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State of Odisha - Act

The Orissa Press Accreditation (Constitution of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee and Grant of Accreditation) Rules, 1994

ODISHA
India

The Orissa Press Accreditation (Constitution of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee and Grant of Accreditation) Rules, 1994

Published on 1 January 1994
Commenced on 1 January 1994
[This is the version of this document from 1 January 1994.]
[Note: The original publication document is not available and this content could not be verified.]

The Orissa Press Accreditation (Constitution of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee and Grant of Accreditation) Rules, 1994Published vide Notification Orissa Gazette Extraordinary No. 380/31.3.1994-Notification No. 4070-I. & P.R./31.1.1994No. 4070-I & P.R. - Rules for constitution of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee and Grant of Accreditation of Media Representatives at the State, District/ Sub-divisional and Block Headquarters of Orissa.

1. Short title.

- These rules may be called the Orissa Press Accreditation (Constitution of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee and Grant of Accreditation) Rules, 1994.

2. Commencement.

- (i) These rules shall come into force with immediate effect and will supersede the rules already in force.

(ii)They shall apply to the representatives of News Media Organisations at the State, District, Sub-divisional and Block Headquarters of Orissa.

3. Definitions.

- In these rules unless the context otherwise requires-

(i)"Accreditation" means recognition of Representatives of News Media Organisations by the Government of Orissa for the purpose of access to sources of information in the Government and also to news materials, written of pictorial, released by, or on behalf of the Director of Information and Public Relations and/or other agencies of the Government of Orissa;

(ii)"Accredited Journalist" means a Journalist who has been granted accreditation under these rule;

(iii)"Committee" means the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee constituted under Rule 4;

(iv)"Director" means the Director of Information and Public Relations of the Government of Orissa in the Department of Information and Public Relations and shall include any Officer of the State Government who has been authorised to discharge any or all the duties, functions and responsibilities of the Director of Information and Public Relations;

(v)"Government" means the Government of Orissa;

(vii)"News Media" shall mean and include wire services, non-wire services, audio and audio-visual networks dealing with news of Public interest of comments on news of public interest;

(vii)"Newspaper" means any publication, printed and distributed at fixed intervals, which contains news and comments of public interest as defined in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 but not a publication containing information of sectional interest such as house journals;

(viii)"Working Journalist" means any working journalist as defined in the Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955, as amended from time to time.

4. Constitution of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee and conduct of the business of the Committee.

- (i) The Government of Orissa shall constitute a Committee called the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee to discharge the functions laid down under these rules.

(ii)[ The Orissa Press Accreditation Committee shall consist of the Director, Information and Public Relations as Chairman and a maximum of 19 other members representing recognised All India Associations/Organisations of Working Journalist Media Persons who shall otherwise be eligible for accreditation under these rules. Editors will also be eligible notwithstanding their ineligibility for accreditation. At least two representatives from electronic media may also be taken as members of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee by way of nomination by Government.] [Substituted vide O.G.E.No. 1294 dated 22.8.2003.]

(iii)The Committee, so constituted shall function for a period of two years from the date of its first meeting.

Provided that where it is not reasonably practicable to reconstitute the Committee after expiry of its term, the State Government may extend the term of the Committee last constituted for a period not exceeding three months at a time and one year in all.

(iv)The Committee shall meet at least once in every four months or more if so required either by the Director or by majority of the members of the Committee.

(v)One-third of the total members will form the quorum of the meeting.

(vi)At least seven days notice shall be given for convening a meeting of the Committee. But emergent meetings may be convened after giving 48 hours' notice.

(vii)[ The decisions of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee shall be taken on the basis of majority of the members of the committee. [Added vide O.G.E.No. 45 dated 9.1.2001.]

(viii)There shall be a standing sub-committee of the Orissa Press Accreditation Committee, consisting of five 'Bhubaneswar' [/"Cuttack"] based members to consider and take decisions on the accreditation cases of urgent nature and other related matters. These cases will be placed before the OPAC at its next meeting for confirmation.

