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

The methods that were applied to design this project were theresult of intense talks and negotiations with the station managerand other representatives at the station. The aim was tohelp Radio Sagarmatha to fulfill its own targets as a communityradio station and to cater to the needs of the involved communitiesthrough better programming. Helmut Osang, projectmanager, and Goetz Buerki, technical consultant, of theDW Akademie noted in their final report. “There is a tendencytowards narration overload. And there is a tendency towardsexpert overload. Many programs are talk dominated, thusnot making full use of radio’s wealth of formats and boringthe listener. Furthermore, most programs are studio-based,with guests being invited to the studio rather than talkingwith them where they work, meet or simply live.” 51 The reportemphasized how important field trips are as they showed thevalue of going out, as the “results are lively and down-to-earthinterviews, reports, and packages, making the program richerand more colorful.” 52In recent years the following cooperation projects were carriedout: A 30-minute radio feature on the education for marginalizedgroups in Nepal was co-produced in 2005 by an editorfrom Radio Sagarmatha together with an editor from DeutscheWelle. It was aired in German and English by Deutsche Welleand in English and Nepali by Radio Sagarmatha. In 2007, differentworkshops were designed to cater to the needs of the differentstake holders in Nepal: a follow-up workshop for RadioSagarmatha, training and consulting sessions for members ofACORAB as well as for technicians of ACORAB. Journalists ofRadio Sagarmatha were also trained in other workshops in Nepaland Germany on issues such as “News and Online Journalism”or “Reporting” (2003, 2009, 2010). The European Unionfunded a study in 2008 about the challenges that communityradio stations are facing in Nepal which was carried out by DWAkademie together with ACORAB.The International Institute for Journalism (IIJ), BerlinThe International Institute for Journalism (IIJ) 53 organizedon a regular basis trainings and workshops for Radio Sagarmathaand other community radio stations in cooperationwith the German Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and the Nepal Forumof Environment Journalists (NEFEJ). Besides journalisticmultimedia-workshops, “Train the Trainer” workshops wereorganized in Berlin. 54 Journalists from Nepal also took part insummer schools and other specific programs in Germany thatwere organized by the IIJ.DANIDANepal became a priority country for Denmark’s developmentcorporation, DANIDA, in 1989. 55 The objectives for DANIDA inNepal are to contribute to “poverty reduction, political stability,and to strengthen inclusive economic growth and accessto renewable energy.” Every year, Denmark provides approximately35 million US Dollars in assistance. Besides training RadioSagarmatha’s staff on a regular basis, DANIDA organized in1999 a unique concept with the station: Safa Radio-The CleanAir Campaign. 56 “Safa” is the Nepalese word for “clean.” Fivedays a week a three wheeled electric van that could carry halfa dozen or more people would measure the level of air pollutantsin the city. Heavy smog and air pollution are serious problemsin Kathmandu. Many call the city “unlivable” and that itis “choking” its residents. 57 According to Yale’s 2014 EnvironmentalPerformance Index (EPI), Nepal’s air quality ranks 177thout of 178 countries. 58 In 1999, results of the samples from 30rotating locations that the Safa Tempo collected were analyzedin a lab, then explained the same day during the stations eveningnews bulletin, Haalchaal. In a monthly press conference,results would be presented to the media and the public.Free Voice/Free Press UnlimitedFree Voice was established in 1986 to support independent mediain developing countries. It stated as its objective to “strivetowards establishing reliable journalism and press freedom inthose regions.” 59 Free Voice was founded by the Dutch Associationof Journalists (NVJ), the Association of Dutch NewspaperPublishers (NDP), the Dutch Society of Editors, and Radio NetherlandsWorldwide. In 2011 Free Voice was merged with othersto form Free Press Unlimited. In Nepal, Free Voice supportedthe Community Radio Support Centre (CRSC) that was formedby NEFEJ, the license holder of Radio Sagarmatha. Free Voicehas been actively supporting the growth and strengthening ofcommunity radios – in rural areas too – through workshops,the establishment of a help desk, grant fund, technical andmanagement inputs, producers capacity building, referencematerials development, advocacy and lobbying, and a radioknowledge center among others. 60Radio Sagarmatha states on its website 61 that it worked inthe past with a variety of other development organizationssuch as Action Aid, Oxfam GB, Transparency International, USAID and the US embassy, Water Aid, and the WWF among otherson a topic-based basis. It was highlighted in the interviewsthat in general the training activities were of great help andimportance for Radio Sagarmatha as well as for the communityradio sector. Workshops, however, were only useful whenthe needs and wishes of the station were taken into account.Only by “inviting people in a five-star-hotel” far away from thereality of their daily routine and work environment, many topicsdiscussed could not be integrated in the daily work. Thus, insome projects “time and resources were wasted.” 62Status of the Media OrganizationLegal Framework, Governance and EthicsRadio Sagarmatha is run by The Nepal Forum of EnvironmentalJournalists (NEFEJ). 63 NEFEJ is the current license holder. Atthe time of Radio Sagarmatha’s founding, three other NGOs –the Himal Association, Worldview Nepal, and the Nepal PressInstitute – had campaigned together with NEFEJ to get the licenseand are therefore included in the Radio Sagarmatha210