ADVOCACY BRIEF ON BILL FOR AMENDMENT AND CONSOLIDATION OF LAWS RELATED TO THE MEDIA COUNCIL, 2024

The Bill for the Amendment and Consolidation of Laws Related to the Media Council, 2024, has been formulated with the objective of amending and unifying existing laws to establish and regulate the Media Council as an autonomous regulatory body with the aim to promote self-regulation, maintain professional and ethical standards in journalism, and foster the development and protection of clean, independent, and accountable journalism. This Bill, accompanied by a report from the Legislative Management Committee of the National Assembly, was presented to the National Assembly on April 18, 2024.

Primarily, the Bill provides for the formation of an autonomous Media Council, includes provisions on the code of conduct, self-regulation, self-assessment, representation of the press, and arrangements for compensation. Additionally, it encompasses online journalism. However, the Bill contains certain theoretical and practical issues. It is necessary to reconsider various provisions of the bill to ensure the independence and autonomy of the council, safeguard and promote independent journalism, address and secure ownership and participation in provincial structures in line with the spirit of federalism, and encourage self-regulation.

In light to that, DRN has prepared this advocacy brief.   Download here