Broadcast Authority Bill: A move in the right direction

Many opposition parties have raised concerns regarding the Broadcasting Authority Bill. During a COPE Committee meeting it was revealed that the main channels have bought channel rating boxes fixed at randomly selected houses. This way the channel ratings have been manipulated. Most TV channels now run behind violence and crimes and have glorified these stories to the point that perpetrators are sometimes perceived as heroes.

This sets a bad precedent on the viewers. The news bulletins aired during primetime hours have more news items on violence including crimes, sexual abuse etc., and even go to the extent of showing sensitive CCTV footage. Sometimes an incident where a person is being killed or meets with an accident is repeatedly shown to the public. Even though many medical experts have explained concerns on showing these incidents in repeat, but the channels haven’t obliged to these warnings.

This has also been a challenge for print media, as most news go viral on social media and broadcast media channels and print media therefore has to maintain their pace. There is hardly any positive news being shown on TV channels except for individual projects done by those channels and media houses. But there are many people who continue to serve fellow humans in their individual capacities and these are very seldom given any publicity.

Therefore, the move to establish a Broadcasting Authority Commission is a move in the right direction from a viewer’s point of view. The world is changing rapidly and we are now at a time where Netflix type documentaries and stories should be shown to the public without the everyday Indian soap operas that people are now being addicted to watch.

Broadcast media can do a lot more to have a positive impact on society and media, after all is a service to the people rather than a money-spinning operation.