(ix)The Director, Information and Public Relations shall have the power to grant regular accreditation in cases where an accredited news media representative changes his organisation to another accredited organisation.]

5. Scope of accreditation.

- (i) Accreditation shall be given in accordance with these rules to the representatives of News Media Organisations of the following categories, namely, Editor-cum-Correspondence-Cameraman-cum-Correspondent, Cameraman, Cartoonist, Cartographer, Sport Journalists, Science Journalist, Media Critics and such other categories as may be recommended from time to time by the Committee.

(ii)Accreditation shall not confer any official or special status on the representatives of News Media Organisations but shall recognise and identify him/her as a professional journalist dealing with news of public interest.

(iii)Accreditation so granted shall be utilised only for journalistic purposes.

(iv)An accredited journalist shall not print or use the words "accredited to the Government of Orissa" on his visiting cards, letter-heads or on any other form of stationery or publication.

(v)When an accredited journalist ceases to represent the media Organisation on whose behalf he/she is accredited, the fact shall be brought to the notice of the Director in writing within fifteen days by both the journalists concerned and the editor concerned (in case of newspapers) and General Manager (in case of Agency) and the accreditation card shall be returned to the Director.

(vi)Accreditation shall be withdrawn if the Organisation on whose behalf the journalist is accredited ceases its publication or the network ceases to function except for a period not exceeding six months for reasons of industrial dispute or natural calamities.

(vii)An accredited journalist may be given not more than one additional endorsement on behalf of another media.

6. General eligibility criteria for grant of accreditation.

- An applicant for accreditation shall not be eligible unless he/she-

(i)has acquired not less than five years experience as a Working Journalist for State Level accreditation and not less than three years experience as a Working Journalist for accreditation at District or Sub-divisional or Block Level :

Provided that experience of work in a Government media organisation viz. The Press Information Bureau of Government of India, News Services Division of All India Radio, the News Unit of Doordarshan, the Photo Division of Government of India may be deemed as equivalent to experience of work in a news media organisation for the purpose of accreditation. Those officers having experience of Journalistic Work in Media Units of the Information and Public Relations Department of the State Government other than those refereed to above, may also be considered for the purpose of accreditation if the Committee would be satisfied about their journalistic experience.

(ii)Application for accreditation shall be considered only from those media representatives who reside either at Bhubaneswar or Cuttack for State Level accreditation and District, Sub-divisional and Block Headquarters for accreditation at respective levels. However, in consultation with the Committee, Government may relax this for granting district level accreditation in case of the journalists stationed at other important news centers.

7. Eligibility criteria for Newspapers seeking accreditation for Working Journalists under their employment.

- Newspapers of up to fortnightly, periodicity shall only be eligible to seek accreditation for Journalists working with them, if they belong to the following categories :

(i)The contents of the newspapers has the news and information emanating from the headquarters of the Government of Orissa and/or district headquarters and shall mainly contain information and/or comments, features, illustrations, etc. on current, social, political, economic, scientific, cultural and other matters of public interest;

(ii)A daily newspaper which is published not less than six days in a week;

(iii)A weekly or a fortnightly newspaper which is published not less then 45 weeks or 22 fortnights in a year, as the case may be;

(iv)The circulation of a newspaper (daily, weekly or fortnightly) shall not be less than 5,000 (five thousand) copies per publishing day or per issue, as the case may be :

Provided that special consideration may be shown to newspapers contributing the Science and Technology and to those published from hilly or backward areas or from regions underdeveloped in terms of information and communication;

(v)Two or more newspapers or periodicals having a combined circulation of not less than 500 copies may sponsor a common representative:

Provided that such newspapers shall not be entitled to sponsor a second representative.

8. Eligibility criteria for News Agencies seeking accreditation.

- The following criteria shall be taken into consideration for the grant of accreditation to news agencies, feature agencies, photo, agencies and television news and feature agencies, namely :

(i)The content of the items circulated produced by agencies mentioned above should include news and information emanating from the Headquarters of the Government of Orissa as well as district and Sub-divisional headquarters.

