GwaliorMCMC committee meeting held under chairmanship of collector
Nitin Saxena, Gwalior,
The Election Commission of India has directed to closely monitor “paid news”. The MCMC will decide on paid news. For this, a separate media center has been set up by the district election office, through which a thorough investigation will be conducted on the news being broadcast by electronic media and print media 24 hours a day. Along with this, a close watch will be kept on all platforms of print media and social media. If paid news is proved, the cost incurred on its publication will be added to the election expenditure of the concerned candidate. This information was given in the meeting cum training of Media Monitoring and Certification Committee (MCMC) held under the chairmanship of Collector and District Election Officer Shri Akshay Kumar Singh.
In the meeting held at the Collectorate here on Wednesday, detailed information was given about paid news. It was also told that if paid news is proved, the concerned candidate will be issued a notice by the Returning Officer. The MCMC will re-examine the reply to the notice and if paid news is proved, its cost will be added to the candidate’s account.
In the first meeting of the MCMC, it was also told that only after a thorough scrutiny of the entire election campaign material including the original script, permission will be given to telecast election campaign related programs and advertising strips from electronic media. In this scrutiny, it will be seen in particular that this publicity is not violating the code of conduct. Prior permission will be required to telecast election-related programs and clippings on electronic media. For this, political parties and candidates will have to show a cassette of the entire promotional material including the original script.
In the meeting, Additional Collector Shri TN Singh, Deputy District Election Officer Shri L K Pandey, MCMC members Shri Javed Khan and Shri Sameer Garg, Member Secretary and Deputy Director of Public Relations Shri Madhu Solapurkar, State Level Master Trainer Shri SB Ojha, Assistant Public Relations Officer Shri Hitendra Singh Bhadoria and Doordarshan representative Shri Navin Nayak were present along with other concerned officers.
The Indian Election Commission has directed the Media Monitoring and Certification Committee (MCMC) to closely monitor paid news during the upcoming assembly elections in Gwalior. Paid news is the practice of publishing or broadcasting news or information for a fee, without disclosing the source of the payment.
The MCMC, which is chaired by the collector of Gwalior, will be responsible for investigating allegations of paid news. If paid news is found to be true, the cost of the publication or broadcast will be added to the election expenditure of the concerned candidate.
In the meeting held on Wednesday, the MCMC discussed the procedures for investigating allegations of paid news. The committee also discussed the need to raise awareness about paid news among the public.
The MCMC has set up a separate media center to monitor news and information published and broadcast in the Gwalior region. The media center will be staffed by a team of journalists and media experts.
The MCMC is committed to ensuring that the upcoming assembly elections in Gwalior are free and fair. The committee’s efforts to monitor paid news are a key part of this commitment.
The MCMC will be monitoring news and information published and broadcast in all media, including electronic media, print media, and social media.
The MCMC will be looking for signs of paid news, such as:
- News or information that is clearly biased in favor of a particular candidate or party
- News or information that is published or broadcast without disclosing the source of the payment
- News or information that is published or broadcast in a way that is intended to deceive the public
- If the MCMC finds evidence of paid news, it will investigate the matter further. The committee may issue a notice to the concerned candidate or party, or it may take other action.
- The MCMC’s efforts to monitor paid news are a welcome step. Paid news is a serious problem that can undermine the integrity of elections. The MCMC’s efforts will help to ensure that the upcoming assembly elections in Gwalior are free and fair.
