MEDIA POWER
At A Critical Juncture
The country has been passing through a very critical period without elected parliament and elected bodies even at the local level. When it was functional, parliament – which is supposed to represent the latest public opinion - was the most powerful and legitimate institution to ventilate the opinion of the people. As that institution has ceased to function since October 4, 2002, there is no legitimate institution to express day-to-day opinion of people except media. Sandwiched between the conflicting interests and some seen and unseen manipulation through coercion of state power and money power, one of the challenges facing Nepali media now is how it can avoid distorted, perverted and polluted stories and feed accurate information necessary for political leaders and citizens who are actively working together to create and recreate better democratic society
By KESHAB POUDEL
When three private television channels broadcast news, views and other programs, every evening they reach the houses of at least one million of population. The footprint of government-owned Nepal Television reaches throughout the country.
Similarly, every morning tens of thousands of copies of privately-run broadsheet dailies knock the doors of urban households and more than five dozen FM radio stations owned by community and private sectors air their programs covering even rural parts of the country. Run by the government, the Radio Nepal’s Medium Wave covers over 70 percent of the country.
New communication media like electronic e-media is also hitting the rooms of urban households with varied information. For the urban population, the foreign news channels like BBC, CNN and half a dozen Indian news channels give additional news and views from wider perspective. Even then, the quest of people to get fair, impartial and objective news is yet to be fulfilled and information provided by these media often leave the people confused.
Following King’s February 1 move, media is clearly divided into pro-establishment and anti-establishment sides. Pro-establishment media see there is a full-fledged democracy in the country but the private sector media sees not democracy but absolute autocracy. Common people need to read a couple of newspapers representing the establishment and anti-establishment sides to clear their mind.
The county still has the basic paraphernalia of a democratic society such as right to equality, press freedom and remedy of habeas corpus and there are constitutional organs including the Supreme Court following the dictates of the constitution. However, most significantly, the public opinion has no way of getting into decisive position. Governments are made and unmade by mysterious machinations ignoring the popular mood of the people and many a times have been seen as imposed uponthe supreme organ, the monarchy.
“A very peculiar political situation is being prolonged and aggravated in which neither the people are consulted nor the King seems to be in “proper terms” and none of the Nepalese forces are the gainers in this stalemate. In such a critical period, only hope for ventilating the popular opinion is left with the media but the media in Nepal also seems to be in peculiar position. Outwardly, everything seems same as everywhere but Nepal ’s realities are quite different than others. Media, too, is sandwiched between conflicting interests. Through some seen and unseen manipulation through state power, money power and notorious agencies, what comes to the light is much distorted, polluted, and perverted information. Things do not come out about the heartbeat of the common people as a public opinion. In such a situation, persons employed in the media sector have been made merely wage earners,” said a political analyst.
Of course, media reaches to the country’s large population and has become a major power in formulating and molding the public opinions but its credibility and impartiality is a matter of debate and controversy. All agree that media cannot be sectarian or partisan. If it becomes so, it would be no more than propaganda units.
According to the World Bank Consultations with the Poor study, which studied 20000 people in 23 countries, it has been found that what most differentiates poor people from rich people is a lack of voice - the inability to be represented. It is the lack of voices; it is the lack of the ability to express themselves.
“This is somewhere true in Nepal as media imposes the voices from top to bottom. The failure of the news media is to ensure that a citizen gets adequate and accurate information necessary for self-governance. Compared to other democracies, Nepalese media persons have more obligations for giving expressions and opinions of the people. Instead, what they are doing is molding the opinion in a propaganda style,” said the analyst.
Everyone gains if majority of people have chances to improve their lot, taking part in the opportunities afforded by free speech and free press. Media experts argue that the government, news media and informed citizens form the necessary triad for democracy, which can only work with active, informed citizens who have reasons to trust the information that they get from the news media.
According to Ellen Hume, Director of the Center on Media and Society at the University of Massachusetts in Boston , an independent media sector serves four vital roles in a democracy. First, it is a watchdog on the powerful, holding them accountable to the people. Second, it casts as spotlight on issues that need attention. Third, it educates the citizens so they can make political choices. Fourth, it connects people with each other, helping to create the social “glue” that binds civil society.
