MxMIndia

Tag: Priyaranjan Dasmunshi

  • Pradyuman Maheshwari reacts to the many claims made by the MIB in a 'Bharat Nirman' series ad

    Time to call Minster’s bluff. 6.5/10 performance by UPA-run I&B ministry

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    It’s perhaps unfair to damn only Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari for his performance. Successive occupants of that office – under various regimes – have made a mess of things over the years. Right from the time of BV Keskar, the first mantri who banned Hindi film songs on Vividh Bharati to occupants such as LK Advani, IK Gujral and Sushma Swaraj who didn’t do much for the sector. Ministers like Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Anand Sharma were on war with many broadcasters and Ambika Soni was by far the best of them all though the digitization execution process was messed up when she was at the helm.

     

    Earlier this week, as part of the Bharat Nirman series of ads, the DAVP inserted an ad making several claims under the headline “Empowering People Through A Liberal Information Order”.

     

    I think it’s important that someone were to call the minister and ministry’s bluff. The text in italics is my response to the points made in the ad.

    • Several policies issued and implemented for the liberalization of Print Media Sector in last 10 years

    Is it? Like? Save appeasing the sector with DAVP ad hikes, there’s precious little done 

    • Television industry grew from Rs 18,300 crore in 2006 to Rs 50,140 crore in 2014

    This would have happened any which way. No marks for the UPA 

    • Total number of TV channels increased from 130 in 2014 to 788 in 2014

    Again no credit to UPA for this. In fact, the government has been sitting on many applications and approvals over the last few months 

    • 3 Crore Set-Top Boxes installed in the first two phases of digitization

    Yes, Digitization is an achievement of the government. But look at what happened with it? Chennai is not fully digitized. Kolkata faced several hiccups. Phase 2 is nearly 90 percent, which is heartening 

    • New policy guidelines for Television Rating Agencies issued in 2014

    One is not very sure whether the government should be getting into policing television audience measurement. That should be left for the industry. Thankfully, the government hasn’t got into IRS or advising ad duration on radio and column centimetres/ad-edit ratio in print 

    • New policy guidelines issued for Headend in the Sky (HITS) Broadcasting Services and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)

    It is fine to issue guidelines, but an IPTV, for instance, has been a non-starter. And HITS is just about a nice acronym 

    • Radio industry grew from Rs 600 crore in 2006 to Rs 1540 crore in 2014

    Would’ve grown more had news been allowed. Isn’t it ironic that all and sundry can start news channels – on satellite and cable – and our radio folks aren’t trusted? 

    • 245 FM channels in 85 cities since 2005. In the next phase 839 channels proposed in 294 cities

    Phase III? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Phase III has become a joke. We’ve heard about it just so often. Even the Mumbai Metro would’ve started, but our government would be sitting on the papers. 

    • Community radio stations increased from 64 in 2009 to 163 in 2014

    For a country of a billion-plus people, 163 community radio stations is an apology. Not enough done to evangelise it.

    • Foreign Direct Investment for five segments of broadcasting sector revised in 2012

    And what about news? So FDI can be upped in critical segments like telecom, but not so in news. Just why?

     

    • Overhaul of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 by Justice Mudgal Committee

    Some welcome steps here? Implemented? 

    • National Media Centre with ultra modern facilities inaugurated

    No point having just one in Central Delhi. The Central Telegraph Offices in various cities which had press rooms should’ve been upgraded too. News journalists exist in other parts of the country too, Mr Minsiter! 

    • National Museum of Indian Cinema being set up in Mumbai

    Better late than never… but would’ve been nicer to coincide with 100 years of cinema.

     

    What the ad doesn’t tell us is the several things the government hasn’t been able to achieve. Make Doordarshan an independent and top quality pubcaster like the BBC, for instance. Some attempts to improve DD News were nullified by interference in newsroom operations.

     

    Ever since Manish Tewari has taken charge as the Minister, he has waxed eloquent on the paradoxes of the industry qua (his favourite word) exigencies of the business. He has even tried to police the cable trade on ownership issues since the networks in his home state of Punjab are managed by his political rivals.

     

    The government has tried its best to keep the issue of self-regulation issues alive by scaring the news media on and off. Under the pretext of protecting the interests of consumers, the 10+2 ad cap was introduced which saw much resistance from news broadcasters.

     

    The government hasn’t been able to do much on Paid News. Newspapers still carry paid content with or without disclaimers in fine print.

     

    So how would you rate the last 10 years of the UPA-run I&B Ministry? I would give it a 6 on 10. Okay, let’s make it 6.5, because it could’ve even gotten worse.

     

  • While the former I&B Minister was successful in warding off complainants of television content, there were various measures that didn’t happen in her tenure

    Mediaah Report Card on Ambika Soni: 7/10

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Although I would hold her responsible for the mess that we have in digitization, Ambika Soni was among the better I&B Ministers we have had in the last decade.

     

    In my report card, I would give her a 7 on 10.

     

    In fact had it not been for digitization and the lack of gamechanging vision, she’s could’ve scored higher.

     

    Remember she took over from Anand Sharma and earlier Priyaranjan Dasmunshi who had made life tough for industry practitioners.  Ms Soni’s tenure came as a breath of fresh air. Reportedly, the advisory she received from her predecessors was that she shouldn’t go easy on media biggies, but she would’ve none of that.

