In the dock for its coverage of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), an amalgam of electronic media organizations, on Thursday unveiled several self imposed guidelines, which include a ban on live reporting of hostage crises and blocking information which may help terrorists.
The guidelines come in wake of coverage of the terror strike in Mumbai which elicited widespread criticism from the public and the government, which threatened media houses with the imposition of an emergency protocol.
NBA was already debating the formulation of a self-restraining code, but the Mumbai terror attack clinched the argument from the naysayers, as broadcasters hurried to complete the process after the event.
In pursuance of the guidelines broadcasters will not disclose details of hostages and withhold sensitive information on rescue operations.
The broadcasters have also been asked to avoid live contact with victims and with security personnel engaged in rescue operations.
The guidelines urge broadcasters to exercise their judgment in not airing details of identity and number of hostages, and refrain from reporting or making comments that might provide publicity to terrorists.
“News related to armed conflict and communal violence should be shown with public interest in mind,” the guidelines said.
The broadcasters have been asked to avoid unnecessary repetition of archival footage which may agitate the minds of viewers.
“Dignity of those who are killed should be kept in mind while such incidents are telecast,” the guidelines read.
Announcing the guidelines, Justice JS Verma, who headed the drafting committee, said self-regulation was “far more effective” than anything else, and stressed that these guidelines were the “first big step” in the direction of self-regulation.
“Self-regulation is a requirement which everyone who has considerable power must exercise. Nobody likes to be told what to do,” Verma told reporters while explaining the rationale for self-regulation guidelines.
The guidelines, finalised on Wednesday, come at a time when the government is mulling an “emergency protocol”, and a broadcast code that strikes a balance between freedom of the press and societal concerns.
Some of the guidelines are similar to the advisories issued to TV channels by the information and broadcasting ministry during and after the Mumbai terror attacks.
The self restraining code is will ensure that reporting, of sensitive situations like the Mumbai attack, does not in any way put the security of the nation at risk and is also not offensive to public taste.
The guidelines come in wake of coverage of the terror strike in Mumbai which elicited widespread criticism from the public and the government, which threatened media houses with the imposition of an emergency protocol.
NBA was already debating the formulation of a self-restraining code, but the Mumbai terror attack clinched the argument from the naysayers, as broadcasters hurried to complete the process after the event.
In pursuance of the guidelines broadcasters will not disclose details of hostages and withhold sensitive information on rescue operations.
The broadcasters have also been asked to avoid live contact with victims and with security personnel engaged in rescue operations.
The guidelines urge broadcasters to exercise their judgment in not airing details of identity and number of hostages, and refrain from reporting or making comments that might provide publicity to terrorists.
“News related to armed conflict and communal violence should be shown with public interest in mind,” the guidelines said.
The broadcasters have been asked to avoid unnecessary repetition of archival footage which may agitate the minds of viewers.
“Dignity of those who are killed should be kept in mind while such incidents are telecast,” the guidelines read.
Announcing the guidelines, Justice JS Verma, who headed the drafting committee, said self-regulation was “far more effective” than anything else, and stressed that these guidelines were the “first big step” in the direction of self-regulation.
“Self-regulation is a requirement which everyone who has considerable power must exercise. Nobody likes to be told what to do,” Verma told reporters while explaining the rationale for self-regulation guidelines.
The guidelines, finalised on Wednesday, come at a time when the government is mulling an “emergency protocol”, and a broadcast code that strikes a balance between freedom of the press and societal concerns.
Some of the guidelines are similar to the advisories issued to TV channels by the information and broadcasting ministry during and after the Mumbai terror attacks.
The self restraining code is will ensure that reporting, of sensitive situations like the Mumbai attack, does not in any way put the security of the nation at risk and is also not offensive to public taste.
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