(ii)A news agency should use telegraphic or electronic transmission and receiving facilities and should have paying, subscribers in news media organisations spread over not less than three districts.

(iii)A news photo agency should have a minimum of six paying subscribers and a minimum annual subscription income of Rs. 30,000/- and Television Organisation Rs. 50,000/- from media Organisation as certified by an established firm of Chartered Accountant.

(iv)A feature agency should have not less than twelve paying subscribers in media Organisation.

(v)Wire agencies should provide services to news media organisations including audio visual networks on a regular commercial basis and shall produce certificate from an established firm of Chartered Accountant, about their subscription Income.

9. Grant of accreditation to the Editor-cum-Correspondents.

- Editors of small and medium newspaper who also work as correspondents can be given accreditation an Editor-cum-Correspondents provided the following criteria are fulfilled.

(i)The newspaper periodical concerned qualifies for accreditation as per these rules.

(ii)The applicant himself/herself is qualified for grant of accreditation as a correspondent.

(iii)The applicant submits clippings of published despatches apart from editorial carrying his/her credit line appearing in the newspaper/periodical on whose behalf accreditation is sought for.

10. Grant of accreditation to Cameraman-cum-Correspondent.

- A Cameraman representing a newspaper/news photo agency/T.V. News Unit can be granted accreditation as Cameraman-cum-Correspondent provided he/she satisfies the following criteria :

(i)The applicant is eligible for accreditation as a Cameraman.

(ii)The Organisation on whose behalf the accreditation is sought for, qualifies for the grant of such accreditation.

(iii)The applicant produces clipping of his/her despatches circulated or produced by the media Organisation on whose behalf accreditation is sought for.

11. Grant of accreditation to free lance Journalists.

- The Committee may consider the grant of accreditation to an applicant not attached to any particular news media Organisation; provided that such a person has at least 20 years experience as a full time journalist and has a proven income of not less than Rs. 25,000 per annum from journalistic activities.

12. Procedure for grant of accreditation.

- (i) A media representative who wishes to seek accreditation at the State level shall apply to the Director in a form as may be prescribed from time to time. Each application shall be accompanied by a letter from the Editor (in case of newspaper)/general Manager (in case of agencies) recommending accreditation on behalf of the newspaper/ news agency/news media Organisation concerned, as the case may be.

(ii)Application for accreditation at District, Sub-divisional and Block Headquarters should be submitted through the District Magistrate concerned who shall forward such applications to the Director after proper verification and with his recommendation.

(iii)Application for accreditation complete in all respects shall be placed before the Committee and accreditation shall be granted on its recommendation.

(iv)Accreditation cards shall be issued under the signature of the Director for a period of one calendar year and may be renewed from year to year by the Director and this would be intimated to the concerned Editors (in case of Newspapers)/General Managers (in case of agencies) as the case may be unless the Editors of the Newspaper/General Managers of the News agencies communicate otherwise.

(v)If the Committee for reasons duly recorded in its minutes decides not to grant accreditation to an applicant the fact of such a decision shall immediately be communicated to the applicant and the news media organization concerned.

(vi)The aggrieved applicant and/or news media Organisation shall be entitled to make a representation to the Committee for reconsideration.

13. Provisional accreditation.

- Accreditation on a provisional basis may be granted by the Director with approval of Government on recommendation of three members of the Committee till the next meeting of the Committee if the applicant fulfils all the qualifications laid down for grant of accreditation.

14. The maximum number of Journalists who may be accreditated.

(1)The maximum number of journalists who may be granted accreditation by the State Government at the State, District, Subdivision and Block levels shall be kept within such reasonable limits as may be determined periodically by Government after taking into account (a) the limitations of the press information service of the Government, (b) the capacity to provide necessary facilities for accredited Journalists and (c) importance of the places of reporting for the newspaper/news agency/news media Organisation. For determining the total number of such Journalists Government may seek the recommendations of the Committee.The maximum number of State level representatives to be based either at Cuttack or at Bhubaneswar that may be accredited on behalf of a newspaper including a newspaper published from more than one place in Orissa shall be determined on the basis of its circulation as follows :

