NEW DELHI: Editors of satellite television news channels today formed a Broadcasters Editors Association (BEA) to “strengthen the values of objective and fair broadcast journalism” and to “protect and promote the freedom of expression.”

BEA president Shazi Zaman of Star News told indiantelevision.com that the Association was a “forum to deliberate on content issues.” Asked if the BEA would take up the Content Code issue, he said the Association would discuss any threats to freedom of creating content.

So would the BEA also become a negotiating body with the Government in the manner of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA)? “That would depend on a given situation and on whether the Information and Broadcasting Ministry wished to consult them as a stakeholder,” Zaman explained.

The editors of television channels feel there is a need to evolve healthy norms, promote training of professional journalists at all levels, ensure dissemination of credible and constructive news content and to protect the right to freedom of expression, whenever threatened.

There are two Vice-Presidents - Arnab Goswami of Times Now and Pankaj Pachauri of NDTV. ETV’s NK Singh is General Secretary and Sudhir Chaudhary of Live India is the Treasurer.

Members of Executive Committee are: Ashutosh (IBN-7), Vinay Tewari (CNN IBN), Satish K Singh (Zee), Ajit Anjum (News 24), Vinod Kapri (India TV), Sanjay Bragta (Sahara TV) and Pranjal Sharma (UTVi).

The BEA will soon develop its own website for direct media-public interaction. It will hold seminars and other modes of two-way interaction to receive feedback from civil society organisations and decision-makers in public domain.