Shackling the Electronic Media
Is is because Karat's wife and NDTV boss Prannoy Roy's wife are sisters?
Well, as they say, blood is thicker than water or ideology.
Radheshyam
Breaking news, reporter Karat
From "The Telegraph"
New Delhi, Jan. 14: News television heads who have been lobbying support against the government’s proposed move to set guidelines for the electronic media, especially in the light of the coverage of the Mumbai attacks, have found an unlikely ally in Prakash Karat.
Responding in uncharacteristic fashion to appeals made by channel heads, the CPM general secretary today sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing common cause with the electronic media honchos.
In the letter, Karat has said that his party was of the opinion that no hasty step should be taken. “Our party is of the view that apart from the self-regulatory mechanism put in place by the news channels, it is necessary to have co-regulation through an independent regulatory body. How this is to be done has to be discussed and a common approach arrived at. Till then, no steps should be taken… to further regulate the news channels.”
This is a rare occasion — probably the first time — Karat has communicated directly with the Prime Minister after his bitter break over the nuclear deal. Indeed, the CPM boss is not known to have written an individual missive to Singh on any policy issue in over a year.
Karat’s decision to write to the Prime Minister himself rather than speak through the CPM politburo, which usually spells out the party’s stand on policy issues, may have been a way of flagging the plea of news channel heads for special attention.
Karat is related, by marriage, to the owners of the television news network NDTV. The wife of Karat and that of NDTV boss Prannoy Roy are sisters.
Other political parties, too, appeared to side with the media, though no other party has taken up the matter at the apex level as the CPM has.
Although Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party leader, whom the channel heads met today, has promised to raise the issue with Prime Minister, he is of the view that “there should be a provision to prevent enemy nations from accessing sensitive information…”.
If the amendments are incorporated in their current form, the channels will be allowed to show only authorised feed of footage of emergency situations.
The representatives of the news broadcasters had met the Prime Minister yesterday. Today, they called on L.K. Advani and Sonia Gandhi.
According to the broadcasters’ association, Singh said the proposed changes in the act would be finalised only after the widest possible consultations.
But information ministry sources said the government was determined to go ahead
I am of the opinion that th media should be reigned in.
They will never control themselves. When matters cool down, they will again start running after TRPs.
Look at the way they are day in and day out just dishing out trash in murders, rapes and what not , repeating the same scenes again and again.
The way the publicised the Arushi Murder is still fresh in my mind.
Radheshyam
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