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

Public Service: General FunctionsIn the following section we will take a closer look at the twogeneral functions of public service broadcasting we introducedfor this study: creating a public sphere and supportingintegration. We will evaluate to what extent RTA may or maynot fulfill these functions. All the information about the politicaltransformation process in Afghanistan and the peculiaritiesof the media landscape given above have to be kept inmind while assessing the fulfilment of the functions.Creating a Public SphereCreating a public sphere through mass media in Afghanistanis very challenging. It has to be taken into account that a largemajority of Afghans live in rural areas and secluded mountainregions so from the mere infrastructural aspect it is a challengeto reach the masses via media.A public sphere in the sense of a democratic forum is notnecessarily what can be observed in Afghanistan. This hasprimarily two reasons. Firstly, one cannot speak of one publicsphere. One could rather speak of many public spheres due tothe different and still very dominant communication channelssuch as tribal assemblies, Friday sermons in the mosques,bazaars, and market places or family gatherings. Secondly, thecontent that is spread via media is not comprehensible for alarge part of the recipients. 37 This is mainly due to the fact thatmost of the journalists use a language that is not the commoneveryday language of the people but merely a written language.38 This environment makes it difficult for RTA to fulfillthe function of “creating a public sphere.”Although RTA has the best prerequisites with its quitedense regional coverage to create a public sphere, it does not,or only to a very limited extent, offer politically balanced andindependent reporting. This is not only due to the fact thatRTA still defines itself to a certain extent as a mouthpiece ofthose in power, but also due to the lack of professionalism inthe staff.The general quality of the journalism in RTA’s programs ison a very low level compared to most private channels. 39 Women’sactivist Soraya Parlika criticizes: “The state-owned broadcasteris censored. It will also be in the hands of those in powerand the questions ‘Which minister talked to whom?’ ‘What didthe president say?’ are more favored than real important andunbiased information. They don’t have balanced reporting.” 40Investigative journalism is a completely new phenomenonfor Afghanistan, which has no mass media tradition. Even fundamentaljournalistic standards like doing basic research ortaking a closer look at a certain issue and questioning procedures,political, or social decisions and asking more than oneor two sources on the same issue, cannot be observed in mostRTA programs.It has to be said that independent journalistic research isnot necessarily what people expect in the first place from RTA.Meanwhile, the broadcaster does offer forums for public infor-mation and discussions. General Director Zarin Anzoor speaksof “building a bridge” between the people and those in power.41 Again one has to differentiate between RTA television andRTA radio. While television does not offer a platform for differentand opposing opinions, RTA radio gives space to differentopinions and thereby to some extent fulfills a public servicemandate, providing balanced and unbiased news.The technical director of RTA puts the central political functionRTA has to fulfill this way: “Firstly, RTA should draw theattention on the different views of the people. Secondly, RTAshould draw the attention on the memory of the 30 years ofwar in this country. Thirdly, RTA should draw attention to theunbelievably bad economic situation of the people. Fourthly,RTA should be listening to what the people are telling. And forthat we fortunately have a very intensive and close relationshipto our listeners and viewers. A lot of people from all overthe country call us and tell us their issues.” 42The wishes and ideals do not always match the real situationin RTA’s programs. And it has to be said that this has itsmain cause in the lack of quality and professionalism in thestructures and work processes, an obstacle as major as the lackof independence.Supporting IntegrationIntegration is certainly the general function for which RTA stillholds the biggest potential for Afghanistan. As a matter of fact,however, this function today is far from being fully realized.RTA TV is still very much focused on the capital Kabul, butthe radio stations in the provinces provide locally-generatedprograms which are – in some areas – the only source of information.The General Director of RTA Zarin Anzor describesthe broadcaster as “mirror for all Afghans” adding that RTAshould be a mirror, despite all the difficulties and deficiencies.He adds that RTA still does not adequately represent the wholepopulation of the country and is very much focussed on thecapital Kabul. 43 Anzor states: “The variety of cultures in the differentregions has to be shown and it has to be shown whatprogress is achieved. Only when we have covered all the provincesand not only the capital, can we contribute to the peopleto get closer to each other through our reporting. We can diminishthe distance between the people and our reporting.” 44One of the key findings of the Altai study in 2010 was thatthe highest expectations voiced by the public across the countrywere: media should promote a sense of national unity,rather than trying to further divide people of different political,ethnic or religious groups. 45 Indeed this goal is difficult toattain in a country that is multi-ethnic and has to struggle withreligious and tribal tensions (in part reflected in the diversityof the media actors currently in the country). Difficult as it maybe, though, it does not seem impossible to the media actors.It is only in a limited sense that RTA is fulfilling this functionbetter than the private media: especially regarding theminorities and finding the right balance between the two officiallanguages Pashto and Dari, RTA is the only broadcaster42