a preliminary note on

8/3/2019 A Preliminary Note On

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/a-preliminary-note-on 1/21

1

2011

Abhas Dharananda Rajopadhyaya

Kantipur City College

12/10/2011

For the partial fulfillment of the

academic requirements of

Masters of Arts in Mass Communication and

Journalism (MA MCJ) First Semester

at Purbanchal University, Nepal

Can Radio Nepal and

NTV serve as PSB ?

For the partial fulfillment of the

academic requirements of

Masters of Arts in Mass Communication and

Journalism (MA MCJ) First Semester

at Purbanchal University, Nepal

A Preliminary Note



CAN RADIO NEPAL AND NTV SERVE AS PSB ?

A Preliminary Note on PSB

Submitted To

Department of Mass Communication and Journalism,

Kantipur City College, Kathmandu, Nepal affiliated to Purbanchal University, Nepal

for the partial fulfillment of the academic requirements of the first semester of

Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism (MA MCJ).

Submitted By

ABHAS DHARANANDA RAJOPADHYAYA

Symbol No: 110223

Department of Mass Communication and Journalism

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Kantipur City College

Putalisadak, Kathmandu

December 2011



I

Forewords

Debates have arisen among the media professionals and policy makers in Nepal regarding whether

or not to convert the two popular state-run media viz. Nepal1

Television and Radio Nepal into the

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) model. Media scholars believe that these media can perform

better in such circumstances; others argue that they are functioning well enough as they should

have been.

Many scholars sincerely believe that the change, however, problematic and longer it may take, is a

must to cope with the increasingly felt global ideology of people's power and a sense of democratic

strength inherent in the people of the country. These media in their newly formed PSB model shall

be liable to perform their tasks in the most professional manner with a greater dedication and focus

on four major constraints of PSB, viz. universality, diversity, independence and distinctiveness.

Whatever the case be, the transition2 from the State Broadcasting model into the PSB model ,

nevertheless, is not simple as it might seem at the initial glance. But once the conversion is a

success, media scholars believe, the output shall be beneficial for long.

In this pretext, this report as a mere preliminary note though, aims at penning down major issues

circumambulating these four dimensions that have been raised regarding this transition.

The chapters in this report have been divided into the introduction, the problems and other issues of

the transition, its present state, the future, some recommendations and the conclusion. Efforts have

been made to prove the report objective, informative, detailed and helpful, even for those who are

not well acquainted with the above-mentioned state-run media or the PSB debate.

In regard to this preliminary note, sincere gratitude must be extended to Department of Mass

Communication and Journalism at Kantipur City College, including Mr. Mohan Nepali , Prof. Ram

Krishna Regmee, Mr. Tapa Nath Shukla, Mr. Modnath Dhakal and Mr. Rajiv Timalsina to name some

among many. Acknowledgements should be made of Mr. Kundan Aryal , Mr. Ravi Chandra Parajuli ,

Dr. Bam Bahadur Thapa 'Jitali' and other authors on this topic, both Nepalese and foreign, whose

valuable insights enriched the topic. Also thanks to Dr. Roger Wimmer and all my friends and

colleagues including Mr. Anish Raj Shrestha, Mr. Niraj Dahal , Mr. Surya Chandra Basnet and Ms.

Sujeena Shakya for their motivation and support.

Any constructive and critical suggestions and/or recommendations towards the improvement of this

report are highly welcomed and shall be appreciated.

1For the word "Nepal" used here and elsewhere transliteration scheme (for non-Nepali) is Nepl. Nepal Television is

often called NTV or NeTV. Acronym for Radio Nepal has however not yet been in popular use.2

I owe this term to Shukla, Tapa Nath in his lecture notes for the MA MCJ first semester at Kantipur City College ,

Kathmandu. In one of the personal interview dated 16th

December 2010, Mr. Mohan Nepali questioned the choice of

the word as no official step has been taken to "transit" these state-run media into PSB model though scholars have

long talked or written of the transition to PSB.



II

List of Acronyms

Acronyms Full Form Description ABU

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting

Union

A professional association of broadcasters of Asia-

Pacific region formed in 1964.

