No compromise on decency: I&B Ministry issues advisory to TV channels

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday issued an advisory to television channels against reporting incidents of accidents, deaths, and violence which compromise on “good taste and decency."

The advisory has been issued after several instances of lack of discretion by television channels were noticed by the ministry, the Ministry said. At least 12 such examples, broadcast over the last few months on TV channels, were cited by the Ministry to drive home its point.

"Television channels have shown dead bodies of individuals and images or videos of injured persons without taking the precaution of blurring the images or showing them from long shots," the Ministry said.

The advisory said that videos were being taken from social media and being telecast without editorial discretion and modifications, ignoring compliance and consistency with the Programme Code for TV channels.

“Television, being a platform usually watched by families in households with people from all cohorts – old aged, middle aged, small children, and so on, and with various socio-economic backgrounds, places a certain sense of responsibility and discipline among the broadcasters, which have been enshrined in the Programme Code and the Advertising Code," the statement said.