[cr-india] Fw: Radio Manipal-Prof.Dr.CSHN Murthy cr-india Digest, Vol 71, Issue 1

Thu Oct 1 16:05:59 IST 2009

Dear Dr.Sreedhar, Sajan Venniyoor, Prof.Dr.Shambhunath Singh,

Thanks for the excellent views aired by Dr.Sreedhar.

As I stated earlier that Radio Maniapl as a community radio has an excellent infrastructure and has wide recording labs and wonderful equipment for recording. Even one hour transmission is having wornderful reception at many points that we checked in the radius but there are some points still where we need to confirm the reception levels.

As for orientation to the existing radio incharge Mr.Shyam Bhat and as for keeping in touch with the other CRs I welcome the views of Dr.Sreedhar. Yes, I too feel that a CR cannot function like this in isolation. I need to take up this at my present Director Dr.Tapas Ray level. 

As for the workshop,which was held on the days of holidays, coming as it did, apart from lighting of lamp by Dr.M V Kamath, Mr. Abdul Rahman Pasha who was well known here for having worked in Community radio sector, besides publishing two books on CR in Kannada, was the person who carried out the entire workshop throughout its length and breadth. Unfortunately it did not appear in the media. Dr.Kamath is not only Hon.Director for MIC, he is one of the Board of Governors which administers the Univeristy and being highly aged person, his presence is to be construed symbolically as an occasion to seek auspcious blessings. For any act of planning, we all go to Dr.Kamath for his blessings in MU as a matter of respect to one who got the Kannada Rajya Pursakara and awarded Padmabhushan.

As such I request you all to treat the Manipal Radio with a positive concept and not to treat with any contempt. As a Professor I have been analysing the content of Manipal Radio and I am in Possession of the analysis along with the original content for any one's verification too and I have no hesitation to state that its content for the community is more than 50-55% besides entertainment programmes for the youth etc. It is truly doing the programmes necessary for the CR in Tulu and farming communities.

I do believe that CR is a forum for free exchange of views. I know Dr.Sreedhar atleast last two years and Dr.Devesh Kishore and myself had the privilege of Dr.Sreedhar sharing the       plat form   for the inauguation of Salaam Namaste 90.4 FM a CR again last year.Prior to that I met dr.Sreedhar inLodon while attending the conference of PCF5. I truly enjoyed his frankness and boldness apart from his scholarship.

My approach to our institute or university is to persuade the top brass with words of positive connotation and value rather than harshly criticzing them. I beleive if anything happens in this world, it is based on good words and good relations not by attacking and criticising some one.

I hope I shall be able to meet Dr.Sreedhar's expectations as far as Manipal radio is concerned in associating itself with otther CRs.

Regards

C.S.H.N.Murthy Ph.D
Professor in Mass Communication, 
Manipal Institute of Communication, Press Corner, 
Manipal University,Manipal 576 104Karnataka India

--- On Thu, 1/10/09, sreedher ramamurthy <r.sreedher at gmail.com> wrote:

From: sreedher ramamurthy <r.sreedher at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Maniapl Radio FM is working under licence from the Ministry since Sept 12,2008-Prof.Dr.CSHN Murthy[cr-india] cr-india Digest, Vol 71, Issue 1
To: "subrahmanya murthy" <cshnmurthy at yahoo.co.in>
Cc: "sajan venniyoor" <venniyoor at gmail.com>
Date: Thursday, 1 October, 2009, 3:10 PM

Dear Prof Murthy and Sajan

I wrote this mail out of my sheer anguish. I as Director of EMPC, IGNOU sent many of my staff for trainining on Community Radio conducted at Manipal during the earlier years of this decade. Such was the credibility of Manipal School of Journalism and mass communication.

But why should Manipal FM ( it is a misnomer  I & B wants them to be called Manipal CR - an advisory was sent in 2008) is emulating the example of Indian Institute of Mass communication.

With such a rich expereince, background , infrastructure and finances, what prevents them being an example of CR in India? Isit  not a national waste of using the frequency for one hour ( the license is for 24 hours) ? Are they not denying civil society organisations in the area their right to get a frequency allotted since they are sitting over this allotted freqeunce?

I know very well the situation in Delhi. I have time and again told many people, forums and officials, that Delhi is the worst example of CR stations and it is a shame that CR stations in the capital are not in a position to come upto anyones expectations. I have never defended these stations. I dont even go to Delhi university CR for which I was instrumental. After seeing their attitude, I hate going to these stations.

I have the greatest respect for Mr M V Kamat and he knows me very well. That does not mean that CR workshops should be inaugurated by him.  The radio station must take his advice and become an example for the entire country and even the region.

There are two enemies for CR stations . One is All India Radio and the other commercial radio. AIR persons are not fit to run community radio stations unless they are properly oriented. being Government servants for 3 decades and so on, their modus operandi remains that of AIR. I have seen it in Gyan Vani and other CR stations. They have no clue of participatory, voluntary radio productions. 

