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TV channels asked to avoid security risk footage

Published by TV Explore on October 16, 2009

Chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Mushtaque Malik has asked television channels to avoid broadcasting footages of terrorism and gory scenes.

Such footages and news are security risk, cause panic and harassment in the society and also damage the economy, he said.Talking to media-persons here Thursday Malik said that news and footages are covered without keeping in view their affect on the society.

He said that recently some channels gave the news that names of head of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and other five banks had been put on ECL. After the broadcast dollar surged by Rs10 and the economy had to suffer for billions of rupees. Later the news proved incorrect but those announcing it never had the courtesy to apologize for spreading misinformation.

He said whenever some specific news and footages showing people killed and injured, is broadcast, it created panic and harassment and damage to economy. He charged that still some channels are continuing with presenting security risk footages.

“We have issued notices to several channels asking them to desist from such activities that lead to creating sense of insecurity.” Malik said no coercive measure had been taken so far against any channel despite the fact that they are violating Pemra laws and code of conduct, they had already signed and accepted as part of license.

To a question, he noted that code of conduct was a law, which was enforced by the government. Some TV channels were violating this law, he added.He recalled that western media strictly avoided hoax and unconfirmed news. In western TV channels including BBC, CNN and others two senior media persons confirm the news sent by their TV channel report and then put it on. In Britain if a TV channel, even BBC telecasts a false and untrue news, it is fined.

Likewise those found projecting terror, terrorists or terrorist organisations or their cause are liable to punishment. He said, in our country no channel bothers to apologize for carelessness.

The chairman said that PEMRA had no plans to issue more TV channel licenses for the time being as study is being carried out to determine the demand and market for new TV channels given the present distribution network. In order to upgrade the cable network, the authority had decided that no new license would be issued in the metropolitan cities unless it is digital network.

Image coutesy of Leonardo José Riquelme

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