New Delhi: The Maharashtra government has announced that it will set up a ‘media monitoring’ centre at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore that will keep a tab on news coverage related to the state government across print, electronic, social and digital mediums, The Indian Express reported.
“Government schemes and policies are publicised through various print, electronic, social and digital mediums. The state government was considering to initiate a media monitoring centre where these news items will be monitored and analysed under one roof,” stated a government resolution (GR) published on Wednesday, March 5.
The government will reportedly set up this cell as an independent project to analyse positive and negative news published across print, broadcast and digital platforms. It will collect and analyse all factual and misleading news reports and prepare a factual report.
“If there is a misleading news, it will be clarified in real-time. If there is a negative news, clarification will be given expeditiously,” the resolution stated.
According to reports, the media monitoring centre was necessitated because of the growth of publications, channels and digital platforms, and there was a need for monitoring under one umbrella how the news related to government schemes, policies is given.
The centre will work from 8 am to 10 pm every day and will be handled by the Directorate of Information and Publicity, according to the GR.
The agencies responsible for setting up and operating the cell will reportedly be selected through an e-tendering process for a one-year contract, extendable up to two years based on performance.
News items on electronic, digital media will be monitored every hour to analyse their trend, mood and tone, based on which alerts will be given, Express reported.
The report added that the directorate general of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR) will prepare a detailed project report (DPR) and also study similar models, if any, established by other states.
