Community Radio Pledge (pdf) - amarc

who would make journalists. The number of those who end up working topress others' agenda is big. This has aborted any bid to enforce ethics here.Consequently, the faith on journalism as profession is eroding day by day.This is unfortunate for one and all."Mani Raj Upadhayay, who has been into journalism for five decades, isof the view that ethics have not gone into force just because the journalistsare not clear when it comes to enumerate their objectives. He said: "Ourjournalism is the one which is scared of government and feudal lords. Thereis no point in enforcing ethics here."Broadcasting mediaRadio waves and frequencies are public property or object. There isfundamental difference between radio frequency and journalism when lookedinto it from the viewpoint of ownership. Newspapers thrive on newsprint asmedium. It is possible when all the citizens of the country want to publish anewspaper with newsprint as medium. One can buy the medium for newspaperwith the money you have. As to how many reams of newsprint you want to buyand how many copies of newspaper you want to print could be an issue ofpersonal concern. The ownership of medium in newspaper publication ispersonal.But one cannot buy as many channels/media one may want to when itcomes to the broadcasting media. Looked into it from technical viewpoint, thereare very few channels available in broadcasting media. A nation can have limitedfrequencies under the rules spelt out by International Telecommunication Union(ITU) when it comes to beam frequencies through AM band.Similarly, coming around FM broadcasting, there are 20 frequencies up forgrabs in any region ranging from 88 MGHz to 108 MGHz. What is impossiblehere is no one can lay claim on broadcasting through all frequencies. The groupor individual who has been awarded the broadcasting permit has put an end tothe prospects of the others to lay claim on such a permit. This illustrates howthe ownership of radio as medium can never be private. This explains whypromoters of radio stations should be conscious about the rights of othersover frequencies while beaming the frequencies. The responsibility towardsthe inhabitants of the region should be fulfilled uninterruptedly. What thismeans is the promoters of radio concede the reality that society is comprised ofdifferent castes, groups, languages, religions, communities, cultures and mindsetand that their preferences, aspirations, needs and attitudes are different. Onemust be able to respect them all.A radio journalist should consider the acts of honoring the law,respecting fundamental human rights, respecting democratic spirit, remaininghonest to society, putting freedom of speech and expression to right use,25