Fw: [cr-india] Who will they serve?

[PASHA]

Dear Mr.Vikram

A few years back, I remember, a few of us were excited about the prospects
of community radio.
We struggled hard in our ways. The Government has time and again has played
dirty games with those who wanted Community Radio to be tool of parallel
communication of the masses in this country.

First the 'freedom of speech' on the airways was auctioned for huge amount
of money. Those giants in the entertainment industry grabbed the
opportunity. It served only the English loving elite in the metros. The FM
educational channels were only excuses to shut the bragging mouths.Those
channels were also opened in those of the metros/cities where the commercial
private channels were licensed. When we asked in a high level round table in
IGNOU, we were told it was wise step to  fight the ill effects of commercial
channels. When we strongly felt that at least such 'educational' channels
should be opened in the rural areas which are not served properly by other
media, the proposal was totally ignored. It was also proposed that a Radio
Cooperative will be formed around each such IGNOU FM station and they will
be allowed to share 60% of the broadcast time. It was certain that that time
would also be occupied by urban based NGOs. Despite that draw back we
thought some thing has come up. But, I do not know if the same proposal has
been kept up and any Radio Cooperative with NGOs, is formed around any IGNOU
FM station.

Final blow was the magnanimous gesture of our MIB to grant the licenses of
CRs to ITIs.etc. Which all the frequencies and what ever little hope, on at
least for the wiser future governments, that we had has vanished into thin
air. Again government has fed those who already has so much to eat, and left
the hungry to their fates.

Radio, that too micro level community radio was the best and the only form
of technology that could have been handed over to the communities of this
country. This would have been the ideal tool for the people find their and
formulate their decisions, communication among themselves and to communicate
to the governments above them. Community Radio is the best resource to
strengthen the democracy. It is quite obvious that the governments are not
interested in this objective. It is shame to learn that even the State
Governments do not raise their voice against this daylight robbery of
freedom of speech. Even Local Governments which are formed to empower the
local communities are excluded from use the air ways.

A few years back I contributed all that I could in the field of Community
Radio (Writing two books and designing and conducting several types of
training programs). Lately I got frustrated. If that is not to serve a
marginalized, poor section of society which are not able to create their own
messages and make the other world listen to them, to my mind community radio
is farce. It is a hoax. I have no hopes. So I have changed my strategy now
and not going after the mirage.

M. Abdul Rehman Pasha,

''Multimedia''
Ph: (080) 338 9888
E-mail: pasha1 at vsnl.com


----- Original Message -----
From: Vickram Crishna <vvcrishna at softhome.net>
To: <cr-india at sarai.net>
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 12:24 AM
Subject: [cr-india] Who will they serve?


> >As the IITs move into the second half-century of their existence,
> >the key question is: which constituency do they intend to serve? The
> >IIT system has responded successfully to the changing needs of the
> >global economy, but a relevant question is whether it has even
> >attempted, in recent times, to meet India's changing needs.
> (http://www.flonnet.com/fl2003/stories/20030214007506500.htm) This is
> a quote from the concluding paragraphs of the Frontline article on
> the IITs.
>
> It seems to me equally relevant to ask who India's media serves. Now
> that the airwaves are finally, slowly, being cranked open for the use
> of non-centralized content generation, one must ask, how much, how
> soon, and to what purpose?
>
> I have just discovered that Gyan Vani runs here in Mumbai at 105.7
> MHz. Educational programmes are broadcast in South Mumbai for two
> hours in the evening, using a transmitter from the SNDT University's
> campus in the Churchgate area. Two students from SNDT informed me
> that the University runs a communications course in the (much larger
> and better known) North campus, which is about 20 km away, in Juhu,
> just north of Santacruz, in northwest Mumbai. Students produce some
> content for the transmission as a requirement of their one year
> graduate course, but studying (and mostly living) as they do in north
> Mumbai, have never heard the transmissions.
>
> I also live in northwest Mumbai, and was completely unaware that the
> station had been inaugurated sometime in 2000 or 2001. I have never
> met anyone who has tuned into this station. A recent article in the
> Bombay Times on the opening up of the airwaves for universities
> didn't mention this station either.
>
> I long to know what research MIB did before deciding on the new
> policy. How many people have been listening to Gyan Vani in other
> parts of India? Is IGNOU capable of the kind of audience research (in
> depth and breadth) that AIR still conducts for its own programmes?
> Moreover, will the residential educational institutions be capable of
> this kind of research, enjoined as they are to serve populations
> inside an area exceeding 75 sq km? (I may be wrong here, the original
> news reports referred to a radius of 5 km, but the guidelines talk
> about power not exceeding 50W. Our own experience tells us that in
> flat countryside, a 50W transmitter equipped with a well placed
> efficient antenna ought to reach about 20-25 km at least).
>
> Why, well over 50 years after independence, is our democratic
> government so suspicious of its own people that they can't be trusted
> to manage their own low cost media? Instead, this job will be
> entrusted to hostel residents of elite institutions, who by
> definition do not belong to the area being served by the new radio
> stations.
>
> Yet, note the MIB guidelines:
> >         4.1              The basic objective of the Community Radio
> >broadcasting would be to serve the
> >        cause of the community in the service area of the licensee by
> >involving members of the community       in the broadcast of their
> >programmes.  For this purpose community would mean people living in
> >the coverage zone of the broadcasting service of the licensee.
>
> Two issues I want to raise here:
>
> First, Empowerment. To involve poverty stricken people in the
> production of audio content, one must take the medium to them. This
> is much more practical in India if the station is located within
> walking distance. 20 km is much too far. If such people aren't the
> focus of this governmentally defined community radio, I dearly want
> to know who is.
>
> >       3.2              The Ministry of I&B immediately on receipt of
> >an application will consult the Wireless Advisor in WPC wing of
> >Ministry of Communications and also Prasar Bharati to determine the
> >availability of frequency at the place requested by the applicant.
> >
> >       3.3              The Ministry of  Information & Broadcasting
> >will refer the eligible applicant case to the
> >      Ministries  of Home Affairs, Defence, Human Resources
> >Development and External Affairs and letter of intent and/or license
> >will be issued only after getting the requisite clearances from
> >these Ministries. The licensee will be  required  to sign a licence
> >agreement after allotment of frequency by WPC. The
> >      license agreement shall specify detailed terms and conditions
> >under which the licence is to be operated.
>
> This cumbersome procedure will be unnecessary in most rural areas,
> and the concerned ministries (Home Affairs, Defence and External
> Affairs - what precisely is the role of Human Resources anyway? the
> government has already said quite clearly that they aren't going to
> pay for these stations) should define such geographical areas that
> prequalify for a blanket clearance. As I have shown in a separate
> calculation, there is no shortage of available frequencies for low
> power transmission, and commonsense plus local arbitration (the
> nearest AIR center can easily act as an ombudsman in the unlikely
> case of frequency clashes) will ensure that this problem remains a
> bogey.
>
> Second, Content. One of the major problems with the traditional role
> of radio has been the emphasis on centralized production. Now that it
> is entirely possible to undertake production and broadcasting on very
> small and affordable budgets, there is no reason to continue with a
> policy that creates a disconnect between the audience and the
> production center. We need to petition MIB for extension of the new
> policy to allow village groups, such as self help centers, to run
> their own stations. This ought to bring about a situation where
> community radio does take off as intended, in a big way, leading to
> consequences of information spread far more effectively than the
> centralized route has, in the last half century of independence.
> --
> Vickram
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