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 PioneerCharacteristics Status Changes/Advancementsover the past yearsRegulatory system/governing bodyRadio Sagarmatha is run by The Nepal Forum of EnvironmentalJournalists (NEFEJ). NEFEJ is the current license-holder andforms the Radio Sagarmatha Board that meets regularly andplans activities. Currently, the five member board is electedfor two years and headed by a chairman. NEFEJ appoints thestation manager as the chief executive of the station and thedeputy station manager too.–Engagement of civil society No. –FinancingRadio Sagarmatha states that only about 30% of the fundsthat are required to run the station come from differentNGOs, including NEFEJ, the license-holding NGO. The stationis therefore relying on local public service announcements –in short PSA – to generate money. These are mostly relatedto issues with a social message for example issues relatedto “environment, sanitation, rule of law, gender relations,social justice, education, child rights, human rights, rightsof women.” Paid sponsorship of programs is also possible.This is a gray area as the editorial control lies with the sponsorand Radio Sagarmatha is only providing air time andtechnical help in production. This way of generating moneyneeds to be viewed with caution as sponsored programscan be a way of influencing public opinion, although thegenerated money is essential to run the station.–Use of mobile and internetcommunication/modern technology/challenges of digitalizationRadio Sagarmatha is proud to have fully digital programmingand more than 25,000 sound tracks in its archive. The newsroomis equipped with computers. Since October 2013 RadioSagarmatha has also used Facebook to expand distributionof and to increase its presence to a wider audience.Facebook and other newtechnologies are still notfully implemented in theworkflow. A look onto theFacebook page shows thatsometimes there are noposts for days, resulting infewer discussions and interactions.In order to build acommunity and especiallyattract younger people, thefrequency and the activitiesin Facebook should be improvedand diversified. Theintegration of new technologiesand other socialmedia platforms should beconstantly observed.Edition DW Akademie In the Service of the Public 219