Lastly, Why is it Manipal radio is not in touch with any other CR station in the country? Why are they not attending the capacity building workshops organised by the Ministry of I & B ministry. Had I known that they are broadcasting, we would have invited them for the DST project on Science for women - which will provide good finances to run the radio station? Being aloof and claiming that we are the best and we have future plans is no good deal. Come participate in cr workshops organised by CR forum, UNESCO, UNICEF , UNDP , CEMCA or ministry of I & B , and share your experience. Get back with more ideas from others. That is the spirit of CR.

No one has ever praised the programes of SARANG. But Rego's efforts is to be complimented having brought, Congress and BJP together on the same platform, Centre and State government on the same platform, Hindus, Muslims and Christians on the same platform.

I feel the CR digest is a place wherein we can express our frank views? We are not criticising any individual but institutions.

Hope I have clarified

regards sreedher
Dr. R. Sreedher
Director 
Commonwealth Educational Media centre for Asia
8/4 Sarv priya vihar, , New Delhi 110016
91 11 26537146
Fax 91 11 2653 7147
Res: B1/43 Ground Floor rear
Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016
Cell No: 09810778473
Phone:91 11  26535649,9111 46067664  email:r.sreedher at gmail.com, sreedherr at yahoo.com
Sent from Delhi, DL, India

On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 2:32 PM, subrahmanya murthy <cshnmurthy at yahoo.co.in> wrote:

Dear Shri Sajan,

I received a mail from Dr.R.Sreedhar regarding his views (see below highlighted in red ink) on Manipal FM, which is an FM Radio like any campus radio under license from the Ministry of I&B and is operational since Sept 12,2008 for one hour and   is being run by an experienced radio person namely Mr. Shyam Bhat who is an ex-employee of AIR.

Aside our views on CRs in the Universities/ Institutes, the Manipal FM has the wherewithal in the form of a full audio studio where even music programmes on bigger scale could also be recorded with orchestra, not very congested ones that you see in many FM radios in different university/institute campuses.

After my joining here, I found Mr.Shyam Bhat taking the support of BA J C and MS final students in preparing a number of programmes. I even had anlaysed the content of the progammes being broadcast from Sept 12, 2008 and certainly in one hour duration they are airing 50%  programmes relevant to farmers, and Tulu community people.

I verified the contents of Dr.Sreedhar's mail making fun of Manipal FM organizing FM radio workshops in the name of community radio workshops and I do not know where from he got to know that a non-community radio person having inaugurated such workshop.

In a joint collaboration, the Manipal FM and Mangalore University NSS Unit organized recently a work shop not for community radio target groups but for general consumption and it was Dr.Kamath, who is a Padmabhushan awardee, 88 years old respectable former Chairman of Prasar Bharati. If that were to be his objection, well there is nothing I could say over the matter. But, other than that, Mr.Shyam Bhat clarified no other community workshops are being organized. Nor non-community radio people are involved.

I wish Dr.Sreehar take same yardstick to other FM radios claiming themselves to be community radios including the ones in Delhi/Noida institutes. But surprisingly he attended the inaugural functions of such institutes in Delhi where the contents of transmissions which I analysed do not fall into the definition of consumption for communities specified at all.

As for Manipal Radio FM, the University has larger plans to unfold in the years to come, as I understand from my Director and definitely it would go on air for longer hours catering to Tulu and Farming communities in and around.

This is for your infomation and clarification on the capabilities of Manipal FM radio. Those who have any doubts about the wherewithal of the studios, equipment and infrastructure, and man power they are welcome to visit Manipal Institute of Communication on whose campus it is situated. Infrastructure wise, a few FM radios can compete with Manipal FM radio .

If Radio Sarang can do same thing for three hours, and if it is acceptable to the echelons sitting in Delhi and judging the matters at their level, then Manipal FM doing presetly one hour job for entirely administrative decisions of the University should not be viewed as a serious lacunae. It is the content which matters and as an academic I am convinced that more than 60% content it caters in one hour to the Tulu and farming community is community oriented content. 

This is for your information and wider dissemination.

Regards    

C.S.H.N.Murthy Ph.D
Professor in Mass Communication, 
Manipal Institute of Communication, Press Corner, 
Manipal University,Manipal 576 104Karnataka India

--- On Thu, 1/10/09, sreedher ramamurthy <r.sreedher at gmail.com> wrote:

From: sreedher ramamurthy <r.sreedher at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [cr-india] cr-india Digest, Vol 71, Issue 1
To: cr-india at sarai.net
Date: Thursday, 1 October, 2009, 10:55 AM

This is with reference to Manipal FM. No one knows when this radio station was commissioned. a radio station which does not have a wherewithal to run for longer hours and doing only token one hour of broadcast , is organising Community radio workshops.  Workshop being inaugurated by a non community radio person . I find no person who has some knowledge of CR radio in India is involved in the exercise. Karnatak is home to Budhikote, and also the VP of the AMARC lives in Karnatak.
god save such radio stations. sreedher

Dr. R. Sreedher

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