Media Lok Sabha Report
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STANDING COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 47 (2012-13) FIFTEENTH LOK SABHA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING ISSUES RELATED TO PAID NEWS FORTY-SEVENTH REPORT LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI May, 2013/Vaisakha, 1935 (Saka) FORTY-SEVENTH REPORT STANDING COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (2012-13) (FIFTEENTH LOK SABHA) MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING ISSUES RELATED TO PAID NEWS Presented to Lok Sabha on 6 May, 2013 Laid in Rajya Sabha on 7 May, 2013 LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI May, 2013/ Vaisakha, 1935 (Saka) CONTENTS Page No. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (2010-11) (ii) COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (2011-12) (iii) COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (iv) INTRODUCTION (vi) REPORT PART – I Chapter I Introductory 1 i Genesis 4 ii Forms, facets and manifestations of Paid News 6 iii Distinction between „News‟ and „Advertisements‟ 7 iv Need for defining „Paid News‟ 9 Chapter II Complexities involved in the Issue of „Paid News‟ 11 Chapter III Causes of „Paid News‟ 14 i Editorial Section v/s Management/Owners of Media Houses 14 ii Working conditions and issue of wage of Media Personnel 17 iii Private Treaties 19 iv Cross Media Holdings/Ownership 23 Chapter IV Paid News and its implications on Electoral Process 29 Chapter V Existing mechanism/ Guidelines/ Codes/ Norms/ Acts/ Organizations/ Professional 36 bodies/ Legislations/ etc. The case of M/s Jindal Steel Power Limited and M/s Zee Ltd – highlighting 41 loophole in the existing guidelines/code/ mechanism Chapter VI Measures to tackle the menace of „Paid News‟ 45 i Efficacy of Self regulation 45 ii Role of Press Council of India (PCI) in tackling „Paid News‟ 57 PCI‟s Sub-Committee Report relating to 2009 General Election titled „„Paid 62 News: How corruption in the Indian media undermines democracy‟ iii Regulation of advertisements by DAVP 62 iv Complaint Redressal mechanism/ Ombudsman 63 v Penalty 66 vi Transparency regarding Revenue/Assets of Media Houses and Right to 69 Information Act , 2005 (RTI) vii Awareness/Education/Training and need for a national help line to curb „Paid 72 News‟ Part-II Observations/Recommendations of the Committee 76-98 Annexures I Conclusions of the PCI‟s Sub-Committee Report on Paid News relating to 2009 99 General election titled „Paid News: How corruption in the Indian media undermines democracy‟ II Brief of the recommendations of PCI‟s Report on Paid News relating to 2009 102 General election as provided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting III Information furnished by Election Commission of India on the issue of paid news 103 IV Details of the Complaints received by Press Council of India against „Paid 110 News‟ since 2009 Appendices I Minutes of the Fourth sitting of the Committee (2010-11) held on 116 20 December, 2010 II Minutes of the Second sitting of the Committee (2011-12) held on 118 24 October, 2011 III Minutes of the Fifth sitting of the Committee (2011-12) held on 120 11 January, 2012 IV Minutes of the Sixth sitting of the Committee (2011-12) held on 122 31 January, 2012 V Minutes of the Third sitting of the Committee (2012-13) held on 124 13 December, 2012 VI Minutes of the Fifth sitting of the Committee (2012-13) held on 126 16 January, 2013 VII Minutes of the Twelfth sitting of the Committee (2012-13) held on 129 26 April, 2013 COMPOSITION OF STANDING COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (2010-2011) Shri Rao Inderjit Singh - Chairman Lok Sabha 1. Shri Rajendra Agrawal 2. Shri Nikhil Kumar Choudhary ** 3. VACANT 4. Dr. Charles Dias 5. Shri Rajen Gohain 6. Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh 7. Shri Mithilesh Kumar 8. Shri Sadashivrao Dadoba Mandlik 9. Shri Inder Singh Namdhari 10. Shri Adhalrao Shivaji Patil 11. Shri Abdul Rahman 12. Shri Prem Das Rai 13. Shri Tufani Saroj 14. Shri Tathagata Satpathy 15. Smt. M. Vijaya Shanti 16. Dr. Bhola Singh 17. Shri Dhananjay Singh 18. Shri Sushil Kumar Singh 19. Shri C. Sivasami 20. Shri Dharmendra Yadav Rajya Sabha 21. Shri M.P. Achuthan * 22. Shri Mohammed Adeeb 23. Shri Salim Ansari * 24. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar * 25. Shri Rajkumar Dhoot 26. Shri Prabhat Jha 27. Prof. Alka Balram Kshatriya 28. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad 29. Shri P. Rajeeve 30. Shri Jesudasu Seelam * Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 21st September, 2010. ** Shri Milind Deora, ceased to be a member of the Committee consequent on his appointment as Minister of State for Communications and IT on 12.07.2011. (ii) COMPOSITION OF STANDING COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (2011-12) Shri Rao Inderjit Singh - Chairman ***** Lok Sabha 2. Shri Rajendra Agrawal 3. Smt. Sarika D.S. Baghel 4. Shri Nikhil Kumar Choudhary 5. Shri H.D. Devegowda 6. Dr. Charles Dias * 7. Shri A. Ganeshamurthi 8. Shri Rajen Gohain 9. Smt. Darshana Jardosh 10. Dr. Tarun Mandal 11. Shri P.R. Natarajan 12. Shri Tapas Paul 13. Shri Tathagata Satpathy #14. Smt. Supriya Sule 15. Smt. Seema