Remove distasteful tickers targeting Teesta Setalvad: NBDSA directs Times Now
The Authority has advised the channel from using such tickers in the future, of which it has been guilty in the past as well
In June 2022 the arrest of Ms. Teesta Setalvad invited protests from various organisations and well meaning citizens, opposing her arrest, calling it political vendetta. Her arrest was widely covered in news media as she was booked under trumped up charges of giving false evidence while she was fighting against the system just so that the victims of the 2002 Gujarat Pogrom get justice. While some news channels gave her arrest the fair representation it warranted, there were some channels like Times Now, which once again jumped the gun and set to tarnish the image of Ms. Setalvad, who is a journalist herself as well as a well known crusader of human rights in India.
On June 25, 27 and 28, 2022 Times Now aired three shows with the intention to portray Ms Setalvad as unworthy of trust and compassion. The channel had a field day around her arrest and the charges levied on her by casting aspersions on her humanitarian work and vilifying her by casting aspersions on her credibility as a Human Rights Defender.
The tickers that ran through the show included:
“Lutyens ‘Fix Modi’ Plot Nailed?”
“SC nail ‘Fix Modi’ Plot”
“Teesta-UPA 1.4 Crore irregular Handshake”
“Padma, Post and Paisa”
“Modi Fixer was Favoured”
“Reward for ‘Ruin Modi’ Plot?”
The complaint had stated that the hosts of the various shows, namely – Navika Kumar, Rahul Shivshankar, and Poonam Budre appeared biased towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons throughout the show.
During the hearing held on December 15, 2022 Advocates Aparna Bhat and Karishma Maria appearing for CJP [assisted by the CJP team] submitted that in the show, the panellists speaking in favour of Ms. Setalvad were constantly interrupted by the hosts while those speaking against her were granted more time.
The NBDSA, in its order stated that while parts of the shows discussed the Supreme Court judgement in Zakia Ahsan Jafri vs State of Gujarat and Anr 2022 SCC Online SC773, the tickers used during the show, as mentioned above were “neither necessary nor contextual and not in good taste as well”.
The NBDSA said that it “does not appreciate the manner in which some of the tickers were aired during the impugned programmes. The Authority also advised the channel to not telecast such tickers in future.
The NBDSA has directed the channel to edit the video of the impugned shows available on their website or on YouTube and remove the tickers: “Modi Baiter Arrested” “Lutyens ‘Fix Modi’ Plot Nailed?” within 7 days.
In an earlier instance as well Times Now had resorted to the mischief of defaming Ms Setalvad by calling her a ‘Modi Baiter’ and alleging she was tutoring the protestors at Shaheen Bagh, where, mainly women, were protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA). In its November 2021 order, the NBDSA had said, “In this context, using bold headlines and attributing her to be ‘Modi Baiter’ seems out of context and doesn’t appear to be an objective assessment of her speech, lacks neutrality and accuracy and also violeate guidelines which require that facts should be clearly distinguishable from, and not mixed up with opinion, analysis and comment.” The 2021 order may be read here.
The complete order may be read here.
Related:
TIMES NOW’S SHOW ON TEESTA SETALVAD DEVOID OF OBJECTIVITY: NBDSA
CJP CALLS OUT TIMES NOW FOR CONDUCTING A MEDIA TRIAL AGAINST TEESTA SETALVAD
CJP MOVES NBDSA AGAINST TIMES NOW’S VIRTUAL MEDIA TRIAL OF TEESTA SETALVAD
Remove distasteful tickers targeting Teesta Setalvad: NBDSA directs Times Now
The Authority has advised the channel from using such tickers in the future, of which it has been guilty in the past as well
In June 2022 the arrest of Ms. Teesta Setalvad invited protests from various organisations and well meaning citizens, opposing her arrest, calling it political vendetta. Her arrest was widely covered in news media as she was booked under trumped up charges of giving false evidence while she was fighting against the system just so that the victims of the 2002 Gujarat Pogrom get justice. While some news channels gave her arrest the fair representation it warranted, there were some channels like Times Now, which once again jumped the gun and set to tarnish the image of Ms. Setalvad, who is a journalist herself as well as a well known crusader of human rights in India.
On June 25, 27 and 28, 2022 Times Now aired three shows with the intention to portray Ms Setalvad as unworthy of trust and compassion. The channel had a field day around her arrest and the charges levied on her by casting aspersions on her humanitarian work and vilifying her by casting aspersions on her credibility as a Human Rights Defender.
The tickers that ran through the show included:
“Lutyens ‘Fix Modi’ Plot Nailed?”
