India's national public radio broadcaster was widely reported early today to have fired about 100 presenters for being over its new age limit of 35. But those reports have since been challenged in a statement by All India Radio.
The broadcaster says the original story is a misreporting of a press conference in which it was stated that "radio jockeys" aged over 35 at its Kolkata-based outlets would be required to undergo a "voice modulation test". This was necessary in order to "infuse freshness in the presentation of programmes".
According to a report in the Kolkata Telegraph, the presenters will be allowed to stay on only if they pass the test that proves they don't sound "too mature and boring".
All India Radio calls the story "a false alarm" raised by "some elements [who] want to indulge in sensation-mongering and spread canards against the benevolent management of Prasar Bharati."
Presenters and journalists working for FM Rainbow and FM Gold are worried by the reports. Avantika Ghosh, of the station's Broadcasters' Welfare Association, told The Times of India: "There is no scientific reasoning that says that once a person crosses 35 the voice modulation ceases to sound good."
Although outstripped in recent years by India's booming television sector, radio is still an important medium, particularly in rural areas.
Publicly-run All India Radio - which broadcasts in 23 languages - faces growing competition from a proliferation of newer private stations.
Sources: BBC/Kolkata Telegraph/Times of India/Television Post/The Hindu via bizAsia
