Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut down media advertisements, among other measures, to meet the financial demands to fight corona pandemic. The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) deplored the suggestion, which it said came at a time when journalists risked their lives to cover the pandemic.
In a letter to the PM, Sonia urged the PM to impose a complete ban on media advertisements by the Government and PSUs for a period of two years, with advisories for issues relating to public health being the sole exception.
“At a time when media personnel, without fearing for their lives, are doing their national duty, by disseminating news on the pandemic, a statement like this from the Congress president is highly demoralising, ‘the NBA said in a statement.
“On one hand there has been a slump in advertisement revenues of electronic media due to recession, on the other hand it is suffering from financial blows due to nationwide lockdown of all industries and businesses. Moreover, news channels are spending heavily on providing safety to their reporters and production staff. To suggest a “complete ban” on Government and PSU advertisements is not only ill-timed, but highly arbitrary,” it added.
The NVA called upon Sonia Gandhi to withdraw her suggestion in the interest of a healthy and free media.
