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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
Separating For the first time
since the restoration of multiparty democracy 12 years ago, the Nepalese press is passing
though a very critical phase. The role of the media, which enjoyed unrestricted freedom
even at the peak of the Maoist insurgency, has somewhat diminished after the imposition of
the state of emergency. Despite its responsibility to educate the people, the media,
knowingly and unknowingly, have often been used to destroy state institutions, tarnish
reputations and generate hatred. The time has come for some introspection. By KESHAB POUDEL
If one reads the dailies, weeklies,
evening papers and other publications, one cannot avoid plunging headlong into a state of
utter confusion. Although people seek information to know actual happenings of the day,
the media, however, disseminate too many distorted facts. Most of the stories are based on
unidentified sources. Despite the imposition of the state of emergency, publication of
such news items continues. In fact, the media continue to enjoy all kinds of freedom
except some self-imposed restrictions in the coverage of Maoist terrorism. News based on assumptions, intended for
character assassination and resulting in hatred against institutions cannot benefit the
people. As biased and concocted stories get prominent play, journalists are losing
credibility. According to the annual report of the Nepal Press Council, the threat of
physical abuse against journalists is growing. If this is a newly emerging scenario,
journalists may be partly responsible. Small newspapers run by political parties
do not hesitate to write anything about their political rivals. There is no limit to the
use of derogatory language. Part of this can be explained by the fact that reporters and
editors write stories not on the basis of facts but in keeping with their political
ideology. Although the arrival of broadsheet dailies has brought some degree of
professionalism, they, too, are not always fair. In 2000-2001, the council received more
than 100 complaints against newspapers for publishing news with intention of character
assassination and without verifying facts. During the same period, more than dozen
individuals filed defamation cases in court. "I cannot claim that journalists are
perfect and professional. There are good and bad people, but I can say that Nepalese
journalists are now more professional and qualified," says Harihar Birahi, chairman
of Nepal Press Council. "Journalists are exercising their freedom keeping in the mind
their responsibility." Media Trial One of the frequent complaints against the
media is that they often put individuals on trial without verifying the cause of the
person concerned. In many cases, the media have their own way of producing news, which are
often based on personal grudges, inaccuracies and pure imagination. Whether in the case of
tainted aircraft deals or matters related to national security, Nepalese media feel overly
comfortable in creating sensation. Although journalism is a respected
profession in the world, Nepalese society is yet to treat journalists with esteem.
"There are still legacy of the past and many vested interest still run the press to
benefit themselves," says Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post. Being a disseminator of information,
journalists need to bring a higher degree of skill, care and judgement to their job. Since
journalists can set social trends, they must be well read and honest. If journalists fail
to distinguish the good from the bad, they will create panic in society. As the media terrorizes individuals and
state institutions, almost everyone avoids entertaining journalists. The fact that the
Press Council received more than three dozen complaints against newspapers provides a
clear picture of the public's perception. Instead of providing information to clear
the confusion, newspapers often create more controversy. A large part of the daily news
turns out to be the work of imagination. If one goes through the daily broadsheets and
other publications, the contents bear a striking resemblance to criminal charge sheets.
"In the absence of a strong regulatory body, such things are bound to happen in the
future," says a senior journalist. "Like all other professionals, journalists
need to follow a code of conduct." Constitutional Guarantee The constitution has granted freedom
equally to all individuals, which is exercised collectively and individually. There is no
superior or inferior citizen when it comes to exercising freedom. In this complicated
relationship, the media need to be responsible and cautious in exercising their freedom
and respecting that of others. "Our constitution has special articles
guaranteeing press freedom. Article 13 guarantees special freedom for press, which is not
available in India. The press is recognized as special entity over and above the
individual," says former attorney-general Badri Bahadur Karki.
