Click to play videoNew Delhi: Live India reporter, Praskash Singh, was produced in the Tees Hazari district courts of the Capital on Saturday, where he was remanded to seven days judicial custody.
Even as Prakash comes to terms with this rather dramatic profile change — from that of a TV reporter to an accused — the fake sting operation he allegedly carried out, has brought into sharp focus the debate about news broadcasting regulation in the country.
The pressure is now on broadcasters to evolve a content code before the Government imposes one.
Says member Editors Guild of India, A Sachidanad, "This particular sting operation has forced the broadcasters to formulate a content code."
Broadcasters have already been successful in getting the Information & Broadcasting Ministry to have a re-look at the controversial Broadcasting Bill draft.
More importantly, the Government is now willing to keep the content code out of the Bill's purview, provided news channels put together a self-regulatory code within a year.
Says Annie Joseph of the News Broadcasters Association, "To meet this end, we have formed a committee and we will be meeting soon to formulate guidelines."
At present, few news channels have clear guidelines on sting operations and those who pioneered stings have distanced themselves from the most recent sting gone wrong.
Says Tehelka Executive Editor, Sankarshan Thakur, "All in all, this brings a bad name to journalism and journalists."
While the first round of the fight between the I&B Ministry and the broadcasters over regulation of news and current affairs content on the Indian idiot box has gone to the broadcasters, this whole sting operation controversy, if anything has forced the broadcasters to hurry with the self-regulation code.
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