AIBDAsia-Pacific Institute for

Broadcasting Development

A regional inter-governmental organization

established in 1977 hosted by Government of

Malaysia for electronic media development.

BBCBritish Broadcasting

Corporation

Established in 1936, BBC is a Britain-based

corporation that runs the BBC Radio and BBC

television, known for its non-profit public service

approach.

BRU Broadcasting Research Unit Britain's "leading think tank" on the media issues.

CBACommonwealth

Broadcasting Association

An association of public service broadcasters from

the Commonwealth countries. It was formed in

February 1945 and is headquartered in London.

CBCCanadian Broadcasting

Corporation

Officially Canadian Crown Corporation. Formed on 2

November 1936, it is a national broadcasting

network that operates all radio, television and

online.

CPBCorporation for Public

Broadcasting

A private non-profit corporation based in

Washington D.C., USA. It was founded on 7

November 1967.

DRDanish Broadcasting

Corporation

A public service broadcaster based in Soborg,

Denmark.

DTH Direct-To-Home

A technology to bring satellite signals directly at

home via a set-top box connected to a satellite

receiver.

FM Frequency Modulation

A broadcasting technology whereby the signals

mounted on a carrier wave are modulated on the

basis of frequency of the waves. Also see Amplitude

Modulation.

IGNOUIndira Gandhi National

Open University

An open university based in New Delhi, India since

1985.

NHK Nippon Hosho Kykai A television channel in Japan, also known for itsnon-profit public service broadcasts.

NRKNorwegian Broadcasting

Corporation

A public service broadcaster based in Oslo, Norway

formed in 1924.

NTCNepal Telecommunications

Corporation

Nepal's leading telecommunication company. Runs

mobile, telephone, internet services etc.



III

Acronyms Full Form Description

NTV Nepal TelevisionFirst television channel of Nepal. It is funded by

Nepal Government.

PSB Public Service Broadcasting

An approach in broadcasting to cater to the public

contents directly influencing their life for their

betterment. It is characterized particularly by

universality, independence, diversity and

distinctiveness.

RAIRadiotelevisione Italiana

S.p.A.

A government-owned broadcasting corporation

based in Rome, Italy. It was formed in 1924.

SAARCSouth Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation

A regional association of the South-East Asian

countries in the Indian sub-continent working

together for regional development in various

sectors. Member nations include Bangladesh,

Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

and Afghanistan, the newest member.

SVTSveriges Television

[Swedish Television]

A national broadcasting network based in Sweden,

formed in 1979.

TRP Television Rating Point

A grading system of the viewership of a TV channel

or mostly a particular TV program. It refers to the

number of audiences watching a particular program

or a channel at a particular time.

TV Television An audio-visual broadcasting mass media.

UNESCO

United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural

Organization

A specialized agency of United Nations (UN)

working in areas of science and technology, culture,

education and media even.

V-SATVery-Small Aperture

Terminal

A two-way satellite ground station or a stabilized

maritime VSAT antenna with a dish antenna smaller

than 3 meters. It is mostly used to transmit

narrowband data or broadband data.



IV

Table of Contents

Forewords ............................................................................................................ I

List of Acronyms ...................... .......................... .......................... ............... II - III

Chapt er 1 : Introduction .......................................... .................................. 1 - 6

Background ................................................................................................................................ 1

Introduction to PSB .................................................................................................................... 1

Radio Nepal ................................................................................................................................ 3

Nepal Television (NTV) ............................................................................................................... 4

The State Broadcast in Nepal : In Competition with their Private Counterparts ............. .............. 5

Chapt er 2 : From St at e Broadcast to PSB ...................... ........................ 7 - 9

The Revamp ............................................................................................................................... 7

Problems for this Revamp .......................................................................................................... 7

Points to Consider for the Revamp ............................................................................................. 9

Chapt er 3 : PSB in Nepal : Its Fut ure ...................... ........................... 10 - 12PSB Debate at the Present ........................................................................................................ 10

"Uncertain" future ? ................................................................................................................. 10

Chapt er 4 : Summary & Conclusion ........................................................... 13

Summary of Issues ................................................................................................................... 13

Recommendations & Conclusions ............................................................................................ 13

Bibliography & Ref erences ...................... .......................... .................... V - VI



1

Chapter 1:

Introduction

Background Realizing the extensively growing power of the mass media as the "fourth estate" and the strong

demands to cater all the relevant information to the people in this globalized world , the

broadcasting too cannot remain aloof from its primary function as mass media. It is , therefore,

without doubt that the media is for the people and the society, in general.