At a time when marketing values have replaced news values because of media owners thinking in terms of consumers rather than citizens, the role of media is becoming more controversial. Now big business houses have their own patronized mouthpieces. These new publications express more what the investor needs than what the public mood is. Some allege that media in Nepal molds the public opinion the way financier decides and give full publicity to a piece of propaganda.
“Media has become, by and large, a biased platform which is, in itself, not a correct way of encouraging pluralistic as well as diverse opinion- an anti thesis of what we call democracy,” said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Samaya - a leading Weekly News Magazine, having a long experience of working as a professional journalist in India ’s leading newspapers and magazines. “Media, no doubt, has wide powers anywhere that is why restrain and correct application is something which we should rationally think about. Media has to be accountable and cease to be instrument in the hands of vested interest.”
“There are government media and its allies in the private sectors which see King as a repository of all virtues of patriotism and nationalism and support everything he does. Countering it in the same platform and manner, there are some private sector media who believe they are free to write anything in the name of democracy. This is what the journalism should not be,” editor Ghimire added.
After the promulgation of new constitution in 1990, investment by private sectors in the print media industries poured in. In initial phase, business houses invested in broadsheet dailies, weekly magazines and they later invested money in television and radio.
According to Press Council Nepal report 2004-05, a semi-government agency responsible to monitor the media activities, there are 22181 newspapers including 307 dailies, 21 bi-weeklies, 1559 weeklies and 294 fortnightly, five Television Channels and 60 FM private radio stations and one government controlled Medium Wave radio. Kathmandu district has the largest number of newspapers - 757 registered newspapers but only 211 are published including 26 dailies and 170 weeklies.
Who Controls Nepalese Press?
With the increase in the investment in media, the financial resources needed for its operation has assumed key role. The situation is now such that the one who controls purse controls the media. There are large number of persons of clear thinking, convictions and dedications, too, but they are not in a position to go against the discipline of either the state or money power.
As government’s coercive power continues to block the advertisement to the private radio, television and broadsheet dailies through the one-window policy, private sector media have no option other than to go for private industries for advertisement. This is where media’s independence and freedom are compromised.
“Despite Royal regime’s attempts to control, media is able to present itself as a powerful entity. February 1 action took away almost all fundamental rights the citizens of this country enjoyed since 1990, but it is because of the courage of independent media the fight to regain the civil liberties is still being effectively fought by them,” said Dhruba Adhikari, senior journalist and president of Nepal Press Institute (NPI). “The role of media is to ensure the citizens’ rights to have adequate and accurate information and private media is perfectly doing these things now on matters of public interests and concerns.”
Till some years back big financing needs were not the major problems for private sector media industry as they were mostly confined in publishing small size dailies and weeklies with limited influences and power. Persons dedicated to the profession of journalism had been able to manage economics in small size publications. In the last few years, the mode of publication has changed, industries and business houses now run newspapers and magazines –which are more attractive and have wider readership.
Most popular private dailies of yester-years like Commoner, Motherland, Samaj had ceased their publication, as they were unable to increase their investment. Most popular weeklies like Samikchhya and Bimarsha have also suspended or revamped their publication. Their editors are still known as career journalists but they are rarely seen even as contributing columnists in the newspapers. The fact is that they did not have monetary support to survive. These papers had survived even in the dark period of the Panchayat rule but it is amazing that in a more open period of multi-party democracy, they were unable to continue.
“To call a spade a spade is the primary duty of the media, which it has been carrying out despite all attempts by Royal government to severely control the countries’ independent media,” said senior journalist Adhikari.
Role of Media
Media in Nepal has now mixed role. The private media and government controlled media, some allege, molds the public opinion the way their owners decide and gives full publicity as a piece of propaganda. The government-owned media including Radio, Television and newspaper publish what they deem necessary to defend the government and private-owned Television, Radio and newspapers give news following the interest of their investors.
“The role of media cannot reverse from the national politics. As national politics is severely polarized, so is the media. Media is divided into two camps- anti and pro-establishment with both sides and camps using all means advancing their own causes more than merely professionally,” said Manaranjan Josse, consultant editor of People’s Review weekly and senior journalist renowned for his expertise in writing on issues of international relations focusing on regional matters. “Anti-establishment media survive through the revenue generated by advertisement and backed by few advertisement agencies - which are controlled by foreigners particularly Indians. Since media is a very crucial power, this is equally important and lethal like the Maoist,” said Josse.
