Republic TV be expelled from Indian Broadcasting Foundation-demand News Broadcasting Association!

Republic TV has been in trouble since the last few years. The owner of the TV channel, Arnab Goswami shot to notoriety with his close links with the current pro-Hindu nationalist political party of the country, BJP. There are a number of doubts in the minds of the citizens about the election wins of the party. And the same they feel about Arnab and his channel that now is in the top on TV ratings. People are suspicious of his ascent that could not have happened without wrong tactics. He deals in yellow journalism and now more evidence of his crimes are coming forth. The News Broadcasters' Association have now asked for expulsion of the channel from the industry body. 

NBA and their demand

Whatsapp messages exchanged between Arnab Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Patho Dasgupta reveals that the two were involved in manipulation of ratings and a play of power. The News Broadcasters Association or NBA for short have asked for expulsion of the channel from the Indian Broadcasting Foundation. They have expressed at these message exchanges. 

The NBA statement

The statement from NBA read:

“These WhatsApp messages not only reflect manipulation of ratings but is also about power play. The messages exchanged go on to refer to the appointment of Secretaries, Cabinet reshuffle, access to the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) and the workings of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This only confirms the many and continuous allegations made by NBA in the last four years that ratings were being manipulated by a non-NBA member broadcaster in connivance with BARC’s top management officials,”

Arnab Goswami, the controversial Republic TV owner and journalist (Source: Scroll)

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The Board has also requested that Republic TV should be kept out of the BARC ratings until further court orders. NBA said:

“It is indeed with dismay that NBA notes the fact that in spite of having a damning verdict in its possession since July 2020, BARC sat on the forensic report for several months, which brought to light these manipulations. This is a glaring example of the systemic lack of transparency that has prevailed right since the inception of BARC,”

NBA and BARC

The NBA Board also wants BARC to issue a statement about the truth of the TV ratings for the period that is under audit. They want a re-audit and re-ratings with Republic World excluded from the ratings. They added:

“NBA’s Board also wants to place on record that the corrupt data released month after month has not only led to reputation loss but has also caused huge financial losses to news broadcasters for which BARC is duty bound to give an explanation,”