The Centre on Saturday asked television rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to immediately withhold reporting Television Rating Points (TRPs) for TV news channels for four weeks, or until further orders.
The directive came as a consequence of certain TV news channels airing “unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content” about the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, which, the Centre said, may potentially create panic among the general public, especially those having friends and family in areas affected by the conflict or residing in conflict zones.
The directive, issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, stated that it has observed that, amidst the ongoing conflict, certain news TV channels are displaying unwarranted sensationalism and speculative content.
Invoking Clause 24.2 of the policy guidelines, which states the company shall be required to comply with any orders, regulations, guidelines, directions, etc., issued by the Ministry from time to time, the directive stated: “Therefore, in the public interest, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting hereby directs M/s BARC to immediately withhold reporting the Television Rating Points (TRPs) for news TV channels for a period of four weeks or until further directions, whichever is earlier.”
The ongoing turmoil in West Asia has continued to dominate television news coverage since last week.
In 2020, the I&B ministry had suspended TRP ratings for news channels for several weeks over allegations of data manipulation, following a Mumbai Police investigation on certain broadcasters.
