http://howrah.org/india_news/23903.html
'Media must adhere to ethics of journalism' ASIANAGE 11 August, 2008 04:50:19 BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI Aug. 11: Union secretary for information and broadcasting, Sushma Singh chose an appropriate forum to air her views on a content code for the audio-visual media, the Second Indian News Television Summit held in the capital over the weekend. Ms Singh said that while the government does not want to interfere with media freedom, she called upon it to show a sense of responsibility and adhere to journalistic ethics. Ms Singh's remarks are not without a reason. Though news broadcasters have been promising that they will be putting in place a self-regulatory content code, they haven't done it so far. While the News Broadcasters Association, a body which represents several leading news channels, has drafted its content code, it hasn't become functional yet. Ms Singh said that channels need to introspect as to whether what they are showing in the name of news is really news. She noted that sensationalism in the content of news channels often results in creating alarm and it was the reason why the government has issued as many as 241 showcause notices to news and other channels over the past few years. Further, she said that the ministry is under pressure from various sources including the courts to act faster on creating a suitable content code.