At least three different types of broadcasters have been found in the world, viz.

y Commercial Broadcasting

y State Broadcasting

y Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)

The commercial broadcasting once thought to induce better degree of professionalism and financial

security as a result of its profit-motive proved to be a failure, as the public demands got mostly

neglected and the sense of social responsibility less realized. The State Broadcast too could not fulfill

the demands of the public and served the ruling party in the government only.

The failure of these two models then paved a way to more public or people centered approach. "The

public-service model, then, was based on the idea that neither the market nor the state could

adequately meet the public-service objectives of broadcasting and act in the public interest"3

and

therefore people became more prominent than profit.

When radio was primarily established and TV came into being later on, the power of media wasextensively realized and a need to use them towards public benefit aroused. Juneau observes:

"The original purpose in most countries when Radio was established and Television

was developed was to use broadcasting media for education, culture, information,

entertainment and enlightenment. But the countries have not always perused these

objectives with consistency, commitment or ability and the will to make the proper

use of these technologies has weakened."4

Introduction to PSB

Many different approaches to defining Public Service Broadcasting have been seen,

but the sense of service to the public or public service (whatever way it be put) has not been alienated from it. The

public service broadcasting is basically characterized by four different criterions such as universality,

diversity, independence and distinctiveness. The idea of public service broadcasting then should also

be studied in a very close relation to various other concepts such as the social inclusion, sustainable

development, public service, political and economic independence etc.

3Shukla, Tapa Nath. (2011). Lecture Notes for Kantipur City College MA MCJ 1

stsemester. pp 10.

4Juneau, Pierre. (President of World Radio and Television Council, Canada)



Chapter 1 : Introduction

2

UNESCO (20055) defines Public Service Broadcasting as follows:

"Public Service Broadcasting is defined, as a meeting place where all citizens are

welcomed and considered equals. It is an information and educational tool ,

accessible for all and meant for all, whatever their social and economic status. Its

mandate is not restricted to information and cultural development public service

broadcasting must also appeal to imagination, and entertain. But it does so with a

concern of quality that distinguishes it from commercial broadcasting."6

Quite the same has been mentioned by Dr. Khan (2005) in his definition of Public Service

Broadcasting:

"Public Service Broadcasting is an essential instrument to ensure plurality, social

inclusion and to strengthen the civil society. In the sense, the mission of PSB lies in

the heart of sustainable development because it empowers people to take informed

decisions vital to their own development."7

Dr. Tangkitwanich of Thailand Development Research Institute extends the definition as follows:

"Public Broadcasting media would provide viewers with different types of programs,

more diverse content, natural presentation and access to those individuals who are

currently ignored by mainstream commercial media. It would also help develop

democracy and encourage a climate where more attention is paid to program

quality rather than audience numbers."8

Some principles of PSB have been drafted by Broadcasting Research Unit (BRU), London. They are

summarized as follows:

y Universal accessibility (geographical).

y Universal appeal (general tastes and interests).

y Particular attention to minorities.

y Contribution to the sense of national unity and community.

y Distance from vested interests.

y Direct funding.

y Competition in good programming rather than for numbers.

y Guidelines that liberate rather than restrict program makers.9

Similarly, the European Council has also presented a draft resolution of future of PSB. The nine-point

mission has been enlisted below:

y A common reference point to all members of the public.

5All the dates presented in this report hereafter have been uniformly represented in A.D.

6UNESCO (2005), pp. 5.

