[cr-india] AMARC AsiaPac interview - Ashish Sen

[sajan venniyoor]

The RnM interview with Ashish Sen, head of AMARC Asia Pacific, is available
here:
http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/interviews/amarc-asia-pac-president-ashish-sen-we-need-more-information-disseminated-about-availabilit

Sajan

On Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 6:08 PM, Vickram Crishna <v1clist at yahoo.co.uk>wrote:

> Ashish Sen, AsiaPac head of AMARC, is interviewed in the current issue of
> RadioandMusic by Aparna Joshi, following the recent meeting in Bihar,
> supported by Action Aid.
>
> It is an interesting interview, lengthy enough to cover several important
> matters. I have excerpted a few, with my comments inline.
>
> Technology: "There needs to be more information disseminated about the
> availability
> of appropriate and low cost technology in setting up community radio
> stations. For instance, very few are aware of NOMAD technology that is
> authorized manufactures of low cost transmitters. Most of us are aware
> only of BEL and WEBEL (also authorized dealers) whose costs are far
> steeper and beyond the reach of the aam aadmi. If community radio is to
> assert itself as a "voice for and of the voiceless" there needs to be
> greater impetus given towards providing and accessing low cost
> technology.
> "
>
> Comment: It is a pity that Ashish does not mention the possibility of DIY
> construction, something that actually helped his own VOICES aided community
> media station, Namma Dhwani, to come up, using cable radio, at a time when
> the government, sans policy, proscribed community broadcasting. While there
> are places in India where cable radio is not an option, because of the local
> population's geo-spatial, economic and gender distribution, it is still a
> viable and relatively inexpensive solution for many. In addition, self-made
> TXs are far cheaper than any manufactured set, and also encourage
> entrepreneurship (what Nehru called self-reliance) in construction and
> maintenance.
>
> Sure, the Nomad sets are 'authorised' (and represent an international
> effort to promote CR), but why has the government imposed the need for
> authorising particular manufacturers, instead of simply publishing standards
> and allowing Indians to help themselves? This is particularly poignant
> considering the interview talks about the meeting in Bihar, which is where
> the use of a DIY Tx led to an international outcry against Indian government
> policy on CR, leading to the amendments that finally kicked off true
> grassroots stations. Later in this interview, Sen talks about the need for
> strengthening the CR Forum, and I wish he had spelt out how this would help
> bring about self-reliance.
>
> C for campus or community?: "...the single window clearance should be
> applicable for   ngo/cbo applicants alike and not just for campus radio
> applicants.
> There needs to be more inclusiveness – both in spirit and practice –
> within the sector. While respecting differences between campus
> community and grass roots community stations, we need to build bridges
> between both to ensure a vibrant community radio climate in the
> country.
> "
>
> Comment: In fact, the attitude of the government (both the Wireless Adviser
> office and the I&B ministry) has been directed in exacerbating differences
> between these two forms of public radio, perhaps in order to prevent them
> from chipping away at PB's remaining domain. Or maybe they are just ornery,
> eh?
>
> Rural/Urban divide: "The relevance of community radio in rural and remote
> areas is not
> disputed. But we also need to ensure that we do not lose sight of the
> wood for the trees. Community Radio has a vital role to play in
> addressing urban poverty and providing the urban poor and less
> privileged communities with a powerful voice."
>
> Comment: As has been pointed out on this list by others, some cities have
> as many as 3 campus stations jostling around each other, with no space yet
> given for any other form of grassroots 'voices'. Apparently the vision of a
> community-driven media service has not yet penetrated our worthy (and
> unelected, do I need to point out?) panjandrum's consciousness, despite so
> many years of desperate advocacy.
>
> Frequency allocation: "The paucity of frequencies for community radio
> stations, as articulated
> by official quarters, is worrying and needs to be reviewed."
>
> Comment: In fact, The Wireless Adviser openly allots only three discrete
> frequencies for CR, and completely ignores the paucity of actual usage of
> this band across the country. I recall someone (was it Sajan?) had advocated
> using this list to monitor FM usage across the country, and I think that is
> a very practical idea. Publishing such usage in the format of a distribution
> map will go a long way in making up the gap in information dissemination
> (unfortunately still a defining characteristic of the government). Without
> such action, it is fairly obvious that the office of the Wireless Adviser
> has absolutely no intention of taking proactive action to promote CR in