     

    Everyone has a view on the content dished out on television and in the print media. Parliamentarians, legislators and politicians of all hues, consumer and advocacy groups, corporate, citizens, et al would engage with her to act on their demands. For instance, Balika Vadhu in Colors was found by some to be glorifying child marriage or Sach Ka Saamna and Bigg Boss were found to be unfit for family viewing. Ms Soni heard the complaints and kept the complainants at bay. The general entertainment channels must thank the former minister to ward off a variety of pressures.

     

    I think just letting various players do their job with a nudge here and there was an achievement. Ms Soni also ensured that entertainment and news broadcasters work out an effective self-regulatory mechanism. This had had its share of hiccups in the past, but in her tenure it happened.

     

    Ambika soni

    But though her progressive outlook ensured that the industry benefitted, various factors pull her down in this appraisal. In fact, according to one magazine study a few years back, she was judged to be a non-performer.

     

    Let’s look at the areas where Ms Soni failed:

     

    1. Doordarshan. The pubcaster had turned 50 in 2009 and there was an opportunity to make it a more professional BBC-like body. Didn’t happen.

    2. Radio. News on FM radio is not allowed due to some silly Home Ministry objections even as there are several cable channels in every nook and corner of the country.

    3. Paid news. If paid news is being discussed much it’s thanks to the Election Commission and a section of the fraternity. The minister had an opportunity to cleanse the system, but she didn’t want to upset the holy cows in the business

    4. Tougher on measures: Had she adopted a sterner stand and asked the industry to act faster, we wouldn’t have seen an NDTV taking TAM to court as BARC would’ve been set up and offered the necessary guidelines.

    5. Digitization. Agreed it’s a bold measure and it’s in her tenure that it gained momentum and was being executed. But the fact that it didn’t was all thanks to the way her ministry went about the task. Even as there are just two days to go, 100 per cent digitization will take another two or three months to happen in the four metros.

     

    Could this embarrassment have been avoided? Yes, of course.

     

    I am also shocked at how and why she quit less than a week before what was decidedly the biggest thing in Media and Entertainment in the last decade. Bigger than DTH and other policy initiatives. Yes, it’s a good idea that a senior political leader goes back to help the party in the run-up to the elections, but why do it when the Sunset Date is just a week after?

     

    Why did the Prime Minister allow her to do so? Why did the UPA chairperson allow it?

     

    This, I guess, is the reality check for all of us in the media. The powers that be don’t really care.

     

    As for Madame Soni’s score in my report card. 7/10. And a red line for being irresponsible and leaving the ministry a week before her biggest project was being executed.

     

    Pradyuman Maheshwari is Editor-in-Chief, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own. Inbox him at pradyumanm@mxmindia.com or use the messageboard below

     

  • The I&B ministry ought to have known that the June 30 sunset date for the four metros was unachievable, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Mediaah! Why Ambika Soni is to blame for the delay in digitization

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    I have been a huge fan of the current information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni. After the likes of Priyaranjan Dasmunshi and Anand Sharma, Madame Soni’s tenure came as a breath of fresh air. And a much-needed one, because she didn’t make life miserable for the broadcasters like her predecessors did (and I am told wanted her to).

     

    The I&B minister’s job is a thankless one. Several hundred Parliamentarians and politicians, consumer groups, corporates, lobbies and alert citizens writing to her with comments and requests, and most of which cannot be ignored.  If Colors didn’t face any problems with Balika Vadhu or Star Plus didn’t have to pull out Sach Ka Saamna, it’s thanks to the minister warding off various pressures.

     

    I think just keeping all these complainants at bay and letting the various players do their job is an achievement. She has also gently ensured that news and non-news broadcasters adopt a stringent (and effective) self-regulatory mechanism.

     

    So what’s the problem? Well, part of it is thanks to successive I&B secretaries having short tenures. Uday Kumar Varma, the incumbent, also has a two-year stint prior to retirement or an extension. Mr Varma has the advantage of having worked with MIB in the past at senior positions so he didn’t spend a few months understanding the nuances of the job as a few of his predecessors may have had to.

     

    Over the last few months, several industry captains and observers have told me that the ministry is inefficient which I have vociferously countered by saying Ms Soni’s achievements need to be counted by her proactive opposition to regressive forces. At least one CEO even told that me that I was too pro-MIB. Perhaps, but that’s because she’s not regressive.

     

    However, the fact is that the ministry lacks the initiative to deliver on bold measures. Nothing happened with Doordarshan even as much was promised when it celebrated its golden jubilee in 2009. The radio sector is still floundering: there is still no news on radio even as television stations even in the most sensitive of zones in the country are allowed to air news. The minister wasn’t able to stand up to her colleague in the food and consumer affairs department on ad regulation and more recently it’s made a mess of the entire digitization process.

     

    The Minister and her secretariat were aware of the requirements of the process, so even before accepting the TRAI regulations, they ought to have looked at whether the Sunset Date of June 30 was achievable. It wasn’t as most stakeholders told us.

     

    Even now, as a few of the people familiar with the situation on the ground have told me that October 31 is going to be a tough ask.

     

    It’s critical that the government monitors the execution carefully and ensures that there is no room for any further delays. Care must also be taken to ensure that the respective state governments and municipal corporations are taken into confidence… especially in Chennai and Kolkata.

     

    As to those who raise the bogey that digitization puts television out of the reach of the lowest common denominator, the answer is that they can always access terrestrial transmission. Quality software must be paid for.

     

    Meanwhile, all is not lost for the Honourable Minister. She must get aggressive on digitization and various other pending issues in her ministry. Or let history remember her as one more ineffective I&B ministers that India has had.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me:

    pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.  The views expressed here are my own.