7Khan, Dr. Abdul Waheed. (2005). Public Service Broadcasting. UNESCO/AMIC. pp. 6. Dr. Khan is Assistant Director

General of Communication and Information, UNESCO.8

Tangkitwanich, Dr. Somkiat of Thailand Development Research Institute. Citation by journalist Suki, Kamol, NATION

(Thailand's national newspaper) on 30th

January 2004.9

Broadcasting Research Unit (1986). The Idea of Public Service in British Broadcasting. London: Communication

Research Trends, Vol 8 (1987) Double Issue No. 3 & 4. pp 1-2.




3

y A forum for broad public discussion.

y Impartial news coverage.

y Pluralistic, innovative and varied programming.

y Programming which is both of wide public interest and attentive to the needs of minorities.

y Reflection of different ideas and beliefs in pluri-ethnic and multi-cultural societies.

y Diversity of national and international heritage.y Original productions by independent producers.

y Extended viewer and listener's choice by offering programs not provided by commercial

sector.10

Radio Nepal 11

The history of Radio Nepal dates back to 1947 when the revolutionist groups fighting for democracy

in Nepal against the Rana regime brought first transmitter in Nepal and named it Prajtantra Radio.

After the successful establishment of democracy in 1951, however, the state took over the

transmitter and initiated the first radio transmission in Nepal. Radio Nepal was then formally

established on 1st April 1951 under the Development Committee Act, 1956/7.

Over the years, Radio Nepal has increased its strength and diversified itself in terms of program

format, technical efficiency and coverage. Radio Nepal now airs programs on Short Wave , Medium

Wave and FM frequencies. Radio Nepal too has a history of initiating first FM broadcast in Nepal on

16th

November 1995 in the name of FM Kathmandu with coverage of Kathmandu valley and few

adjoining areas.

"Radio broadcasting is the cheapest and quickest means of mass communications in

Nepal ... [and it] has proved to be a very effective medium for disseminating

information, educating people and entertaining the masses. Illiteracy being a

common feature among the people, little use is made of the newspapers, whichhave very limited and delayed circulation. Therefore, radio has been the most

suitable means of disseminating information and providing entertainment to masses

in Nepal."

Radio Nepal too has been providing various programs that are meant for creating mass awareness.

Its programs have been broadly classified into national programs and regional programs. Educational

programs of Radio Nepal are on religion, literature, science and technology, agriculture, distance

learning, women, health and sanitation, public health, children and youth. Similarly, the

entertainment programs are mostly Nepali, Hindi and Western songs including those of different

national languages. Information focused programs of Radio Nepal are news and current affairs,

phone-in for parliamentarians, radio reports, review of the press and some developmentalprograms. It broadcasts news bulletins at regular hours from 06:00 hours till the close of

transmission and also broadcasts news in English, Magar, Gurung, Tmng, Ri Bntaw, Limbu,

Newr , Bhojpuri, Hind , Urd, Thru East and Thru West, Avadh , Sherp, Maithili, Saskrit, Kham

10Nine-point draft resolution on future of PSB passed by Council of Europe's 4

thEuropean Ministerial Conference on

Mass Media Policy in December 1994.11

This section of the report has been prepared with the help of the official website of Radio Nepal

http://www.radionepal.org and other articles on Radio Nepal.




4

Magar and Dotel. It also has special news bulletins on SAARC related contents (SAARC News) and

news for children (Bl Samcra).

Radio Nepal has also started its V-SAT network program distribution from 26th

August 1999,

replacing its previous distribution via telephone l ines of Nepal Telecom Corporation (NTC).

It also houses an Audience Survey Unit,

perhaps the only of such units in government houses andeven in private sector. It is assigned the responsibility of conducting periodic surveys to find out the

patterns of listenership and effectiveness of the programs broadcast by Radio Nepal.

Radio Nepal is a member of the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and it liaises with the regional

broadcasting center and Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) as well.

The broadcasting headquarters or the head office of Radio Nepal is housed at Siha Darbra and is

equipped with two broadcasting houses consisting of one drama studio, two music studios, one

reporting studio, three continuity studios, one news studio and seven program production studios. It

also preserves a music library of about 40,000 songs12

and owns an open-air theatre facility for

functions and musical concerts.