“SC nail ‘Fix Modi’ Plot”
“Teesta-UPA 1.4 Crore irregular Handshake”
“Padma, Post and Paisa”
“Modi Fixer was Favoured”
“Reward for ‘Ruin Modi’ Plot?”
The complaint had stated that the hosts of the various shows, namely – Navika Kumar, Rahul Shivshankar, and Poonam Budre appeared biased towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons throughout the show.
During the hearing held on December 15, 2022 Advocates Aparna Bhat and Karishma Maria appearing for CJP [assisted by the CJP team] submitted that in the show, the panellists speaking in favour of Ms. Setalvad were constantly interrupted by the hosts while those speaking against her were granted more time.
The NBDSA, in its order stated that while parts of the shows discussed the Supreme Court judgement in Zakia Ahsan Jafri vs State of Gujarat and Anr 2022 SCC Online SC773, the tickers used during the show, as mentioned above were “neither necessary nor contextual and not in good taste as well”.
The NBDSA said that it “does not appreciate the manner in which some of the tickers were aired during the impugned programmes. The Authority also advised the channel to not telecast such tickers in future.
The NBDSA has directed the channel to edit the video of the impugned shows available on their website or on YouTube and remove the tickers: “Modi Baiter Arrested” “Lutyens ‘Fix Modi’ Plot Nailed?” within 7 days.
In an earlier instance as well Times Now had resorted to the mischief of defaming Ms Setalvad by calling her a ‘Modi Baiter’ and alleging she was tutoring the protestors at Shaheen Bagh, where, mainly women, were protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA). In its November 2021 order, the NBDSA had said, “In this context, using bold headlines and attributing her to be ‘Modi Baiter’ seems out of context and doesn’t appear to be an objective assessment of her speech, lacks neutrality and accuracy and also violeate guidelines which require that facts should be clearly distinguishable from, and not mixed up with opinion, analysis and comment.” The 2021 order may be read here.
The complete order may be read here.
Related:
TIMES NOW’S SHOW ON TEESTA SETALVAD DEVOID OF OBJECTIVITY: NBDSA
CJP CALLS OUT TIMES NOW FOR CONDUCTING A MEDIA TRIAL AGAINST TEESTA SETALVAD
CJP MOVES NBDSA AGAINST TIMES NOW’S VIRTUAL MEDIA TRIAL OF TEESTA SETALVAD
Related articles
Related Articles
Hate Speech
Hate a political tool, now a state project: India 2023
There is a chance to make Meta Facebook accountable for its hate generating content on May 31, by voting YES for Proposal 7 titled “Assessing Allegations of Biased Operations in Meta's Largest Market” which is to be presented at Meta's AGM on May 31, 2023. It highlights allegations against Facebook for disseminating hate speech, its failure to address risks and political bias, voices concerns around inadequate content moderation and lack of transparency in platform practices. The writer calls on readers to participate in this campaign on social media to make our republic hate-free
Hate Speech
Hate a political tool, now a state project: India 2023
There is a chance to make Meta Facebook accountable for its hate generating content on May 31, by voting YES for Proposal 7 titled “Assessing Allegations of Biased Operations in Meta's Largest Market” which is to be presented at Meta's AGM on May 31, 2023. It highlights allegations against Facebook for disseminating hate speech, its failure to address risks and political bias, voices concerns around inadequate content moderation and lack of transparency in platform practices. The writer calls on readers to participate in this campaign on social media to make our republic hate-free
Theme
Taliban in Afghanistan: A look back
Campaigns
Videos
Communalism
Bastar violence: Anti-Christian Campaign causes breach in Adivasi unity
Hundreds of Adivasi church-goers across villages in Narayanpur and Bastar, Chhattisgarh have been experiencing boycott, intimidation and violence since December last year, forcing them to leave their homes and live in refugee camps. Reportedly, Adivasi districts across Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh is seeing a rise Hindutva mobilisation against Christians .
Communalism
Bastar violence: Anti-Christian Campaign causes breach in Adivasi unity
Hundreds of Adivasi church-goers across villages in Narayanpur and Bastar, Chhattisgarh have been experiencing boycott, intimidation and violence since December last year, forcing them to leave their homes and live in refugee camps. Reportedly, Adivasi districts across Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh is seeing a rise Hindutva mobilisation against Christians .
Archives
IN FACT
Podcasts
Analysis
Taliban in Afghanistan: A look back
Freedom
Govt teacher suspended for FB post critical of K’ka CM Siddaramaiah’s freebies