Upadhyay 16. Vacant 17. Vacant 18. Vacant 19. Vacant 20. Vacant 21. Vacant Rajya Sabha @ 22. Shri Joy Abraham 23. Shri M.P. Achuthan 24. Shri Mohammed Adeeb 25. Shri Salim Ansari 26. Shri Rajkumar Dhoot **27. Dr. Bhushan Lal Jangde 28. Shri Prabhat Jha 29. Prof. Alka Balram Kshatriya 30. Shri Jesudasu Seelam @ 31. Shri Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar * Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 29th November, 2011. ** Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 4th May, 2012 vice Shri P. Rajeeve, M.P. Rajya Sabha # Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 17th May, 2012 @ Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 11th July, 2012 vice Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, M.P. Rajya Sabha (iii) COMPOSITION OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (2012-13) Shri Rao Inderjit Singh - Chairman LokSabha 2. Shri Abdul Rahman 3. Shri RajendraAgrawal 4. Shri Raj Babbar 5. Shri Nikhil Kumar Choudhary * 6. Shri Khagen Das 7. Shri A. Ganeshamurthi 8. Shri RajenGohain 9. Smt. DarshanaJardosh 10. Shri H. D. Kumaraswamy 11. Shri BaidyaNath Prasad Mahato 12. Shri Sadashivrao D. Mandlik 13. Dr. Thokchom Meinya ** 14. Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani 15. Shri Tapas Paul 16. Shri Radhe Mohan Singh (Ghazipur) 17. Smt. Seema Upadhyay 18. Vacant 19. Vacant 20. Vacant 21. Vacant RajyaSabha 22. Shri Joy Abraham 23. Shri Mohammed Adeeb 24. Shri Javed Akhtar 25. Shri Salim Ansari 26. Shri Bharatsinh Prabhatsinh Parmar # 27. Dr. Kanwar Deep Singh 28. Shri Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 29. Dr. C.P. Thakur @ 30. Vacant 31. Vacant Secretariat 1. Shri BrahmDutt - Joint Secretary 2. Shri N.C. Gupta - Director 3. Shri Ajay Kumar Garg - Additional Director 4. Mrs. Rinky Singh - Executive Assistant * Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 13.12.2012 vide Shri Ramsinh Rathwa, vide Lok Sabha Bulletin Part –II dated 13.12.2012. ** Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 09.01.2013 vide Lok Sabha Bulletin Part-II dated 09.01.2013. # Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 28.03. 2013 vide Rajya Sabha Bulletin Part-II dated 01.04.2013 @ Shri Rajkumar Dhoot, M.P. Rajya Sabha resigned on 11.02.2013 from Committee. (iv) INTRODUCTION I, the Chairman, Standing Committee on Information Technology (2012-13), having been authorized by the Committee to present the Report on their behalf present the Forty- seventh Report on ‘Issues related to Paid News’ relating to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 2. The Standing Committee on Information Technology (2010-11) selected this subject for detailed examination and Report to the Parliament. In view of the wide ramifications of the subject and considering the need for wider consultation, the examination of the subject could not be completed during the term of the Committee (2010-11). The Standing Committee on Information Technology (2011-12), therefore, reselected the subject to continue further, the examination. Since the examination remained inconclusive during the term of the Committee (2011-12), the present Committee again selected the subject to complete the unfinished task. 3. To elicit wide opinion on the subject, a Press Communiqué was issued through print and electronic media on 15th December, 2010 seeking views/suggestions from experts/stakeholders/organizations/public at large. The Committee also sought views of the Election Commission of India, former Chief Election Commissioners, self-regulatory bodies on media, Press Council of India, Prasar Bharati and the nodal Ministry i.e. the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on the subject. 4. The Committee also took evidence of the experts, journalists, News Broadcasters Association, Prasar Bharati, former Chief Election Commissioner, former members of Press Council of India, President of Editors Guild of India, President of Indian Journalist Union, Centre for Media Studies, Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat, President of Haryana Commission of Journalist and the nodal Ministry i.e. the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 5. The Committee at their sitting held on 26th April, 2013 considered and adopted the Report. The Committee were immensely benefitted by the suggestions/contributions made by the Members of the Committee for which I express my sincere thanks to them. 6. The Committee wish to express their thanks to the representatives of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Prasar Bharati who tendered their evidence before the Committee. The Committee also wish to express their sincere thanks to the organizations/individuals who furnished written information/views as well as those who appeared before the Committee and made available necessary information for consideration of the Committee, which was of great help to the Committee in arriving at conclusions. 7. The Committee also place on record their appreciation for of the invaluable assistance rendered by the officials of Lok Sabha Secretariat attached to the Committee. 8. For facility of reference and convenience the observations/recommendations of the Committee have been printed in bold in Part-II of the Report.