As broadcasting these days is moving digital, Radio Nepal too has undertaken the task of digitizing

old songs and mastering on a digital format in a CD. Alongside, Radio Nepal has also entered the

internet since April 1997 and started Online Radio Service since December 2006 in collaboration with

WorldLink Communication and New IT Venture Corporation, Japan. Radio Nepal claims of growing

popularity in its cyberspace as increasing number of visitors worldwide have surfed their

homepage.13

With an approximate 600 staffs in various divisions, Radio Nepal now plans to expand further at

different uncovered areas and operate few small FM stations with local agencies in the remote

areas.

Nepal Television (NTV) 14 The history of television in Nepal started as a result of a feasibility study carried out by Royal Press

Commission set up then His Majesty's Government in 1980/1. Even in the Sixth Five-Year Plan of

Nepal (1980-85), the Ministry of Communication then declared the start of television broadcasting.

Thereafter on 30 January 1985, Nepal Television Project was started at the chairmanship of Nir Shah,

under the Ministry of Communication. After the successful transmission of Late King Birendra's royal

visit to Austria, the possibility of television broadcast was realized in Nepal.

After the test transmission on 13 August 1985, Nepal Television Project was then formally declared

as Nepal Television Corporation on 27 December 1985. However , the National Broadcasting Act

came only in 1992 and National Broadcasting Regulation in 1995

12Retrieved from the official website of Radio Nepal. http://www.radionepal.org.

13 ibid.

14This section of the report has been prepared with the help of the official website of Nepal Television

http://www.ntv.org.np and other articles on Nepal Television.




5

Nepal Television claims "NTV era is also a benchmark of professionalism in areas of information,

education, health and entertainment. In this period and in the changing political context, Nepal

Television [claims to be] committed to promoting pluralism and protecting the typical Nepali

cultures and strengthening the national unity."15

Nepal Television has also earned the reputation in the production of documentaries on areas of

historical and cultural importance.

NTV has now strengthened its technological capacity and has started to air programs through the

terrestrial, satellite and digital broadcasting networks. The signal of Nepal Television covers more

than 50 countries now.

Some critics say that NTV's role as a public service broadcasting agency in Nepal is commendable to

bring about social change and to aware the people. However , others have also challenged its

political stand as mostly being pro-governmental. Nevertheless, it is of no doubt that NTV has been

raising the people's voices for peace and social development.

The transmission of NTV has also expanded widely in the past twenty seven years. NTV has beenproducing and broadcasting news, documentaries, tele-films or soap operas, comedy shows,

interviews and other audio-visual productions. It also produces entertainment programs by

incorporating politics, economy, health, culture, ecology, sports, human rights and other issues of

social life within them.

Nepal Television claims in its website as a "public broadcasting house bridging the Nepali dialects

and diasporas, for which it remains the leader in broadcast arena."16

The St at e Broadcast in Nepal :

In Competition wit h t heir Privat e Count erparts Challenges put forth by the private media to the state broadcast media are high and the state

broadcast have been able to cope with the growing competition at a very slow pace only. Often the

state broadcasts have been criticized for voicing the government or the ruling side and why not

they are funded by the government. But apart from the political ones , other contents of these two

state broadcasters are indeed of a higher standard and are targeted at the public benefit.17

Most scholars criticize the pro-government policy of Radio Nepal and Nepal Television and mark that

it does so as it is funded by the government. But Prof. Regmee argues that though it is funded by the

government, it is the public fund that the government invests in it from the tax paid by the

citizens.18 If this point is to be considered valid (and why not?), then surely these state-run should be

responsible to public and there can be no second thought in it. In a way,

they are already funded bythe public.

15Retrieved from the official webpage of Nepal Television. http://www.ntv.org.np

16 Ibid.

17Basnet, Shree Ram Singh in a class lecture on Modern Trends in Journalism at Kantipur City College.

18Prof. Regmee, R. K. in a class lecture on Mass Media Industry and Society at Kantipur City College.



