No ban on journalists in talk shows: Pemra

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) said on Monday that its earlier advisory was misinterpreted, backtracking on its previous notification barring TV talk show anchors from appearing on other similar programmes.

The Pemra on Sunday, through a notification, had banned regular TV anchors from being guests on other talk shows. In its latest advisory, the regulatory authority said that there is no ban on participation of journalists in talk shows.

“There is no advisory to ban participation of journalists in talk shows. There is no restriction on appearance of any number of anchors to do long duration group marathon transmission on aspecial current issue on their channels while also taking other relevant guests where require/ possible,” clarified the statement.

The Pemra said it didn’t mean to restrict freedom of expression as ‘being projected by few’. Referring to its October 27 letter, it stated: “Above quoted advisory has been issued in line with existing Pemra laws, Electronic Media (Programmes Advertisements) Code of Conduct-2015 and advisories issued from time to time on non-implementation of existing code of conduct vis-a-vis discussions on sub-judice matters.”

At the end, it said that Pemra is fully supportive of freedom of expression as per the Constitution of Pakistan. According to a Pemra’s earlier announcement, under its regulations, anchors are liable to host the show impartially and objectively without giving verdict on any issue. Under the directives, TV anchors who host regular shows cannot participate as an expert or commentator in any other talk show, said the notification.