DME Media School: Study Material BA JMC: First Year - Semester 2 BA (JMC) 104: Media Laws and Ethics Unit 2: Press Commissions and Committees Study material by Dr Susmita Ba REPORTS OF COMMITTEES Chanda Committee Report Chanda Commitice was set up in1964 under the chairmanship of Mr Ashok K Chanda.former Auditor General of India, for studying the working and programmes of All India Radio and television programming and suggest measures for improvement. It submitted its report in April, 1966, By the time this report came, AIR had acquired a reasonably extensive set up with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting embarking on a two-phase plan for extension of broadcasting service. Television was also showing moderate growth. The plan included expansion of radio and TV broadcasting infrastructure in state capitals, and also in border areas. The objective was to include the uncovered linguistic and cultural areas. Chanda Committee endorsed the above objectives and acknowl the expansion but expressed its dissatisfaction with the approach of according unimportant position to this important medium of communication. The committee recommended additional measures for enhancing technical capability so as to facilitate wider coverage. In order to ensure a balanced growth of AIR and television network, the Committee emphasised on the selection of ideal locations and procurement of standardized equipments. Chanda Committee pointed out that deficiencies, both of the instruments of transmission and reception, were rendering rural services ineffective. Community listening was suffering on account of maintenance of receiving sets. It recommended that mass production of low cost transistor sets and their distribution was essential to make coverage of rural areas meaningful ‘The committee expressed concern that public resources were being misused for propaganda of public policy and as a medium for setting political agenda. It also pointed out the adverse effects of centralisation and bureaucratisation which were resulting in improper selection of talent, curbing the staff enterprise for quality programmes, inadequate compensation to artists and indifference in content, quality. and presentation of programmes, ‘The Committee said that the absence of any system for audience research to determine the extent and quality of programmes was impacting the medium. It said, undue publicity of government policies had made rural programmes distasteful, and villagers were unable to identify with them owing to obscure and pretentious language and references to peculiar agricultural inputs and chemicals Chanda Committee also recommended the separation of radio and television with two independent corporations. It was not acceptable by the goverment then, The separationultimately ttappened on April 1, 1976 and the TV set up was named as Doordarshan. Another recommendation was for the starting of a commercial service of AIR which ultimately started from Vividh Bharati in1967, Verghese Group and Aakash Bharti AIR was palpably misused as ‘a government organ’ during the Emergency in 1975. Several constraints were imposed on radio and television, the "AIR code" (for broadcasters) was declared. outmoded and there was a crackdown on opposition views. The then minister of Information and Broadcasting V C Shukla instructed AIR station directors that AIR was not a forum run by the government to debate on the incompatible ideologies but to make people ‘understand’ government policies, During Emergency trustworthiness took a backseat as AIR became a propaganda tool for the prime minister and her policies, but after the annihilation of Emergency, the country’s first non- Congress government pledged “genuine autonomy” to the electronic media. The White Paper on the Misuse of the Mass Media was commissioned, followed by the constitution of a working group headed by former editor of The Hindustan Times B G Verghese in August 1977 t0 look into autonomy for the electronic media Verghese Group: Constituted in 1977 Verghese Group was mandated to examine the practical, monetary anid legal aspects OF the proposal to give complete autonomy to AIR and Doordarshan, with accountability to Parliament, keeping in mind the diverse forms of autonomous organisations existing in other democratic countries in the matters of broadcasting, ‘The working group projected the formation Of an autonomous National Broadcasting Trust Aakash Bharti, “a non-profit making body, an indispensable public service licensed to maneuver under @ parliamentary charter and accountable to the parliament”. It was not in favour of two separate trusts for radio and TV though it urged for a distinctive identity for the two medium under an incorporated charter of Aakash Bharat. Among the specific aims of the trust, the group, integrated the task to produce and transmit varied programmes premeditated for all sections of the people Verghese Group: Report submitted in 1978 a Verghese Group in its report submitted in 1978 had focus on autonomy. It recommended that all, the national broadcasting services should be vested exclusively in an independent, impartial and autonomoug organisation - national broadcast trust_named Aakash Bharti. It should be established by law with Parliament to dct as a trustee for the national interest. The autonomy of the corporation and its independence from government control should be entrenched in the constitution itself and the idea of a trust woven into it. The group did not favour two separate corporations for Akashvani and Doordarshan. Instead it wanted to keep both broadcasting media under one umbrella