NEW DELHI: Despite the shortcomings of the proposal to allow only agency generated news on air, FM broadcasters in the country are willing to take up the gauntlet as 'a toehold in a crack in the door'.

During a discussion on alternative genres that could be explored by radio operators during the the day long AROI meet, broadcasters rued the fact that the government was still unwilling to let radio have free rein on generating and airing news, at a time when other media like television, print and the internet have the freedom to do so. Radio One managing director Vineet Singh Hukmani pointed out that the proposal to offer only news from All India Radio and news agencies like PTI on radio was akin to opening the door a crack, but that his company was willing to put its toe in and test the waters. "Although we are willing to take up the opportunity, it should come with a rider - news will not be a differentiator among the radio stations," he pointed out, a reference to the criticism that all radio stations today sound alike in terms of content.

Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday, when quizzed if he would be happy to air news generated by All India Radio, pointed out that radio was the only sector that could still be manipulated by the government, which no longer had control over TV policies already laid down, and no clue about how to manage news over the internet. In an earlier panel, BAG Films managing director Anurradha Prasad said that unless each station was allowed to offer its own take on news through independent content generation, each station would sound the same and would not be able to build its brand identity.

Moderated by NDTV India head Pankaj Pachauri, the panel also included veteran sports commentator Jasdev Singh, who reminisced about the strict quality control on language and usage excercised by the BBC and All India Radio in earlier days, which helped in maintaining the quality of broadcasting.

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