7

Chapter 2:

From St at e Broadcast to PSB

The Revamp Coping with the changes and advancement in technology, both Radio Nepal and Nepal Television

have been serving as the state broadcaster. The revamp of such a state broadcaster into the public-

service broadcaster is a herculean task owing to Nepal's political milieu.

"In spite of its best efforts to be a public broadcaster, Nepal Television has always been criticized not

because of its programming but because of its management structure and ownership."20

The state

broadcast then faces the challenges as regard to the editorial independence. Unlike the popular BBC

model whereby the Director of the Board of Trustees at the BBC World Service Trust heads the

media, Radio Nepal and Nepal Television are both headed by the government-appointed staffs and

are in turn responsible to the government they are appointed by.

Some have discussed that this revamp can be obtained by the privatization of these two state

media.21

Considered the process of privatization may lead to growth in the performance of these

media, however, the idea of public service may not be met adequately. Therefore, media scholars in

Nepal have been focusing on the conversion of these state-run media into PSB.

Problems for t his Revamp

As Radio Nepal and Nepal Television (NTV) both are under the state control and the fear that it "can

[actually] mould public opinions"22

as Einstein, the great physicist puts it, can be equally true if these

powerful media is exercised by the state. The problem with both these state media in Nepal is notthat they are under the state but, be it indirectly, under the political parties, who takes the hold of

the rulers in the national government.

Alongside, some obvious problems that both the state broadcasters, viz. Nepal Television (NTV) and

Radio Nepal are facing can be categorized in the following divisions:

Financing

Various models of funding the public service broadcasting have been found in operation worldwide.

From the most popular BBC model to Canadian or RAI model or the NHK model , all have their own

pros and cons. The debate in Nepal lies in whether to follow one model or the other.

20Shukla, Tapa Nath. Public Service Broadcasting. Kathmandu. pp. 9

21I owe sincere gratitude to Mohan Nepali for introducing me to this debated concept of privatization. Only a slight

note of this has been made here, as it seems would only lengthen the study. However, this is to be noted that

debates once arose regarding the privatization of these two state-run media too.22

op.cit. Einstein, Albert in an interview with Milton James of The Cheyney Record , the student publication of Cheyney

State Teachers College in Pennsylvania dated October 7, 1948 said: "Democracy, taken in its narrower, purely

political sense suffers from the weakness that the bearers of the economic and political power have at their disposal

powerful means to mold public opinion to serve their class interests." Excerpted from Calaprice, Alice (ed.). (2010).

The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.



Chapter 2 : From State Broadcast to PSB

88

BBC Model

The organization of BBC is a chairman that heads a board, all of which are appointed by the Prime

Minister. The Board then appoints the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the corporation and

therefore the CEO is responsible to this board. It is entirely funded by the BBC World Service Trust.

R AI Model

In the RAI model of Italy, there is a nine-member administration council of which seven are elected

by a parliamentary committee and the remaining two are by major share-holders. The Ministry of

Economy and Finance of Italy maintains a major proportion of the share. This council then

appoints the Director General (DG) and therefore, the DG is responsible to this council. In this

model, half the revenue is earned from the broadcast license and half from the advertisements.

CBC Model

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has a board appointed by the Prime Minister. There is a

position of Ombudsman who hears the complaint from every city and then suggests action to the

board. This model is solely financed by the state general fund. But nowadays 75% of the revenue is

supplied by the state, whereas 25% of the revenue is from the advertisements.

In Denmark, TV2 is a public institution, but is financed primarily via advertising sales. But TV2 in

Norway and TV4 in Sweden are both privately owned commercial companies. They both operate

under concessions to which program criteria similar to the requirements made of the older public

service institutions (DR, NRK and SVT) are attached.

Independence

Independence from the political power and the financial market is what makes the operation of

public service broadcasting a success. This essential transition to PSB shall be both theoretically and

in practice independent from any vested interest of the political group or commercial houses. What

has been discussed in the heading of independence are mostly the following:

Political Independence

Public Service Broadcasts are asked to be politically independent and this works the other way

round too. That is to say that no politically-motivated group can influence the working of such

broadcasters. However, debates are always there regarding this as most PSBs as critics point out

have often been influenced by political groups and/or groups with such vested-interest.

