Bengal govt issues advisory against ‘misleading, sensationalised’ news coverage
The advisory says such coverages appear to be violative of the Programme Code as defined under Section 5 of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995
The West Bengal government has issued an advisory under Section 19 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, against “satellite TV channels transmitting coverage of news and incidents in such a manner which are misleading, sensationalised and having ‘communal tone and likely to cause breach of peace in the state”.
The advisory says such coverages appear to be violative of the Programme Code as defined under Section 5 of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995, and as elaborated under Rule 6 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Rules, 1994 particularly sub-rule.
The advisory prohibits content with visuals or words that reflect a “slandering, ironical and snobbish attitude in the portrayal of certain ethnic, linguistic and regional groups”.
The said advisory has also observed that “in the news, some of the channels broadcast debates having unparliamentary, provocative and ‘socially unacceptable language, communal remarks and derogatory references which may have a negative psychological impact on viewers and may also incite communal disharmony and disturb the peace at large”.
