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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Govt tightening reins on paid news -Himanshi Dhawan

Govt tightening reins on paid news -Himanshi Dhawan

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published Published on Aug 15, 2013   modified Modified on Aug 15, 2013
-The Times of India


NEW DELHI: The government is tightening the rules to stop any incidence of "paid news" in the election season. Media organizations found guilty of publishing "news'' for a consideration will risk losing their registration according to amendments to the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) act proposed by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry. Similar provisions are also likely to be brought in for electronic media.

With assembly elections less than three months away the government plans to rein in instances of "paid news'' by introducing stiff penalty provisions. The Election Commission has recently proposed that ``publishing or abetting of publishing'' be made an electoral offence that could lead to two-year imprisonment for the offender.

According to the proposed amendments in the PRB act, the first violation will invite a 30-day suspension of advertisements from Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity while the second violation will mean no DAVP ads for 60 days. A third violation will attract cancelation of registration for the newspaper or magazine. The new amendments are part of a cabinet note that has been sent to the law ministry for vetting.

"We have suggested amendments to the PRB Act to check instances of paid news in newspapers. We are considering similar provisions for the electronic media as well,'' I&B minister Manish Tewari said on Wednesday. The ministry would take action on recommendations made by the Election Commission and the Press Council of India (PCI) in the case of print media and News Broadcasters Standards Authority (NBSA) for electronic media, he said.

The parliamentary standing committee reviewing the PRB Act has already recommended that an annual statement record of income from advertisements should be filed by publications. Rapping the I&B ministry for not providing a suitable mechanism for checking "paid news", the panel headed by MP Rao Inderjit Singh said, ``The committee need hardly emphasize that having the provision of furnishing details of advertisement revenue by the publications would definitely address the menace of paid news to a great extent." The legislation has now been sent back to the ministry for suitable amendments.

The Election Commission in 2011 had recommended amendments in the Representation of People Act that would make publishing and abetting the publishing of `paid news' for furthering the prospect of election of any candidate or for prejudicially affecting the prospect of election of any candidate an electoral offence with punishment of a minimum of two years imprisonment.


The Times of India, 15 August, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-tightening-reins-on-paid-news/articleshow/21836635.cms


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