Freedom from t he financial mark et

Again, public broadcasters are required to be free from the market turmoil so that their functions

towards the public benefit do not get affected. However , some scholars do consider this as only

theoretical , without pragmatic value. Absolute freedom from the financial market is often

impossible and such cases may only lead to failure in its competition with the private broadcasters,

they argue.

Regulating the PSB under the parliament by providing funds from a sub-committee under the

parliamentary committee can be helpful. But this case works the best only in the most ideal situation

of democracy. However, there are only a few alternates to this and all of them with equal flaws in

their operations.



Chapter 2 : From State Broadcast to PSB

99

Universality

Reaching out to all the audience is a major challenge for all forms of media, be it the mass media or

even the arising social media. The same challenge has been faced by NTV and Radio Nepal, and even

other private broadcasters. As a PSB, these media are demanded to be universally accessible.

Points to Consider for t he Revamp

To link "the idea of Public Service Broadcasting to the notion of citizenship"23

and to "delink [it] from

both the political authority of the state and the economic arbitrage of the market"24

is required for

the smooth functioning of the PSB.

Shukla25

enumerates some essential points to consider to guide and to peruse the transition phase

into two different headings, viz. steps to be perused to establish a solid legislation to convert state

broadcast into PSB and principles to guide the transition. A major way of doing this is to put the PSB

media organization under the parliament. The following can be summarized in points as the guiding

principles for the transition into PSB26

:

y Representation of different sections of society and interest groups in the governing bodies.

y PSB under the parliament.

y Adequate funding by means to protect PSB from arbitrary interference and control.

y Legal guarantee for editorial independence and professional leadership.

y Collective cooperation and collaboration for effective transition.

Similarly, Prof. Devesh Kishore, head of Education, Research and Training Unit at Indira Gandhi

National Open University (IGNOU) too provides the following guidelines "according to the eminent

scholars, thinkers and broadcasters of CPB [Corporation for Public Broadcasting, USA], BBC [British

Broadcasting Corporation], NHK [Nippon Hosho Kykai, Japan] and Prasar Bharati [India]"27

:

y Editorial independence guaranteeing in day-to-day decision-making, especially relating to

program matters.

y Refrain from interfering (or influencing) in operation of the public broadcaster.

y Accountability by mechanisms without compromising their independence.

y Stable and adequate funding provided in such a manner to safeguard independence.

y Board of Directors and broadcaster regulatory authorities for PSB to be fully independent of

the government.

y Promote diversity.

y A medium of social change.

23Shukla, Tapa Nath. Public Service Broadcasting. Kathmandu. pp. 9

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

26op. cit. Ibid .

27 op. cit. Kishore, Prof. Devesh. (2003). Public Service Broadcasting in India. New Delhi : Indira Gandhi National Open

University. pp 16-17 (Also presented at Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences at Honolulu , USA on 12-

15 June 2003).



10

Chapter 3:

PSB in Nepal: Its Fut ure

PSB Debat e at t he Present "Television should be public, but not governmental. It should be like BBC."

28

Findahl considers PSB as "durable"29

though being "vulnerable and fragile"30

. If its durability is to be

guaranteed, then surely the revamp of the two afore-mentioned state-run broadcasts in Nepal, viz.

Radio Nepal and Nepal Television is worth a take.

Media scholars have therefore talked of this transition for long. With an aim of the working model as

of various internationally acclaimed PSBs as the BBC, NHK or even Prasar Bharati of India, the state-

run broadcasters in Nepal are too expected to match their standards and function primarily in their

footsteps. NTV and Radio Nepal, however, claim that though they are state-run, they have been

working in the model of PSB in their contents for long.

Often media scholars believe that neither the state nor the government should have the authority to

run any media. They argue that these authorities might (mis)use them as a tool of propaganda.

However, the value of these media as PSB cannot be recognized until it gets independence from the

government intrusion or by those appointed by the government under the political favor. Therefore,

the necessity to revamp this state-run model of NTV and Radio Nepal into PSB has been long

realized.

