Govt issues guidelines for TV talk shows

FE Team | Published: September 21, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The government Tuesday asked private television (TV) channels to follow a set of nine guidelines in airing talk shows.
"We did not issue any notice for talk shows. We just gave some unofficial guidelines so that nobody gets in trouble", Adviser for Information Mainul Hosein told bdnews24.com Thursday.
"We did not impose any prohibitions. We just said the talk shows should be constructive and pre-recorded", he said.
The guidelines advised TV stations not to air more than three to four talk shows a week and edit them before putting them on the air.
The government discouraged live talk shows, SMS or phone-ins.
The new guidelines asked producers to consider only businessmen, educationists and intellectuals as potential guests.
The government also asked the channels to focus on cultural, economic, social and educational issues.
The information ministry summoned top executives of the television stations Tuesday where Hosein briefed TV bosses on the new guidelines.
Written guidelines were distributed among them after the meeting.
A TV channel official, seeking anonymity, told the news agency: "Information ministry officials asked me to attend the meeting at 30 minutes' notice. Later I was handed a guideline."
"Our audience may lose interest in talk shows because of these guidelines. Advertisers might pull off as well. Talk shows may get into trouble over this", he said.