News-views separation can help print media revival: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: The dividing line between news and opinion has weakened leaving viewers and readers searching for facts and this could be a challenge for the print media to "strike back" by presenting news without a "slant", Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday.

The minister said while there has been an explosion of TV channels, viewers often watch "shrill debates" and their craving for facts is not satisfied.
The old principle, Jaitley said, was that news is sacred and should be presented clearly "without any slant" adding that opinion could be presented in editorials. "I feel the dividing line between news and opinion has weakened," Jaitley said. In this scenario, print media can "strike back" by presenting facts with clarity, he said.

Jaitley released Press in India 2014-2015 that reflected a 5.8% annual growth. About 5,817 new publications were registered this year, taking the total number up to 1,05,443.

The largest number of newspapers and periodicals registered in any Indian language are in Hindi with a figure of 42,493 publications followed by English with 13,661 registered publications.

However, only 23,394 publications out of over a lakh had submitted their annual returns to the Registrar for Newspapers in India (RNI). In a bid to bring in more transparency, the government is planning to bring amendments in the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act under which publications not submitting annual statements for three consecutive years may face deregistration.

RNI DG S M Khan said certain amendments had been proposed by which if any newspaper is not able to file annual statements for three consecutive years, then deregistration process of that publication may be considered.

He said the I&B ministry has given its nod and even the Law Ministry has almost approved these proposed amendments.