State, private media ownerships should be broad-based: Yapa

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana  

Ownership of both state and private media should be broad-based, a former media minister told Parliament today.  

One time Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa who was a ruling party MP now sits in the opposition in the House said the media set up in the country should be changed.  

“There should not be state- owned or private media, but we should have a new model. There should not be a single owner of media institutions. The ownership of the media institutions should be broad based. The government should decide on a maximum stake one party should hold,” he said.  

He also said Sri Lanka should look at the model of BBC and Doordharshan of India.  

“The frequencies of TV and radio channels belong to the nation. Therefore they should not be allowed to publish whatever news items they want,” he said.  

Meanwhile, other MPs from both sides called for regulating of media. SJB MP S. M. Marikar called for stopping character assassination via media while State Minister Diana Gamage also called for a regulatory mechanism for media.