenes of living victims and relatives of deceased victims of crime,war and disaster,depicting extended images of blood or gore,and showing material that glorifies superstition and occultism.
The ministry has stated that its order for making the detailed amendments in the 1994 Rules will be issued one month after the approval of the Union Cabinet.
