Information & Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today said the media industry should consider holding a common exam for journalists, on the lines of that conducted by the Bar Council, after which they could be given licence to pursue the profession.

“I think a good starting point would be that rather than possibly prescribing a curriculum which is then standardised across institutions, possibly the media industry could think about at least having a common exam.

“Like you have a bar exam, like you have a medical exam or exams which are conducted by other professional bodies, which then issue a licence, which enables you to pursue your profession,” Tewari said at an event here.

He said doctors and lawyers need licence to practice and there may be a case for allowing standardisation in the media industry as it attracted people from various professions.

Tewari said there were good institutions to train journalists, but there were also “fly-by-night” operators in the media education sector. He said professionals from diverse fields would not resent the idea of a common exam.

“It would bring a certain amount of standardisation across the media space,” Tewari said while speaking at the event organised by CMS Academy here.

Press Council of India head Justice (retd) Markandey Katju had earlier raised the demand for minimum qualifications for journalists.

Digitisation market

Tewari also said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) should look into the demand of news channels to extend the time frame for implementing the 12 minute ad-cap till the final phase of digitisation.

“I think it will be possibly worth the while of the regulator to seriously look into some of the issues which they have raised and see if they can give them a road map which is synchronous with digitisation, so that we can have a seamless implementation of both digitisation and the statutory remit,” Tewari said.

Tewari said apart from protecting consumer interest, TRAI should also look at the industry situation so that downsizing does not become the rule rather than the exception.

Speaking about digitisation, Tewari said one of his regrets was that a $6-8 billion market had been given away to countries like China, Taiwan and other countries.

He said manufacturing Set Top Boxes (STBs) “is not rocket science” and digitisation has been a “huge missed opportunity” for the medium and small scale industry.

He said Indian industry should utilise the opportunity of providing STBs for third and fourth phase of digitisation.

Freedom of Press

Tewari also spoke about a “fundamental ambiguity” regarding classification of media as to whether it a business under article 19(1)(g)(freedom to practice any profession) of the Constitution or any other activity which is entitled to the protection of article 19(1)(a)(freedom of speech and expression).

He said a “conundrum” that has been bedevilling the media sector in India is whether we have freedom of the press or freedom of ownership of press.

“After 67 years of independence as we meet here today, in the wake of possibly a downsizing or rightsizing which is taking place, in one of the broadcasting platforms and at a point in time when the wage board recommendations have been taken to the court by the promoters, I cannot help but conclude that media is a business and the rights of the citizens and the rights of the media barons fall in different buckets,” Tewari said.

“The twain are like parallel tracks, perhaps never destined to meet.

“The reasonable restrictions which are caveat article (19)(1)(g) in terms of 19(6) are sought to be resisted when they are suggested not by government but by even concerned and conscientious stakeholders and watchers of the media space,” Tewari said.

“And when oversight mechanisms or regulatory models are even discussed in the public domain, it is seen, as if an assault is being made on the freedom of press,” he said.

The Minister said this mindset needs to change as according to section 19(6), there should be reasonable degree of oversight in the interest of general public at large.

He also said revenue models of print and electronic media were advertisement-driven which were leading to certain problems. He said digitisation would allow more subscriber revenues to reach TV channels.

Tewari also said his ministry had sent a proposal to the Law Ministry to incorporate provisions against paid news in the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act.

He said it was proposed that paid news would be made an offence which would have provisions of penalty and suspension of license.

Later, while speaking to reporters about the assault on an elderly Sikh by a British girl in UK, Tewari said Sikhs had contributed a lot to the development of the country and such incidents were intolerable.

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