Ethics Newsline®

Field hockey official resigns after sting operation captures him allegedly taking bribes on camera; meanwhile, broadcasters, recognizing that things are getting a little out of hand, impose voluntary restrictions on TV stings

NEW DELHI and MUMBAI

Sting operations allegedly exposing ethical misdeeds — as well as the allegedly unethical use of sting operations themselves — are the talk of India, according to various press reports.

At the top of the news is a story from the Agence France-Presse, which reports that a leading Indian field hockey official resigned last week after a TV sting operation caught him allegedly accepting bribes to put a player on a national team. The Hindi-language channel Aah Tak conducted the sting using three reporters posing as businessmen. The field hockey official reportedly caught accepting bags of cash said he thought it was an advance payment on organizing expenses for a tournament.

The field hockey incident came at the same time that news broadcasters, faced with the threat of government regulation limiting the use of sensational stings, announced that they will voluntarily discourage such operations. According to reports from MSN India and the Hindu newspaper, the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards proposed by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for self-regulation states: “As a guiding principle, sting and under-cover operations should be a last resort of news channels in an attempt to give the viewer comprehensive coverage of any news story.”

Sting operations, wildly popular on Indian TV, have nabbed various politicians but also on occasion have resulted in criminal charges against reporters who, the government claims, went too far in confecting the operations. Some sting programs also have drawn criticism for what critics charge is salacious content.

Suggestive content of a different nature has triggered outrage among some sports fans and politicians in Mumbai: The Times of India reports that the spectacle of scantily clad cheerleaders performing at cricket tournaments has prompted threats that an upcoming major tournament will not be televised. The cheerleaders were flown in from the United States. A national cricket executive told the Times that he sees no harm in the display and that the cheerleaders are breaking no rules of cricket. Interviewed by the Times, the cheerleaders said they were only doing their jobs.

Sources: Hindu, Apr. 23 — MSN India, Apr. 22 — Times of India, Apr. 22 — AFP, Apr. 22.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Apr. 14 — Related Newsline story, Apr. 7 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 13, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 15, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 24, 2007.