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

Part II Afghanistan: Reform Fear, Limited International Support, Failed TransformationFinancing, Management and Newsroom StructuresRTA has various financial sources: advertising (which is a smallamount), paid programming at the national and local levels,taxes levied on other channels’ antennas, and rental incomefrom surplus facilities and staff, i.e., buildings, equipment andproduction crew. All revenues are handed over to the Ministryof Finance and then to the Ministry of Information and Culturebefore a small part of the amount is paid out to the broadcaster.RTA relies on that monthly subsidy of 408,000 US Dollarsfrom the Ministry of Information and Culture. Provincialbranches typically spend between 7,000 and 10,000 US Dollarsa month and employ a staff of around 30 per local studio(with estimates of the total RTA staff in the whole of Afghanistanlying at around 1,600 to 2,000). 29Most of the money that RTA gets is spent on payroll. DirectorZarin Anzor moans that even the smallest investment, forexample, in new equipment or studio supplies, has to be declaredto the Ministry of Information so that the broadcasterseems rather incapable of acting. 30 This situation makes it difficultfor RTA to decide independently on the programminglevel as well as the staff level.RTA has no clear newsroom structure or organizationalchart which reflects the real situation within the broadcaster.As the only broadcaster RTA has special desks for minority languageslike Pashai or Uzbek. Most of the content is translatedDari or Pashto content and read by an ethnic representative.There is little journalistic content produced for those minorities,so it stagnates on a folkloric level. There is no newsroomstructure that produces content for all languages and localoutlets. Another problem RTA is faced with is a lack of clearlyidentifiable flagship programs with an appealing title and alack of a program schedule the audience can rely on. RTA stilldisplays a “confusing grid where the main contents are not obviousto the viewers.” 31 There are efforts to bring order into theconfusion and in fact there is a schedule on paper for the capitalchannel of RTA, still there is no guarantee that the schemeis followed.channels in Afghanistan with 8 percent claiming to watchit and an audience share of 7 percent. 33 In the Altai survey of2010, trust was measured comparatively for radio stationsacross the country by asking the audience to report the threestations they trusted most. The most trusted stations werethose on international networks. Azadi and the BBC receivedthe highest ratings (44 percent and 41 percent, respectively).The RTA network also generated a high level of trust. Whenconsidered alone, the Kabul-based national broadcaster wasamong the most trusted radio stations for 18 percent of Afghans,when aggregated with local RTA radio stations (Kandahar,Jalalabad, etc.), the network ranked third, with 39 percentof trust expressed at the national level. 34As mentioned before, people are aware of a certain governmentbias and people do criticize that the president and otherofficials use RTA as their mouthpiece. Still there is a need towatch and listen to the program to be informed about whatthe government is proclaiming, doing or deciding. 35 As forentertainment, the audience tends to watch the private mediawhich offer international series and films or other attractiveprograms. RTA’s programs are perceived as rather boring, oldfashionedand not reliable concerning the program schedule. 36The prime time news can take from 15 minutes up to one hour,depending on what the president or another official have tosay and how much footage is available.RTA’s role is seen as quite diverse: As a national broadcasterit should contribute to modernization. It has a clear educationalmandate which it does not live up to and it shouldpromote the feeling of national unity and social cohesion. Inthis regard, it is important to distinguish between the terms“public” and “national.” In Afghanistan these terms are beingused synonymously. In other contexts it might be importantto differentiate.Perception, Participation and Public EngagementRTA has a long tradition as the first broadcaster and the onlyAfghan broadcaster covering the more remote areas of thecountry. It is well known as the state broadcaster. AnalyzingRTA means making a distinction between the radio programand the television program. In general RTA is the only stationwith a broad coverage of rural areas. According to the Altai surveyits radio program is generally the most listened to. 32 RadioAzadi and the BBC are listened to and trusted for their professionalismand their networks of journalists, as well as their accessto international news. RTA is listened to and trusted fora different factor: it is generally praised for being the radio ofall Afghans, with national news and a sense of national unity,despite a certain government bias. RTA’s local stations are alsoappreciated for their responsiveness and reliability in relationto local news. RTA television is among the four most watched22Eberhard Sucker, RegionalCoordinator and Project Managerin Afghanistan during the transformationprocess, DW Akademie.23There are also some supplementarylaws, such as TelecommunicationsLaw, Copyright Law, LaborLaw, Criminal Law and CommercialLaw. These laws also organizeaspects of the media sector.24Altai Consulting 2010, 25.25Law on Mass Media.26Altai Consulting 2010,Wakili 2012.27Abdul Sobhan Ghafoori, technicaldirector at RTA.28Wakili 2007, 190.29Altai Consulting 2010, 54.30Zarin Anzor, DirectorGeneral, RTA.31Altai Consulting 2010, 85.32Audience share: RTA 18 percent,BBC 7 percent. See AltaiConsulting 2010, 119.33Altai Consulting 2010, 113.34Altai Consulting 2010, 147.35Shirazuddin Siddiqi, consultantat BBC World Service Trust duringRTA’s transformation process.36Wakili 2012, 243.Edition DW Akademie In the Service of the Public 41