According to Article 13 on Press and
Publication Right: (1) No news item, article or other reading material shall be censored:
provided that nothing shall prevent the making of laws to impose reasonable restrictions
on any act which may undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the Kingdom of Nepal, or
which may jeopardize the harmonious relations subsisting among peoples of various castes,
tribes or communities; or on any act of sedition, defamation, contempt of court or
incitement to an offence; or on any act which may be contrary to decent public behavior or
morality. (2) No press shall be closed or seized for
printing any item, article or other reading material; (3) The registration of a newspaper
or periodical shall not be canceled merely for publishing any news item, article or other
reading material. The press has been given unrestricted power
in the hope that it can generate awareness among the common people. The framers of the
constitution believed the media needs greater protection from the coercive authority of
the state. "The solemn purpose and premise of
this provision is that in developing countries where democratization of the society is a
very challenging task, the media as an institution have a very significant and responsible
role to play," says Karki. "Educating the illiterate and ignorant mass is the
other role assigned by the constitution. Instead of fulfilling that solemn obligation, the
media has been befouling or corrupting the people." In the name of freedom, the media create
hatred, mistrust and apprehension among the masses. Nobody knows what new headlines would
rock society the next day. The media often creates panic in institutions and individuals. The Nepalese media are constitutionally
endowed with enormous freedoms and rights. As one can easily get a license to become a
journalist, almost all political workers join journalism as a safe haven. During the
three-decade-long struggle against the Panchayat system, most of today's leading
politicians were part-time journalists. This practice is still continues.
Politicians and journalists seem to be twins. Following the imposition of the state of
emergency, however, there is a growing threat against the freedom of press. Even under the Indian constitution, there
is no special privilege or prerogative granted to the press over and above of the freedom
of speech available to an individual citizen. The constitution guarantees freedom for all
by virtue of a free press. Freedom always comes along with responsibility. In absence of
responsibility, freedom can be no more than anarchy. Crisis of Identity There is a crisis of identity among
professional journalists. The situation is that active party workers run newspapers.
Twelve years after the restoration of democracy, politicians and political parties still
use the media to cover their real face. Many local-level politicians are accredited
as journalists. So it is always difficult to judge whether a person is detained as a
journalist or as a political activist. According to the Federation of Nepalese
Journalists, the government has detained more than 30 journalists, but nobody knows
whether they are being held as journalists or as political ideologues. Now that the country is on a democratic
course, the time has come to set certain condition to clearly distinguish between active
journalists and political activists. Unless there is a clear-cut distinction, there will
always be controversy. Since the new newspapers are coming out
with professionals, the time may not be far when journalists can be separated from people
who come to take refuge in the profession. "I don't think anybody has got to do it
since more than 90 percent of the journalists are directly or indirectly involved with
political parties or individual leaders with the party," says a senior journalist. Upsurge of Media Every day a person encounters a new
publication. In the last decade, Nepal has seen tremendous change in information patterns,
Ten broadsheet dailies, countless weeklies, web pages, radio and television stations are
offering various kinds of information. The expansion of the media has presented people
with tremendous challenges. Technologies for storing, organizing and
accessing information are also developing and changing rapidly. However, the people's
quest for accurate, balanced and credible news is yet to be met. Out of the tens of thousands of things
happening each day, print and electronic journalists cover the few things that are worth
reporting. Deciding what is newsworthy is not an exact science, as news values are formed
by tradition, technology, organizational policy, and increasingly by economics. There are common elements that characterize
newsworthy events, such as timeliness, proximity, prominence, consequence and human
interest. According to media practices, timeliness is one of the important factors. The
news has to be new, as nobody likes to read yesterday's news. Proximity means the news
happens close by, as readers and views want to learn about their neighborhood, town or
country. Unfortunately, Nepalese media are obsessed with political developments to such an
extent that outright concoctions often pass for stories. Nepalese newspapers follow the global
pattern. The more important a person is, the more valuable he or she is as a news source.
