‘Advertisers Should Keep Away Hate-Mongers,’ Says NBA President Rajat Sharma Amid Concerns Over Rising Toxicity

Sharma said that though NBSA has a strict code of ethics for news broadcasters, the channels involved in spreading hate are not members of NBA and don’t come under the purview of NBSA

New Delhi: In the wake of the concerns raised by advertisers of country over the rising toxicity in the content of some of the media houses, president of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) Rajat Sharma said that the association urges advertisers to stay away from ‘hate-mongers.’ In an interview with Best Media Info, Sharma said that if any members of NBA indulge in such programming, they will have to face the consequences from the NBSA. Sharma said that videos have surfaced recently where reporters can be seen going overboard, harassing witnesses and chasing those called for questioning by the probe agencies and it’s not hidden who are the people involved in it. He said that world over advertisers and reputed brands have been seen withdrawing their support from hate mongering channels. He said that though NBSA has a strict code of ethics for news broadcasters, the channels involved in spreading hate are not members of NBA and don’t come under the purview of NBSA. In order to tackle the menace,  he urged Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to make it mandatory for all news channels to follow the code of ethics and guidelines issued by NBSA. In his recent interview with Outlook, Sharma had suggested that powers of the NBA be increased to tackle over-the-top reporting. He also said it was not fair to blame all TV Channels because of one or two.