The state-owned television broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) and public radio broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) are in line for a mighty bounce back if the ‘Modi Sarkar’ has its way.
Speaking at The Hindu Leadership Summit, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar told a packed house at ‘GoaFest 2014’ that the newly inducted Central Government will “re-energise both” the Government media channels and bring back lost glory.
Javadekar added that he had already discussed the same with Prasar Bharati officials. “We want to make DD competitive in the current scenario add fantastic content”. In a not so veiled, but mild, threat to cable operators across the country, Javadekar said that he would refuse to listen to their grievance until Doordarshan was being aired by them in the primary band.
On the issue of allowing news broadcast on private FM channels, Javadekar gave a cryptic response saying, “My heart is for news,” but did not elaborate further.
Speaking about the worry over the censorship of media, particularly the imminent threat of arrests over social media posts, Javadekar said that social media comes under the IT Act which is a ten-year-old legislation. “Much has changed since then,” he said without going any further to say if the Act would be reworked.
Assuring complete freedom to the media, he said: “The right to criticise and voice your dissent is your right.” However, he said that the Government was all for freedom of the media, which was the greatest pillar of democracy. “But with every freedom comes responsibility,” he quickly added.
Saying that you cannot enforce laws unless the intent comes from within, Javadekar heaped lavish praise on The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) that had imposed self-censorship in the advertising business. “If there are bodies like ASC in industry, there is no need for the Government to intervene,” he said.
Cross media ownership
Replying to audience questions about whether industrialists being allowed to own media companies would pose a danger to the functioning of the media business, he said: “Cross media ownership was being actively debated now. If that boils down to a game of 3-4 owners what happens to the state of media are some questions being raised,” he said.
He added that cross-ownership of media and the television ratings system were the key issues that were being debated actively.
“We will work extra time and walk the extra mile but come to decisions one these,” he said.
Taking a swipe at television audience measurement major TAM Media, Javadekar said that the company had shown great marketing skills in selling its product in such a way that every broadcaster was capable of claiming they are on top in terms of viewership.
Competitive market forces like the broadcaster funded BARC, which is currently preparing for launching its own measurement systems, can help in increasing the efficiency of measurement. “I believe in open market systems as it ensures fair play,” he said.