Events that have an impact on a great many people like tax increase, the decision to lay
off workers, a drought, internal conflict carry prominence. Stories that are ironic,
bizarre, uplifting or dramatic, too, are vigorously pursued. Nepalese newspapers do hard and soft news
and investigative stories. But they do little follow up and verification. Even hard news
stories, which make up the bulk of news reporting as they consists of such basic facts as
who, what, when, where and how, contain biases. Though soft news or features cover a wider
territory — they can be about people, places and perspectives — many offer
little new to read. Investigative reports supposed to contain significant information of
public importance are based on populism. All journalists share common values and
principles. Honesty in news reporting is crucial for reporters. News should be accurate in
terms of basic facts like names, places and events. As every story has two or more sides,
the journalist must make sure that he or she does not publicize or promote just one of
them. Considering the content of the stories that appear in print, it seems only a few
newspapers follow these accepted practices. "Objectivity is one of the important
factors and it is a very difficult concept to define," Ram Krishna Regmi, a professor
of journalism, said on a recent program on Radio Sagarmatha. "In short, objectivity
means that the reporter tries to transmit the news untainted by conscious bias and without
personal comment or coloration. Journalists have traditionally respected the truth,
refused to distort facts deliberately and consciously avoid them from what they were
reporting." The role of media One of the primary roles of the media is to
disseminate information of all kinds to the people. What is happening in different parts
of the country, what is happening in the world and society, family, economy? From the
personal lives of public figures to scandals and from human and natural tragedies to
ceremonies, there are no limits to media coverage. There are various roles the media perform
for the people. One must realize that the different media ó newspapers, radio, television
and web pages ó have different primary users. Not many people listen to the radio at work
to get the latest news. Fewer people read newspapers and magazines at the office. The quest for information is one of the
main characters of human being and these needs existed long before the appearance of the
modern means of communication media. Primitive societies predicted dangers by observing
the environment. The local meeting was used to transmit decisions to the rest of the
group. As society became larger and more complex with advent of technology, these jobs
were taken over by the mass media. The Nepalese people are also connected to the global
information network through the new technologies. Nepal officially started publishing a
newspaper a hundred years ago. The history of radio broadcasting began over 50 years
ago. In urban areas like Kathmandu, Biratnagar,
Pokhara, Birgunj and Nepalgunj, where the vast majority of people are literate, a large
number of people have access to various kinds of media including radio, television,
newspapers and Internet web sites. But more than 80 percent of the rural population do not
have access to such media. In a country where barely 15 percent of the
population have access to electricity and more than 40 percent are illiterate, the media
have little impact in terms of shaping issues through news and opinion. In the urban
areas, access to the media is very high. But it is difficult to judge the information they
give. Functions of the Media One of the important functions of the media
is to maintain surveillance. This is popularly called the news and information role of the
media, which monitors and look out for event around the world and within
society.Correspondents for the wire services, TV networks, and newspapers are scattered
across the globe, ready to provide latest updates on events and ideas. Internet web sites
provide the latest information and faster updates. The individual gathers information for
the people. These reports are funneled back to mass media organization that in turn
produce a radio or TV newscast or publish a paper, magazine or web site. More than 5,000 people are employed in
newsgathering jobs in radio, television, magazines, newspapers, news agencies and web
sites in Nepal. A wide range of professional journals are also available. "Despite difficulties and hindrance,
Nepalese media have been making every effort to disseminate accurate and balanced
information to the people," says Suresh Acharya, president of the Federation of
Nepalese Journalists. There are 230 daily newspapers, 13
bi-weeklies, 1,153 weeklies and 224 fortnightly publications spreading the news.
Surveillance is apparently an important function of the media, as we can experience their
awareness when they compete with each other to bring the news the fastest. According to
the annual report of Nepal Press Council, there are 52 dailies in eastern region, 138 in
the central, 26 in the western, seven each in the mid-western and far-western regions. The
central region has 803 weeklies, followed by 165 in the eastern region, 100 in western
region and 58 in the mid-western region. There are 12 FM stations in Kathmandu and
two in Biratnagar. According to a survey conducted by the Nepal Press Institute, more than
15 million people have access to the news media. About 90 percent of Nepalis in urban
areas report that they receive most of their news from either electronic media or
newspapers. Media also disseminate information on
day-to-day life like sports, theater and the movies. Altogether, there are 1,620
newspapers. Among those registered, 106 daily newspapers, including broad-sheets, are
published from Kathmandu. There are dozens of private radio stations competing with each
other. Channel Nepal, a private television outlet, has begun broadcasts and Kantipur
Television has announced that it will start operating soon. "Along with supplying facts and data,
the media also provide information on the ultimate meaning and significance of the events.
There are likes or dislikes in the news carried by the media, but the facts must be
there," says a professor of journalism. At a time when many people complain of
distortion of facts by the news media, the need for an effective monitoring agency has
become urgent. Although the Nepal Press Council was established to do so, it has not been
successful. In literary terms, media is a way of
disseminating information. From agriculture to industrial and information society, the
media have played an important role in bringing change. The media is increasingly becoming
a powerful tool in Nepalese society. Access to information, including electronic
information, is a fundamental right of citizens in many countries. Everybody's day-to-day life is affected by
information disseminated by the media. But how accessible and how easily available is it
to the people? Since a large number of Nepalis do not have access to the media, the
primary challenge lies in providing such service. The Nepalese press has made big strides in
terms of size and technology, but problems still remain in terms of providing accurate,
balanced and credible news. Nepal has seen important events in the media in the last year.
A foreign joint-venture newspaper has joined the market and private parties have been
allowed to enter television broadcasting. The time has come to establish an effective
statutory body to regulate the media. |
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editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
