“Cross media ownership should be
regulated”
ExchangeforMedia.com, July 30,
2012
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Media has news, marketing and
entertainment versions. Ninety per cent of TV viewing
population watches entertainment, not news. It influences
the way we think, the way we dress, the way we imbibe our
values.
“Without disregarding the importance of news, one cannot
have different things for news and entertainment,” said PN
Vasanthi, Director, Centre for Media Studies.
Talking about pluralism and availability of choice, she said
that their eight-year study of the news media shows that
there are many players with many channels coming up. But we
are getting more of the same. It’s the same serials in all
the channels, so where is the choice? Where is the
plurality? The number of players have increased drastically,
but does that turn into an option for the listener, viewer
or the reader?
In this convergence, is any regulation possible? With
technology, there are different mediums becoming important,
but is it feasible? “In today’s era we don’t respect the
country’s laws and if there is a penalty or violation, we
don’t know whether people will be penalised and whether it
will reach a conclusion. There is no regulation in this
sector, and the worry is that who will look after the
development of this sector, per se,” she further shared.
The cross media debate
Cross media ownership has been a
hotly debated topic, with strong supporters as well as
detractors. Some feel that even if businessmen or
politicians are not allowed to own media properties, there
are various other ways of owning them.
Administrative
Staff College of India performed a study, requested by
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, on cross media
ownership in India. It analysed different points such as
what does concentration of ownership result in? Are there
large number of players operating or are only few players
actually dominating the market?, shared Dr Paramita Dasgupta,
Professor, ASCI.
The study unveiled that there are a large number of
companies that have cross media presence. There is
significant concentration in a majority of relevant markets.
It was also found that same people have ownership across the
relevant markets, which indicates considerable amounts of
dominance and market power.
Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General, Consumer Unity and Trust
society said, “In terms of the cross media ownership, it has
been pointed out how concentration is increasing in various
markets. In South India, it is probably the worst. Coming to
the ownership in political parties, ownership as such is
often difficult prove in the Indian contest. There is no
guarantee you can control ownership or any kind of
concentration.”
Dasgupta said, “Yes, there should be cross media regulations
put it in place. Convergence should be taken into account
and instead of having a multiple regulators we should have
one umbrella regulator to look at all the aspects of media.”
PN Vasanthi, Dr Paramita Dasgupta and Pradeep S Mehta were
speaking at a conference organised by ASSOCHAM on Cross
Media Ownership. The conference was held in New Delhi on
July 27, 2012.
This news can
also be viewed at: http://www.exchange4media.com/
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