(1)	DAILIES	Maximum number of Accredited Journalists
(a)	Circulation from 5,000 to 50,000	Two
(b)	Circulation from 50,001 to 75,000	Three
(c)	Circulation from 75,001 to 125,000	Four
(d)	Circulation from 125,001 to, 150,000	Five
(e)	Circulation from 150,001 onwards	Six
(2)	WEEKLIES/FORTNIGHTLIES
(a)	Circulation from 5,000 to 50,000	One
(b)	Circulation above 50,000	Two

In case of tabloids only one correspondent should be given State level accreditation.Not more than one journalist of English/Hindi/Other regional language dailies including dailies published from more than one place from outside the State and with considerable circulation in Orissa shall be given accreditation at the State level to be based either at Cuttack or at Bhubaneswar. The number of State level accredited journalists of each of the News Agencies shall be limited to two only. In special cases on request from the National News Agencies only a maximum of representatives may be given accreditation.

(ii)Daily newspapers and news agencies, weeklies and fortnightlies published from Orissa, Oriya dailies, weeklies and fortnightlies published from outside Orissa will be entitled to accreditation at District, Sub-divisional and Block levels subject to the conditions prescribed in these rules. In exceptional circumstances newspapers published from outside the State with considerable circulation in Orissa and news agency and News Media Organisations of repute can be given accreditation at the District, Sub-divisional and Block level.

(iii)For granting accreditation in case of weeklies and fortnightlies the main criteria should be content study of the paper and the material published in the paper should justify the necessity for its journalist's day to day collection of news from official sources and day to day contact with such sources.

(iv)Not more than one accredited journalist and one accredited photographer of a newspaper/news agency/news media Organisation shall claim facilities for attending one-official function.

15. Suspension/Withdrawal of accreditation.

- His/Her accreditation will be liable to be suspended/withdrawn if-

(i)he/she uses information and facilities accorded to him/her for non-journalistic purposes;

(ii)in course of his/her duties as correspondent he/she behaves in an undignified or unprofessional manner;

(iii)he/she ignores or violates the conditions on which information and facilities are provided by Government or acts contrary to any provisions of these rules;

(iv)when an Editor (in case of Newspaper)/General Manager (in case agency) desires for cancellation of accreditation granted to its correspondent or correspondents, he/she should apply to the Director for cancellation of accreditation. Director on receipt of such application will cancel the accreditation and place the same in the next meeting of the Committee for information.

(v)An accredited media representative who continuously remains absent for 3 months from headquarters shall forfeit his/her accreditation. This period may be extended by 3 months more by the Director on a written request from the Editor (in case of Newspaper)/General Manager (in case of agency) concerned.

(vi)He/she has been granted accreditation on submission of false information to the Committee :

Provided that in case the newspaper/news media Organisation itself is responsible for such wilful publication of false mala fide baseless or incorrect report, it will be liable to disaccreditation.

(vii)The accreditation can be suspended by the Director of Information and Public Relations. This will be placed before the Committee within a month from the date of issue of suspension order. The Committee if differs with the decision on suspension will record their views with adequate reasons.

(viii)If any accredited representative is found to have given false information about himself/herself or about his/her Organisation and if the Committee after giving a reasonable opportunity to the representative concerned to defend himself/herself is satisfied that the charges are true the accreditation may be withdrawn for a period not exceeding two years and during this period he/she shall not be eligible for the grant of further accreditation provided that no decision to withdraw the accreditation of a media representative shall be taken by the Committee except at a meeting attended by at least two-third of its members. However the decision of Government for suspension/withdrawal will be final.

16.

(i)There shall be a periodic review by the Committee of accreditation granted to the representatives of News Media Organisations.

(ii)For purposes of such a review information regarding circulation, revenue, etc. may be called for and the accredited journalists asked to provide clippings of published despatches or photographs or dope sheets from the newspaper/news agency/news media Organisation concerned.

17. Amendments.

- These rules may be amended/altered/modified/added to on the recommendation of the Press Accreditation Committee if a proposal to this effect is made by at least three of its members or the Director, information and Public Relations.

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