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 PioneerRadio Sagarmatha also contributes to the empowerment of localcommunities. As a means of social mobilization, the stationis raising its voice to discuss many hidden issues or taboo topicsin society, reflecting the shortcomings of Nepal’s fledglingdemocracy. Through this, marginalized groups can also participatein the public sphere. For example, programs dealing withthe plight of the Dalit community - Untouchables as they aretermed - are also produced on a regular basis in order to overcomethe discrimination that the caste system has imposed onthem which has deeply divided the Nepalese society. 114Another approach that was greatly valued by one of the interviewedexperts was when Nepal was engulged in the civil war,Radio Sagarmatha tried to calm down sentiments and advocatedfor negotiations rather than the use of violent force. In thisregard, Radio Sagarmatha was not only moderating, but in someways also mediating the peacebuilding process. 115 The station’swork has been acknowledged nationally and internationally.Radio Sagarmatha received in 2006 the AMARC InternationalSolidarity Prize 116 and in 2007 the ONE WORLD Special Award 117 .The Supreme Court of Nepal, the Dalit Sewa Sangh, Nepal Centerfor Disaster, and the Commission for the Investigation of Abusehave sent formal letters of appreciation to the station. 118Achievements and Challengesalive, to integrate the concerns of the communities RadioSagarmatha is serving and balancing this with other sectorsof society. On top of this Radio Sagarmatha is also strugglingwith the general challenges the media sector in Nepal is facing.– In the absence of a legal framework and because ofthe continued political instability as governments keepchanging within a short period of time, the lines betweencommercial and community radio stations arenot very clear. All the interviewed experts said that newlegislation is urgently needed to restructure and reorganizethe sector which has grown so rapidly and in manyways uncontrolled.– It is also important to ensure that the communityradio idea or its philosophy is not misused in order tosimply generate funds or grants. The tendency for thisdevelopment became clear in the 2012 study of ACORABand the UNDEF. It stated that many stations that considerand label themselves as “community radios” wouldin fact fare very low, if they were analyzed by a set ofcriteria, such as: application of community radio principles,domination by elite groups, increased politicization,and loss of local control and content. 121Radio Sagarmatha has achieved a large reputation, credibilityand respect not only in the communities it serves, but alsoamong academics and in the community radio scene worldwide.It is considered by its listeners as a trustworthy sourceof information, a role model as well as a trendsetter and asource of inspiration for many in Nepal. 119 The fight for an independentsource of information by journalists and activistsfor over five years that finally led to the foundation of RadioSagarmatha in 1997 has been a milestone for the communityradio scene, not only in Nepal but for the whole of South Asiaas described in detail before. In the 17 years since its establishment,Radio Sagarmatha can be proud of the fact that it hasgroomed and transformed itself into a professional mediahouse. In the beginning, the station was only able to broadcasta few hours of programming with a handful of people using a100 kilowatt transmitter. Today, some 80 people work for thestation that broadcasts 18 hours of programming a day. Theenthusiasm of the founding days is described by then technicaldirector Upendra Aryal. “I thought it was a big fantasy totransform an outfit with a single mono Sony EV500 compactcassette recorder into a sophisticated FM station. It was verydifficult to even get a building for the proposed station. Finallythe station was in my house, and I was ready to rent out theland and the building for the next fifteen years. I had the transmitterhidden in my residence and at night kept it as if it weremy pillow.” 120 To keep this enthusiasm and identification alivefor the cause of community radio journalism is seen by manyof the interviewed experts as a big challenge. It will also alwaysremain a big challenge to keep the diversity of programming102http://www.rss.com.np/103A list of national and internationalawards that RadioSagarmatha received can befound on the radio’s website.104https://www.facebook.com/#!/sagarmathafm – on April 22,2014 the number of likes was1435.105Ibid.106Radio Sagarmatha 2014e.10729 year old Tulasi Ghimire wasstaying with her husband andher two months old daughter ina hotel. She and the baby died asthe oxygen level in the room wastoo low during the night becausea heater had been installedto warm the room by the hotel.The family belonged to a veryremote area of Nepal. Thehusband, a carpenter, survived.See: The Himalayan 2014.108Radio Sagarmatha 2014e.109Adhikary, Dhruba Hari;Noted journalist, author, analyst,former head of the NepalPress Institute and now memberof the Board of Directors.110Ibid.111For more information pleasesee DPNet Nepal 2014.112UNISDR 2012.113Osang & Buerki 1999.114Estimations of how manypeople in Nepal belong to theDalit community vary greatlybetween around 13 % up to 20 %(between 3.5 to 5 million people).See: IDSN 214; DWO 2014;ILO 2005.115Nishchal Pandey, Director of theCentre for South Asian Studiesin Kathmandu.116AMARC 2006.117One World Media 2007.118Radio Sagarmatha 2014a.119Mohan Chapagain, Chairman ofthe Association of CommunityRadio Broadcasters Nepal(ACORAB).120Communication Initiative 2001.121ACORAB 2012.Edition DW Akademie In the Service of the Public 215