Red FM likely to be banned for a week: I&B Minister

I&B sees red over Red FM's insulting remark

New Delhi: The hills of Darjeeling erupted in mob fury after an indelicate remark by a radio jockey of Red FM.
Recently-crowned Indian idol, Prashant Tamang, had been insulted — or so claimed his fans in Siliguri — as the bustling town burned. And now the Government is proposing a week-long ban on the radio channel provided the telecom tribunal upholds this
Union I&B Minister, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said, "A one-week ban has been issued since Monday, subject to Telecom Disputes Settlement And Appellate Tribunal upholding it on October 4.''
So, Is there politics in that decision?
The Congress is gaining ground in Siliguri and north Bengal and Dasmunsi's own constituency of Raiganj is about 100 kilometres away from the scene of violence.Besides, in the game of oneupmanship, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had stolen a march on the Congress by demanding a ban.
"I am looking into this and have spoken to Delhi and the Home Ministry about the matter,'' said Buddhadeb.
However, the fact of the matter is that Dasmunshi is now getting used to cracking the whip. First it was Live India channel, which was banned for a month and now the in the politics of the prude, facing the minister's ire are underwear ads and the all time whipping post — Fashion TV.
While the Broadcast Bill that will govern the media has been put on the backburner for the time being, the Centre has made its stand clear by proposing a ban on Red FM.
If the media does not regulate itself, the task will happily be taken over by the Government.

I&B Ministry sees red; sends notice to Red FM

NEW DELHI: Acting on a request from the West Bengal Government, the Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry issued a show-cause notice to Red FM radio station on Saturday after concluding that it had prima facie violated the programme code by making derogatory remarks about the Gorkha community in one of its programmes.
The radio station has been given time till 4 p.m. on October 1 to explain why action should not be taken against it.
The show-cause notice comes a day after a clash broke out in Siliguri between fans of Prashant Tamang — winner of a television channel-sponsored music talent show ‘Indian Idol’ — and local residents over a comment made about his community by radio jockey (RJ) Nitin in a programme which went on the air on September 24.
While Mr. Nitin had apologised to Mr. Tamang earlier, Red FM tendered an apology on Saturday and clarified that “we have not intentionally caused hurt to the sentiments of any person or any particular community, caste or creed”.
The Red FM statement also suggests that some vested interests were fuelling the protests: “It is unfortunate that some vested interests are seeking to make political capital out of an innocuous comment made during the morning show and which has been taken out of context.”“Racist and insulting”
The West Bengal Government has been in touch with the Centre on this issue after the Gorkha community reacted strongly to the RJ’s remarks, protesting the stereotyping as “racist and insulting”.
According to the Ministry, general strikes had been called at several places including Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sukna in protest against the remark, and the Army and the para-military forces had to be called in to restore normality.
In its statement, Red FM also sought to underline the fact that it had supported Mr. Tamang’s journey in the talent hunt for crooners from the very start.

Red FM Issue a Media Statement on Indian Idol issue

Delhi, 29th September, 2007: Red FM hails Prashant Tamang's victory in Indian Idol and has been supporting his entire journey right from the start. As soon as we got to know that a section of the people have misinterpreted some of the statements in our show as being insulting, we have proactively cleared our stand. As the leader in the national FM broadcasting space we are in the business of music and providing joy to all our listeners. Our shows and RJ’s use humour and satire in their presentation and the popularity of their shows is there for all to see. There is nothing deliberate or intentional in anything that they do. Indeed, Red FM is committed to promoting musical talent across the country and given the talent in the North East that area will continue to be our special focus. It is therefore unfortunate that some vested interests are seeking to make political capital out of an innocuous comment made during the morning show and which has been taken out of context.We have not intentionally caused hurt to the sentiments of any person or any particular community, caste or creed. However in the event any inadvertent slight or offence has been caused to the sentiments of any person or community we tender our apology for the same. We had done so on air on September 28, 2007 as well. We also take this opportunity to categorically state that we as an organization have the highest regard for all communities, sects, religions and it has never been our intention to cause any offence to any community or to hurt any sentiments of any person or community. We would continue to subscribe to the programming code and ethics and keep producing award winning and popular programming interlaced with humour and wit. It is this interaction with the people of India which has helped us become the leader in the metros and which brings so much joy to the larger Red FM family-our listeners.

For further information contact:

Ruchi Agrawal/ Pradnya Dike Genesis Burson-Marsteller,

MumbaiPh: 09819 55 4878 / 09819 16 9248

Email: ruchi.agrawal@bm.com / pradnya.dike@bm.com