The report also indicated restricted powers for the government viz-a-viz the trust. REStriGted power can legitimately be given to the govemment to require the trust the refrain frombroadcasting any matter which has a clear relation to national security, the preservation of public order, and other matters of grave public importance. Power can also be conferred on the government to require broadcasts in cases of emergency ‘Aakash Bharti: An autonomous trust, It was proposed to have @ 12-member Board of Trustees with a full time Chairman and five functional full time members. Three of them were to be in charge of current affairs, culture and extension. Of the part-time Trustees, at least one should be highly experienced in the ficld of finance and management and other an eminent scientist or engineer familiar with the technology of broadcasting. The trustees were to be appointed by the President on the recommendation OF the Prime Minister from a list of names forwarded to him by a nominating panel consisting of Chief Justice of India, the Lok Pal and the Chairman of the UPSC. It would be healthy convention if the Prime Minister Consults the leers of the opposition before submitting the list of names to the President. The trustees would enjoy the status of Supreme Court Judges. They were to be appointed for a term of six years, one-third of the members retiring every alternate year. A Licensing Board was to be set up to issue licenses to franchise station operate their own transmitters for specific purposes. The license was to be renewed every three years. Commercial advertising should not be allowed over these educational stations, ‘A Complaints Board of four persons, selected by the Chief Justice of India was recommended. It ‘was supposed to deal with complaints from the public relating to charges of unjust or unfair treatment, provided the complainant waives his right to resort to the courts, The Board of Trustees was to be responsible to Parliament through their budget and annual reports, together with accounts and auditor's comments, reports of the complaints board and a review of the operations of the Licensing Board and the franchise stations. There was to be a Central Executive Board to carry out the policies of the Board of Trustees, and will consist of Controller-General of Broadcasting and 12 Directors ‘Aakash Bharti: Mandated to streamline broadcasting ‘Akash Bhai was also mandated to take up the following ‘+ To evolve a suitable broadcast code in place of the AIR code, 1970 ‘* To form a code for party political election broadcast ‘+ To form certain national values for Akashvani and Doordarshan ‘+ To ensure balanced and objective presentation of news without any partisan or ideological slant ‘Akash Bharti Bill was drafted and presented in Parliament but it could never become an Act due to collapse of Janta Party Government in 1979. It was later redrafted as Prasar Bharti Act, passed by Parliament in 1990 and implemented in 1997 ike universities to PC Joshi Working Group on Software ‘After the Congress government was hack in power in 1979, autonomy for AIR and Doordarshan ‘was not considered necessary to enable radio and television broadcasting to discharge their basicobjectives of serving the people. In 1982, the government appointed a Working Group with Dr. PC. Joshi as its Chairman "to prepare a software plan for Doordarshan. The working group. in its report submitted in 1984, emphasised on the lack of functional freedom. It suggested reorganisation of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on the Railway Board pattern, ‘meaning thereby that it should be similarly manned only by people with professional experience. Sengupta Group report Goverment of India constituted an expert group headed by Dr. N. K. Sengupta in 1995 to review the Prasar Bharti Act 1990 and make recommendations regarding the restructuring. T.R. Malakar, Deputy Director General, All India Radio was nominated as the coordinator t0 assist the Sengupta Group in its deliberations and finalising the report, ‘The group noticed that there was a paradigm shift from state monopoly of electronic media to an independent sector. The privatisation of AIR’S FM service by way of leasing out of slots to private operators and the plethora of satellite TV channels have ended the monopoly of the state- owned electronic media. In the changed scenario, Prasar Bharti would eventually be one of the players in the broadcasting arena, The group had several meetings and also interacted with media experts, representatives: of various associations of the employees of Doordarshan and All India Radio, senior executives of AIR and DD stationed in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras and eminent people representing different walks of life such as management, education, literature, culture, arts, music, dramaties and journalism, Sengupta Group reviewed Prasar Bharti Act in the light of the Supreme Court judgment (1995) oon the use of airwaves. It was in the context of this judgment that the group proceeded with its deliberations bearing in mind that the Act require certain relevant modifications if it had to reflect the true spirit of autonomy, accountability and national needs and aspirations. The group ‘was of the opinion that there was no need to change the whole Act; instead it recommended altering some of the provisions, intrexlucing some newer ones and deleting few of the existing provisions in order to make this Act workable The report of Sengupta Committee remained on paper and could never be implemented. Written by Dr Susmita Bala on April 27, 2020 Words: 1765