Censorship – Publications

While the Smriti Irani-led Information and Broadcasting ministry’s controversial circular on fake news and accreditation of journalists was withdrawn in less than 24 hours following outrage, new guidelines issued last week by Goa’s government that effectively restrict media access to the legislative assembly have gone relatively unnoticed by the national media.

The Goa Legislature Secretariat’s “Guidelines for the Accreditation of Media Organisation and their Representatives” lay down multiple criteria for reporters seeking admission to the Goa Legislative Assembly’s press enclosure. Journalists have described these as draconian and said the rules could debar the majority of the state’s media outlets and reporters from covering the assembly.

The guidelines state that a newspaper should have a minimum daily circulation of 15,000 copies (though in “special cases” a temporary pass may be given to publications that do not meet the limit). For websites, the guidelines mandate a minimum 10,000 page views a day for the news section and an annual revenue of Rs 10 lakh from news content only. The guidelines also mention that the newspaper or website should have been functioning for at least three years before its journalists can seek admission to the legislature.

Journalists have expressed shock at the news rules and said that they do not reflect the realities of Goa’s local media, as most outlets would not be able to meet the circulation and revenue criteria.