Paid News’ Offenders May Lose Registration

The government is considering amendments in the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act to make "paid news" in the media an offence which may attract a monetary fine or, in extreme cases, cancellation of the publication's registration. 

The Information &Broadcasting Ministry's (I&B) move to review the Act comes in conjunction with the Election Commission's proposal to make "publishing or abetting of publishing" of "paid news" an electoral offence that may even led to two-year imprisonment for the offender. 

Although what really constitutes "paid news" is not been defined, currently the attention is on favourable or unfavourable electoral estimates that have been paid for. However, it would also include similar "paid news" on other subjects if it is not clarified that the impugned article is an "advertorial" or a "supplement". 

An I&B ministry source said: "Just as a candidate can be held responsible for giving material for paid news, the publication should also be held responsible for accepting such material." However, with the Lok Sabha polls barely a year away, it's doubtful whether amendments to the legislation will get Parliament's nod. 

The ministry is also considering changes in the Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) rules to block DAVP advertisements to publications that have attracted a repeated censure for "paid news" from the Press Council of India. Several small and medium media organizations are heavily dependent on DAVP ads and this clause would act as a major disincentive. 

Committees appointed by the Election Commission has been unearthing a number of instances of "paid news" recently, including over 400 alleged instances of "paid news" during the December 2012 Gujarat election.

The parliamentary standing committee reviewing the PRB Act has already recommended that an annual statement record of income from advertisements should be filed by publications. Rapping the I&B ministry for not providing a suitable mechanism for checking the menace of "paid news", the panel headed by Rao Inderjit Singh said: "The committee need hardly emphasize that having the provision of furnishing details of advertisement revenue by the publications would definitely address the menace of paid news to a great extent. The committee express their serious anguish that the ministry has missed out an opportunity to curb the menace of paid news.'' 

The legislation has now been sent back to the ministry for suitable amendments. 

In 2011, the EC had recommended amendments to the Representation of People Act 1951 which would make publishing "paid news" for furthering the prospect of election of any candidate or for prejudicially affecting the prospect of election of any candidate an electoral offence with punishment of a minimum of two years imprisonment.

Sourced: (Times of India):  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Paid-news-offenders-may-lose-registration/articleshow/18508803.cms

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Mobile Phone Sales Worldwide

Worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 1.75 billion units in 2012, a 1.7 per cent decline from the previous calendar year, according to technology researcher Gartner, Inc. Smartphone continued to drive overall mobile phone sales, and the fourth quarter of 2012 saw record Smartphone sales of 207.7 million units, up 38.3 per cent from the same period last year, the research findings said. Demand for feature phones remained weak in 2012 and in the fourth quarter. Feature phone sales totalled 264.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, down 19.3 per cent year-on-year.

Gartner analysts expect feature phones sales to continue to fall in 2013. Gartner predicts that sales of worldwide Smartphone sales to end users will be close to one billion units in 2013, and overall mobile phone sales to end users are estimated to reach 1.9 billion units. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple and Samsung together raised their worldwide Smartphone market share to 52 per cent from 46.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2012. Samsung ended the year in the number one position, in both worldwide Smartphone sales and overall mobile phone sales.

Tough economic conditions, shifting consumer preferences and intense market competition weakened the worldwide mobile phone market last year.

Community Radio in 12th Plan

The Information & Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has said that to give a fresh impetus to the Community Radio movement in India, the government is planning to allocate 100 crore rupees in the 12^th Five Year Plan. It was also proposed to set up 500 new Community Radio Stations (CRS) during the Plan period, he said this while speaking at the 3^rd National Community Radio Sammelan in New Delhi this week.

The Minister said his Ministry had identified key benchmarks for the Plan period whereby a road map would be prepared to provide assistance for operating Community Radio Stations. While elaborating on the proposal of the Plan fund, he said 90 crore rupees had been proposed for providing financial support, while 10 crore rupees was proposed for training, capacity building and awareness activities of CRS. The Minister also said provisions had also been made for giving grants in this sector for research and innovations.

In order to encourage working of Community radio stations, several key proposals and initiatives were being looked into that included Peer Review of Community Radio Stations, capacity building of community radio operators and Code of Ethics for self-regulation of content by CRS. The Minister also said efforts were being made by the ministry in coordinating relevant issues with Ministry of Communications and IT with regard to better frequency allocation plan for the CRSs. The Minister has categorically said that his Ministry had taken the initiative to promote the streamlining and simplification of Community Radio empanelment through DAVP thereby ensuring that empanelled stations got a fair share of government advertisements. (Source : PTI and Agencies)

China's New SMS Culture

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Beijing residents sent 831 million SMS from their mobile phones to wish friends and relatives rather than visiting in Person. This shows a decline in family relations in China. In the Chinese capital city alone residents sent 831 million SMS for New Year, according to the Beijing branch of China Mobile, the country's biggest telecom operator.

According to a report of China Unicom Beijing, a recorded peak volume of 8,000 text messages per second sent on first night of the new year on Saturday, the February 10th. "Saying happy new year on Weibo has become a good custom," was quoted as saying by the China National Radio. Weixin, a popular smartphone application that allows voice messages and more creatively edited greetings, also became popular this year among the country's 233 million 3G users due to its convenience and low cost, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Chinese sent 897 billion SMS messages in 2012, up only 2.1 per cent year on year, whereas the number of mobile users gained about 11 per cent to 1.1 billion", said a report from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in January. China has now 564 million netizens, about 75 per cent of whom can access the Internet from their cell phones, according to the MIIT report.

More young Chinese are nowadays working and settling down in cities far from home. Beijing had 7.7 million migrant residents as of the end of 2012, and many of them are the only children in their families. Zhong Xin, a professor of communications at Renmin University said "It is perhaps necessary for young people to cherish family ties, for they will have fewer and fewer relatives as time passes. He said loneliness is harder to deal with than the bustle. (Source: Agencies)