Mr. Anusha Palpita, Secretary of the Ministry of Mass Media, said that the rating system of television channels is not correct and it is done in an irregular and biased manner.
He said this while giving information in the Committee on Public Accounts to examine the Auditor General’s reports and current performance of the Government Information Department for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.
It was during the recent (25) meeting at the Parliament under the chairmanship of State Minister Mr. Lasantha Alagiyawanna.
Mr. Anusha Palpita further commented that a device will be installed in about 400 randomly selected TV sets and data will be obtained to calculate the rating.
He pointed out that about three major media organizations have bought about 300 television sets equipped with these devices by giving money to the institutions that perform the calculations and because of this the data received is not correct.
He also mentioned that since there is more responsibility for the state media than the private media organizations, it is not possible to work with the aim of coming forward in the channel ranking.
The issuing of identity cards for journalists was also discussed and the committee also discussed the preparation of a system for evaluating journalists who contribute to providing news more actively.
Furthermore, the current functioning of 18 functions which were stated as the main objectives of this department were also discussed.
In particular, there was a long discussion about the preparation of a systematic program regarding the provision of local information to foreign countries and foreign information to the people of Sri Lanka through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
The negative and positive tape application machines with obsolete technology purchased from France at a cost of 108 million rupees were also discussed here.
The officials present here pointed out that this machine was purchased in the year 1999 and by now this technology is outdated.
Officials have also pointed out that this machine has not been used even once and since it is made of cheenachatti, it cannot be sold for iron.
Also, there was a discussion about making the Independent Television Network and the National Television Corporation profitable, and the action plan of the Government Information Department and its progress.
