Sirsa Media Associations Welcome Haryana Media Policy

Sirsa Media Associations Welcome announcement of Haryana Media Policy

30 December 2006

Sirsa (SIRSA NEWS)

Various media associations and media persons of Sirsa, welcomed the media policy announced by Haryana CM suo moto. Although the copies of media policy are not yet in the hands of Sirsa Media even then expressing faith in the CM almost all the associations, editors, photojournalists & journalists expressively welcomed the announcement.

SirsaNews shall post the text of Media Policy as soon as it is available.

Some of the reported highlights of the Policy are:

Haryana yesterday became the first state in the country when the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, announced a media policy.

The highlights of the media policy are the creation of a "Patrakar Kalyan Kosh" with Rs 50 lakh as the state government's contribution, allotment of plots by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) for group housing societies of journalists, enhancement of insurance cover from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh and liberal accreditation policy for those working on contractual basis and representatives of the electronic media.

He said in view of the changing media scenario, those working on contractual basis would also be eligible for accreditation. For the first time, representatives of evening newspapers and weekly newspapers being published from Haryana would also get accreditation. He said as per the new rules, three correspondents and two photographers from a newspaper would get accreditation at the state headquarters. At the district headquarters, two correspondents and one photographer would be granted accreditation, whereas earlier only one correspondent used to be given accreditation at the district headquarters.

He said in Delhi, now two representatives of a newspaper or agency would be given accreditation and one of them might be a photographer. Earlier, there was no policy of granting accreditation in the national Capital.

Mr Hooda said for the first time the representatives of electronic media would be given accreditation at the district headquarters and Delhi. It has also been decided to do away with the system of police verification for granting accreditation to a journalist.
The limit of free-travel facility in Haryana Roadways buses for accredited journalists would be increased from 2500 km to 4000 km per year and in case of desk journalists it would be 2500 km per year instead of 1500 km earlier.

He said more awards named after prominent journalists like Babu Balmukund Gupt would be instituted to encourage journalists.