A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian took note of the plea which also sought setting up of an independent committee headed by either by a former Chief Justice of India or an apex court judge to review the entire legal framework related to media business regulations and suggest guidelines.
Independent, internal ombudsmen are the need of the hour
Ever since the Mumbai Police filed a supplementary chargesheet containing about 1,000 pages of WhatsApp messages between Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council CEO Partho Dasgupta, the discussions in the media have been about ethical transgressions, manipulating institutional arrangements to show increased audience reach, and breaching the line meant to protect the autonomy and efficacy of regulating bodies and external research entities. For a news ombudsman, the main issue is that an effective institution of self-regulation for the Indian media does not exist.
Media regulation
There are four bodies in India for media regulation. The first is the Press Council of India, created through an act of Parliament. It is headed by a former Supreme Court judge. Its mandate is to preserve the freedom of the press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in Indi
Bombay High Court balances free press vs fair trial, writes Olav Albuquerque
The judges have pointed out that the media must report news without mixing opinion and comments. This will ensure that the people can form their own opinions by watching the reportage on news channels. Wisely, the judges felt the guidelines framed by various bodies such as the Press Council of India and the NBSA, apart from others, were sufficient to regulate news channels.
PTI
Judges have written reams on the independence of the judiciary while pontificating on freedom of the press. Judges mould and knead the Constitution, and specifically, the right to free speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 (1) (a), like malleable clay to suit the changing situation of society. While listening to contentious arguments, they have to balance conflicting rights of a free media versus the right to a fair trial of cheats, rapists, and economic offenders like Vijay Mallya and Nirav
DNA Special: Are OTT platforms abusing right to expression?
There is no such organization to control the content on digital media and OTT platforms.
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Updated: Jan 19, 2021, 06:14 AM IST
In today s show, we will tell you how the guidelines applied to news channels over news coverage doesn t apply to OTT platforms and digital media, which affects the youth. News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) is an independent nine-member body set up by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for the self-regulation of 24X7 news channels that are part of NBA. The body issues guidelines for covering sensitive news from time to time, which the news channels have to follow.
Highlights
In DNA on Monday, Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary speaks on the OTT Platforms.
Over The Top: When the content is made available to viewers through the internet, without any cable network and satellite channel, it is called OTT.
Zee News brings its viewers news across genres and on their favourite show DNA, Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary speaks on several topics and explains them further. As a channel, we fully follow guidelines of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority regulating Television News and these guidelines apply to all news channels. However, no such rules apply to the OTT Platforms and Digital Media.