> India (be it in the form of community and/or campus radio stations.
>
> Commercial is another story, since we witness pains taken to enable
> nationally owned or promoted stations to maintain the same frequency across
> the country, presumably as a moneysaving branding exercise. Incidentally, in
> other countries such as the US, I believe such stations have a four letter
> callsign, not a frequency. When the move to digital broadcasting takes
> place, this question - or should I say opportunity? as in golden goose -
> will no longer be relevant).
>
> In late 1871, one of Bombay University's first engineering graduates,
> Samuel Nagavkar, joined the PWD in the erstwhile Mysore State. An upright
> man, he is quoted as later advising a son-in-law, who was about to take up a
> government post, that 'dishonesty did not consist only in being corrupt, but
> that a man who did not put forth his best effort in the discharge of his
> duties was "guilty of gross dishonesty." ' I fear that till today, this is
> observed more in the breach.
>
> News: "The ban on news. This contradicts and inhibits some of the key
> objectives of community radio which seeks to provide local/community
> information for local/community needs. Further, it is not clear what
> constitutes news."
>
> Comment: I mentioned in an earlier post what the government view on this
> is, as stated at the Ahmedabad consultation: acceptable news on
> non-government stations (including commercial, I assume, since they also
> languish in a grey area) consists of announcements, unlike on the
> government-owned channels. I suppose 'my sister's wedding' announcement will
> be allowed, but no comments on what the guests wore, or who showed up.
> Announcing the tsunami about to hit will be ok, but nothing about the
> hoarding of stocks by the unscrupulous, or sale by them of donated relief
> supplies, once said tsunami has passed, and decimated the listening
> audience.
>
> Monitoring of news: Ashish does not make any suggestions. However, several
> of us in this list have suggested this activity be devolved down to the
> local level, especially given the vibrancy of the local language and
> culture, without knowing which it is impossible to assess the value of the
> content. Needless to say, this is pretty well anathema to the Centre, which
> remains adamant about surrendering any effective power to the States. I see
> no reason why the States need be involved, actually, since the Centre can
> directly appoint local luminaries for this vocation. In any case, such
> monitoring is only meaningful in case of complaints, and even as it stands,
> recorded content (up to 3 months old) need only be sent to the Centre (in
> transcribed and translated form, mind you) in such an eventuality. This is
> not my opinion, I am repeating what I heard at the consultation.
>
> Quality of the CR Policy: "The need to review and extend the transmitter
> range especially in
> hilly terrain. (The current policy does take cognizance of this to the
> extent that it indicates that exceptions to the current 100 watt range
> can be made depending on the terrain). There is need to also reconsider
> the validity of mobile broadcasting especially in the context of
> emergencies and disaster situations.
> Another constraint is linked to the age of the NGO applicant.
> Currently, the policy permits NGOs that have been in existence for
> three years to be eligible for licenses. However, in areas vulnerable
> to floods and famines, there are credible and community based NGOs that
> have come up in the recent past."
>
> Comment: Again, Ashish seems focused on transmitter power (which is,
> incidentally, irrevocably linked to costs), rather than effective range.
> Multi-modal broadcasting (combining data and voice in modules) is cheaper
> and more robust for such situations, and promotes a variety of
> entrepreneurial talents in addition to the valuable skills involved in
> content management that typify the traditional CR deployment. Mainstream
> media provides precious few opportunities for serious comment on community
> radio, unsurprisingly, and each opportunity ought to be maximised.
>
> Revenue generation: "Sponsored programmes that are relevant to the
> community and development
> or educational could be other sources of revenue generation."
>
> Comment: Actually, sponsored programmes are specifically disallowed on CR.
> I think we need to focus on total cost of operations and total community
> earnings rather than looking at blinkered revenue models that derive from
> 'organised' revenue stream visions. By its very nature, a community is not
> organised, and any effort to organising it leads to internal politics.
> Failure to recognise this seminal fact will doom any grassroots community
> initiative, whether or not encouraged (and these are not) by the government.
>
> Looking ahead: "A core group has been formed to take the (Bihar
> consultation) endorsement forward."
>
> Well, that is good news. Will this group be aligned directly with the CR
> Forum?
>
> Vickram
> http://communicall.wordpress.com
> http://vvcrishna.wordpress.com
>
>
>
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