Flout with impunity

IN Media Watch Briefs | 09/12/2015
TRAI's efforts to regulate the number of advertisements run on news and non news channels have not been very successful. While it is mandatory for channels to submit data on the number of minutes of advertising to programming, the data submitted by channels to TRAI shows that close to 140 channels flouted the norm of a 12-minutes per hour cap during prime time, going up to 20 minutes of advertising or more.
 
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The new term for self censorship is voluntary censorship, as proposed by companies like Netflix and Hotstar. ET reports that streaming video service Amazon Prime is opposing a move by its peers to adopt a voluntary censorship code in anticipation of the Indian government coming up with its own rules. Amazon is resisting because it fears that it may alienate paying subscribers.                   

Clearly, the run to the 2019 elections is on. A journalist received a call from someone saying they were from Aajtak channel and were conducting a survey, asking whom she was going to vote for in 2019. On being told that her vote was secret, the caller assumed she wasn't going to vote for 'Modiji'. The caller, a woman, also didn't identify herself. A month or two earlier the same journalist received a call, this time from a man, asking if she was going to vote for the BSP.                 

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