As more the media divides, more there would be distortions. Average person in a society buys several newspapers and magazines everyday and watches a couple of channels to verify the reality and formulate the opinion between the lines. This is the tragic situation for the buyers and viewers.
Even persons in the government as well as opposition often complain that their views have been distorted. “I can say Nepalese media are free but not fair. I think the media needs to be free and fair,” said Dr. Tulsi Giri, first vice chairman of the government headed by King Gyanendra recently in his press conference.
Media Power and Responsibility
Media is powerful and with power comes responsibility. If media can give you the power to make friends, it can also give you power to create enemies. If it can improve your professional and financial life, it can harm someone else’s. If you can use media to improve society, you can also use it to hurt society. And media can be misused to restrict choices instead of increasing them.
“Although the evolutionary process of Nepalese media is too short, media has made a lot of progress in the last one and a half decade. Being a powerful medium to mold the public opinion, media has much responsibility towards society, and it must take care to disseminate the factual and correct news based on facts. Since media person is a positive power, he has certain responsibility towards society,” said Rajendra Dahal, editor of Himal Khabarpatrika. “We must equate media power and responsibility. In the past, we have also followed Helicopter journalism sensationalizing certain issues but media has also learnt from its past mistakes.”
Chief of news and current affairs of Kantipur Television Tirtha Koirala said, “Nepalese media has lost its own destiny in the surface of political debate. These kinds of reporting confuses not only common Nepalese but also the foreigners who are much concerned about Nepal.” Koirala added, “Our reach has increased by many folds but we are yet to be responsible and accountable.”
Fourth Estate
Framers of the Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal 1990, in true sense, had recognized the media as the fourth estate giving constitutional safeguards to the press. In a critical period like now, only hope for ventilating popular opinion is left with media but even it seems to be under stress now.
“Our constitution has conferred separate and distinct right of freedom of press and publication according distinct rights to the citizen in addition to traditional freedom of speech and expression. Only justification for this duality is that in a developing society, press as an institution would play constructive and educative role,” said former attorney general and advocate Badri Bahadur Karki. “In some other democratic constitutions like that of India , press freedom is included in the rights of freedom of speech and expression of an individual. These are not considered as separate right like that in Nepal .”
“This right of fourth state was misused to discredit the elected parliament and breed hatred against political parties and leaders. They failed to distinguish between the system of democracy and political parties. The media launched almost like a hate campaign against the young institution,” said Karki.
Media is a powerful tool as it can create rumors to destroy the institution and society but it can also help to minimize the conflict, clash of interest and create conducive environment for harmony and cooperation between different political forces in society. “Media should not be guided under the pressure or coercion of any kind. That goes against the essence of independent press and brings counter productive results. A controlled, guided or coerced press misguides and confuses people and, thus, harms society. The difficult task of media is to strike a balance between sanctions against the arbitrary rule, in one hand, and sanction against anarchy and chaos, on the other,” added Karki.
The opinion builders have double-edged roles to maintain balance between two extremisms. Perhaps, it is this, which justifies its title as a fourth state.
When there was functional elected parliament, the media was too hostile against the elected prime ministers and ministers promoting to bring a draconian law in the name of anti-corruption. Media, knowingly and unknowingly, carried the news and views discrediting the elected representatives.
“If it is not free, it can’t be fair. It must be free from all pressures including the control of owners and donors. If it is not free, it has no role to play in molding. It needs to have free access. Known by prefaces - free press and independent judiciary - the words free and independent are not prefixed to any other institutions like the executive and legislature. One cannot call independent government, as the government is government,” said Karki.
In absence of elected parliament and locally elected bodies, media remains the only power to carry opinions of the people. In this situation, media has very important role to play but everyone asks the question whether media has been able to fulfill such a great responsibility that lies upon it?
In the last, there is a moral question - which is the secret of democracy that is also applied to free press and service to the people - that is commitment to the freedom of press lies in the heart of the persons serving it. If people do not have commitment towards the freedom of press, it causes the death of democratic society, too.
