The Hindu : Govt. requests TV channels to observe restraint

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 03, 2002

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Govt. requests TV channels to observe restraint

By Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI MARCH 2. Apprehensive of the exhaustive television coverage of the riots in Gujarat "fanning communal passions elsewhere,'' the Government is said to have informally requested the management of private channels to exercise restraint in their reportage. Concerned over reports of sporadic incidents of violence from other parts of the country and fearing that the round-the-clock coverage of events could fuel passions, the request was apparently made by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on Friday. However, no formal communication has been sent to any channel yet.

Though officials in the Ministry told The Hindu on Friday evening that they had seen no perceptible change in the nature and tenor of riot coverage after the request was made, they insisted that there was no move to formally rein in the channels. In the informal communication, the television channels were requested to desist from showing visuals that could incite communal sentiments.

Unlike Doordarshan — which is governed by a broadcasting code — private channels have more or less a free run. While the I&B Ministry is wary of taking any stringent action against the channels for fear of trampling on the freedom of Press, officials said there was a provision within the Cable Television Networks Rules which allowed the local authorities to ban a channel if they felt the situation so warranted.

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