edition-dw-akademie-in-the-service-of-the-public-functions-and-transformation-of-media-in-developing-countries-pdf

Today, there are over 250 community radio stations broadcastingin Nepal. For most of the citizens who live in the remoteareas of the country, community radios are the solesource of information.Media laws and regulations are decades old and thereforedon’t address the most recent developments in technologyand new media. 9 Moreover, reviewing the laws is not a priorityfor lawmakers. 10 The reason for this is simple: since the firstgeneral elections after the end of the civil war in 2008, therehave been seven prime ministers. Some of these governmentsremained in power for a few months only. 11 This developmenthas unveiled deep cleavages in society and political instabilitythat is not only prevalent in all spheres but is also a hindrancefor progress.Despite these challenges, Nepal’s media scene is diverseand vibrant. Nepal has some 100 daily newspapers as well as15 TV stations. Across the country, some 300 radio stations –commercial and community-based are on air. The capitalKathmandu alone has more than 30 FM stations that mainlyfocus on entertainment, gossip, and call-in shows. As these stationsin general rarely offer a forum for debate or feature programsdealing with social issues for the people, station loyaltyis low. Urban listeners who have a choice tend to turn the dialto a different station several times in an hour. 12 The concentrationof media houses in Kathmandu 13 shows that Kathmanduis not only the administrative, economic, and cultural centerof Nepal. It also shows how extreme the urban-rural divide inNepal is. Quality and standards of media outlets vary greatlyas news stories are often manipulated in order to please politiciansor powerful industrialists that finance the media houses,especially in the capital. Even after the establishment of RadioSagarmatha, radio licensing remains restricted only to theelite as it was regarded as an “attractive business.” 14Very few journalists have studied journalism or mass communicationat three universities – Tribhuvan University, KathmanduUniversity and Purbanchal University – or the manyhundreds of colleges that have been offering such coursessince 1976. But they often lack practical knowledge and arevery far from the realities of professional media houses. 15 It isvery common that journalists receive their knowledge as internsand through training on the job only. In 2001, the privateCollege of Journalism and Mass Communication basedin Kathmandu started to offer B.A. and Master courses. For sixsemesters, students, however, have to pay tuition fees of morethan 200,000 Nepalese Rupees, about 1,500 Euros. 16 Despitethese hurdles, a poll of 4,500 people conducted by the BBC in2008 people revealed that an overwhelming majority (92%) ofthe respondents said they trusted the media more than anyother institution in Nepal. 17 Experts describe the role of themedia for Nepal especially after the end of the civil war both aspositive and negative. The media, on the one hand, has beenplaying “a very good role in terms of sensitizing the people ofhaving a constitution” and that it should be a “democratic”one. But many journalists, especially in the big media houses,are “members of political parties” and can therefore not trulyfulfill their role as watchdogs in society. 18Government censorship is rare. In 2005, however, whenthen King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency, manymedia outlets including Radio Sagarmatha were closed, theirequipment was seized and staff detained. To this day, manyjournalists avoid hot topics and practice self-censorship asintimidation and harassment of media professionals is common.19 In the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders,Nepal ranks only 120th out of 180 nations. 20 Ten journalistsand media owners lost their lives between 2002 and 2010.Moreover, Radio Nepal and Nepal Television are not allowed tobroadcast anything which is in contradiction “to the unity andcultural identity of Nepal” leading to a strongly-filtered selectionof content. 21Already back in 1985, it was demanded that Radio Nepaland Nepal Television should act as public service broadcasters(PSB). A transformation process was started with the goal tomake both bodies more independent from the government,but also bring more transparency into decision making. Butmany academics deem the transformation unsuccessful:“Broadcast culture calls it to be a PSB, funding compulsionsdrag it towards market forces, while the government wouldlike it to remain its mouth piece.” 22 Therefore, due to continuedgovernmental intervention the majority of the people inNepal “have lost trust” in Radio Nepal and Nepal Television. 23In view of this discrepancy between the mandate and actualperformance, community radios, especially Radio Sagarmatha,have taken over many functions of public service mediaas will be described in the following.Internet Penetration in Nepal is growing rapidly. Althoughthe overall rate at around 9% is still very low, it is significantlyhigher among the urban population giving them more choicesof consuming different media and informing themselves. 24Some 75% of the Nepalese population uses mobile phones andevery month some 300,000 new people are added. 25 Especiallythe Nepalese youth are listening to radio and using the internetthrough their mobile phones. 26Radio SagarmathaThe unique characteristics of the media scene in Nepal makeit understandable why Radio Sagarmatha has been hailed inthe international media and by academics as a “pioneer,” 27 the“voice of a nation” 28 that offers “a conduit for the wide range ofvoices and opinions that were previously unheard on Nepal’sradio channels.” 29 Established in 1997, Radio Sagarmatha (MHz102.4) views itself as a “defender of democracy and freedom ofspeech.” 30 Radio Sagarmatha is run by The Nepal Forum of EnvironmentalJournalists (NEFEJ). This NGO was formed in 1986by journalists with a high interest in development and environmentrelated issues. 31 “Sagarmatha” is the Nepalese namefor Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain situated inNepal, and which is considered holy. It literally means “fac-206