As per a new norm by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the declaration by media companies of their stake in any private treaties is made mandatory from now on.

However Press council of India has nodded to some of the suggestions by SEBI. These include measures like disclosure of stake owned in the news report, article or an editorial in newspapers or television covering the company and revelation of stake percentage to be uploaded on the website of media groups.

However as to the concern of management participation in such companies, SEBI declared further that any nominee of the media group on the board of directors of the company or any management details should be in the public domain necessarily. As it may result in a potential conflict of interest for the media group which may eventually lead to the manipulation of the freedom of press. This will further have a spillover effect on nature of the news.  

Furthermore SEBI maintained that influenced journalism through such deals can mislead the investors in the securities market in the long run. Thus it should be curbed at the first level only.

The Press Council of India (PCI) has agreed to the new norm by the regulator.