Media protests Centre’s notice to 3 channels over Yakub-linked content

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, August 8

The Narendra Modi government has served a show-cause notice on three prominent television news networks for their coverage of events related to the hanging of Mumbai bomb blasts convict Yakub Memon, a move that has led to protests from the media fraternity belonging both to print and electronic medium.

The Centre, through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has sent notices to ABP News, NDTV 24x7 and Aaj Tak, seeking their response for violating provisions of Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, official sources said.

The networks have been given 15 days to respond to the charges of violation: Hindi news channels ABP News and Aaj Tak for conducting an interview of underworld don Chota Shakeel in which he made comments showing disrespect to the judiciary; NDTV for telecasting a programme in which a lawyer commented on the judicial system and its integrity, said sources.

Sources maintained the notice was prepared under rules drafted five years ago, but the Broadcast Editors Association (BEA) countered the claim saying the norms were amended earlier this year. The BEA expressed concern saying the rules limited media coverage of anti-terrorist operations to “periodic briefings” by an officer “till such operation concludes”.

The BEA said the amended rules did not mention what constituted a terrorist operation as different from any other encounter; what stage should the government notify the nature of incident to the media and does it mean restriction on only airing of the operation “till such operation was over” or does it deny the right to cover the incident per se?

The BEA issued a statement after a meeting of its executive attended by representatives from ABP News, Times Now, Aaj Tak, India TV, Live India, India Today Television, CNN-IBN and other senior television journalists, its general secretary NK Singh said.

Through another joint statement, the Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Mumbai Press Club, Guwahati Press Club, Brihadmumbai Union of Journalists and Delhi Union of Journalists condemned the government’s attempt to intimidate the media. "It is shameful that cable TV rules have been invoked to question the right of the media to air views or do stories that run contrary to the decisions of the government and the Supreme Court on capital punishment in general and Memon’s case in particular. We are shocked that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is party to such an assault on free speech. We urge the Prime Minister to intervene and withdraw the notices,” the statement said.