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

Part III Nepal: Radio Sagarmatha, an Asian Community Radio Pioneering the ocean with its forehead.” Some translate it as “motherof the universe.” Either way, the name is highly symbolic anddeeply rooted in the Nepalese mythology.Radio Sagarmatha is proud to be the first independentcommunity radio of South Asia. However, the very first “independent”radio broadcast in South Asia was not quite free fromstate control. To get its license, the station needed to adhereto 17 conditions that included, for example, not to broadcastnews and current affairs programs, to only broadcast for twohours a day using only a 100 Watt transmitter and that governmentofficials would monitor the programming and would beinformed about the content. 32 That is why in the early years thefocus was on programs that dealt with issues connected to theenvironment, the preservation of Nepal’s natural resources,and sustainable development since these issues were consideredto be non-political. As Radio Sagarmatha became moreand more popular, it gradually shedded the restrictions thatwere initially connected to its license, including the broadcastof news and current affairs programs. At the same time thecommunity radio movement as a whole gained momentumin the rest of Nepal. Thus, Radio Sagarmatha set the standardfor independent, public-interest radio in the country. 33 Despitethe fact that many countries in the region such as Sri Lanka,for example, were experimenting with the set-up of communityradio stations, countries like India needed many moreyears to develop a clear strategy for the establishment of communityradio stations. That is why the establishment of RadioSagarmatha in 1997 is now widely seen as a “milestone” 34 forthe entire community radio sector in the region.Currently, Radio Sagarmatha broadcasts 18 hours of programsdaily, from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. It uses a 1 Kilowatt transmitter(1,000 Watt) which makes it possible for people in theentire Kathmandu valley to listen to programming. 35On its website 36 , Radio Sagarmatha highlights its objectives:– To promote open public discourse on issues of publicinterest as part of the effort to carry out advocacy forsocial justice– To set standards in public interest broadcasting– To produce a pool of journalists in community broadcasting10The Radio Act dates back to the year 1957. It was reviewed, amendedand extended in the National Broadcasting Act of 1993. In 1997, theTelecommunication Act came into existence. The Right to InformationAct of 2007 can be considered as a milestone, as it declares the citizen’sright to information and the government responsible in a democracyto work in a transparent and accountable manner. But till date, thereis for example no act that is describing or dealing with the role ofcommunity radios and regulating their work. For Acts and Regulationssee: Ministery of Information and Communications 2014.11The prime ministers were Girija Prasad Koirala (28.05.2008 – 18.08.2008,Nepali Congress), Prachanda alias Pushpa Kamal Dahal (18.08.2008 –25.05.2009, Unified Communist Party of Nepal),Madhav Kumar Nepal (25.05.2009 – 06.02.2011, Communist Partyof Nepal), Jhala Nath Khanal (6.2.2011 – 29.08.2011, Communist Partyof Nepal), Baburam Bhattarai (29.08.2011 – 14.03.2013, Unified CommunistParty of Nepal), Khil Raj Regmi (14.03.2013 – 11.02.2014,Nonpartisan), Sushil Koirala (since February, 11 2014, Nepali Congress).See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_Nepal.12Infoasaid 2011.13The population of Kathmandu according to the National Census of 2011is 975 453. In 2001, it was only 671 846. The population of the wholeKathmandu valley is estimated to be 2.5 million. 20% of the urban populationlive in Kathmandu. See Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office 2014.14Dhungel 2012.15Analysis by Pant, Pant 2009.16CJMC Fee Structure, see: http://cjmc.edu.np/home/insidepage/6717Infoasaid 2011, 21 and 22.18Nishchal Pandey, Director of the Centre for South Asian Studiesin Kathmandu.19See NGO Reporters Without Borders’ website on Nepal:http://en.rsf.org/nepal.html20Reporters Without Borders 2014.21Settekorn & Kannengießer 2007, 48.22Adhikarie, March 3, 2011.23Kafle 2010.24Internet World Stats: Nepal Usage and Population Statistics.25Kathmandu Post, February 13, 2013.26Nepal is a very “young” country. More than half of its population isunder 24 years old (54,2 %), see: CIA 2014. For the use of the internetthrough mobile phones and listening of programs over mobile phonesplease see Infoasaid 2011, 7.27Dahal & Aram 2011.28Taylor 2007.29UNESCO 2008.30Quote from Radio Sagarmatha’s website.31NEFEJ 2014a.9Nishchal Pandey, Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies inKathmandu: “Well our laws are quite lax. As far as media are concerned,most of these laws were inacted some 25-30 years back. That’s why lotsof the business persons nowadays criticize them. Especially the onlinemedia, the web-based media resorted to criticism and yellow (press)journalism. And if I go to the court the judiciary will ask for a penaltyof a meager amount of money like 200 – 300 rupees. So these laws wereinacted many years ago and the media has benefitted from that.” (sic)32Dahal & Aram 2011.33Pringle & Subba 2007.34CRSC 2011.35Ghamaraj Luitel, Former Station Manager of Radio Sagarmatha:“Radio Sagarmatha reaches 4.5 million people.” Estimations say that2.5 million people are listening to Radio Sagarmatha on a regular basis.36http://www.radiosagarmatha.orgEdition DW Akademie In the Service of the Public 207