Dasmunshi flays channels for sensationalisation of news

Agencies Posted: Jul 01, 2008 at 1316 hrs
Malda (WB), July 1: Sensational news coverage by some television channels to draw eyeballs and hike TRP ratings has led the government to think of setting up a monitoring mechanism, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said on Tuesday.

"Some channels are engaging in excesses to grab viewers' attention for better TRP ratings," the Minister said.

The Minister cited news coverage of Noida girl Aarushi Talwar's murder and Kolkata teenager Shinjini Sengupta's illness following her audition in a reality show.

Dasmunshi said a two-round meeting of private channels and officials from various ministries will be held next week and in August to discuss the issue.

The government does not want to impose its unilateral decision on the channels, he told reporters in Malda (WB).

On May 19, Sengupta was paralysed after being rebuked by judges for underperforming at a reality dance show on a Bengali television channel. She is currently undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences in Bangalore.

Similarly, Talwar's family has been under media glare after she was murdered along with domestic help Hemraj.