"Uncert ain"31 f ut ure?Sveriges Radio is a vulnerable and fragile construction, wrote Olof Rydbeck, Director-General of

Sveriges Radio or the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation (19551970), in his memoirs (Rydbeck

1990). That was his conclusion after fifteen years experience of defending the integrity of the

organization as an independent public service broadcasting institution.32

One might argue that with the growing concern for people's power almost all over the world, how

can such broadcasting as directed towards public-service have an "uncertain" future? Whatever the

broadcasting be, being viewed is undoubtedly a major essence and this holds equally true even to

PSB. In lieu with the concept of universality that applies to PSB , the public broadcaster should

"address the entire population and seek to be "used" by the largest number"33

, wherein lies the

major examination of its future.

28A spokesman for Solidarinocz in Poland before the countrys first free elections in 1989. (Ash 1990).

29Findahl, Olle. Public Service Broadcasting A Fragile, Yet Durable Construction.

30 Ibid.

31Centre for the Study of Communication and Culture (1987) mentions of debate circumambulating "public service

broadcasting as it faces an uncertain future."32

Findahl, Olle. Public Service Broadcasting A Fragile, Yet Durable Construction. pp. 13.33

Public Service Broadcasting. (unpublished)



Chapter 3 : PSB in Nepal : Its Future

1111

"As well as democratic, public broadcasting programming must be "popular," not in the pejorative

sense that some give this term, but in the sense that the public forum it provides should not be

restricted to a minority. Thus, public broadcasting, while it should promote culture, should not

become a ghetto constantly frequented by the same group of initiates."34 Tongue report too states

the same as what he calls the "ghettoisation of public service broadcasting" 35 is actually "a non-

starter" in this sense.

Similarly, Khan (2006) raises a question on the independent existence of PSB. In his presentation

report to the 26th General Assembly of Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), UNESCO, he

writes:

"the fact that a considerable amount of private broadcasting contains elements of

public service broadcasting has prompted PSB critics to question the very rationale

for their independent existence and their being funded by the public exchequer. As

they may argue, PSB in the modern context refers to a particular genre of programs

rather than to particular broadcast organizations: program's that are socially

purposeful, free from vested interests of any kind, culturally enriching, aimed at

community welfare, etc. In this sense, public service broadcasting cuts across the

public, as well as private broadcasters."36

The commercial broadcasters have mould (?) the public tastes to entertainment and sensitizing news

to a much greater extent. This is to say that gathering the audience for programs that are either (or

both) non-entertaining and non-sensitizing is a tough task ahead. For Public Service Broadcasters to

operate in such a scenario as this is then a tough call. To realize the audience taste and to cater to

them the necessary information in the way they find easy (and entertaining) to perceive is the need

of today.

If the private broadcasters are considered to cut across the function of the public broadcaster, then

this issue stands there as well. No broadcaster would like to lose its audience or rate themselves

down in their Television Rating Point (TRP) in any way by delivering content that are actually boring

or perceived so. The French senate too pointed out that without any commercials , PSBs would lose

its audience as they want commercials as well.37

Likewise, with the changes in the technology, the public broadcasters have to cope as the media-

scape at the advent of this century in its multi-platform has been "supplemented and complimented

by numerous other distribution platforms satellite communications, internet, cable, optic fiber

networks, mobile phones, direct-to-home (DTH) television, digital terrestrial TV, satellite radio, etc.,

to name but a few. Some of these are already well established in the broadcasting arena."38

The

challenge then for the public service broadcasting is to "re-define and [to] re-position itself in [such

34 Ibid .

35Carole Tongue. (1996). The Future of Public Service Television in a Multi-Channel Digital Age. European Parliament,

Committee of Culture, Youth, Education, Sports and the Media. (Also adopted by the European Parliament on 19

September 1996). pp 936

Khan, Dr. Abdul Waheed. (2006). Public Service Broadcasting in a Multi-Platform World . New Delhi : 26th

General

Assembly of Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), UNESCO. Slide 5, pp 4.37

c.f. Public Service Broadcasting. (unpublished)38

Khan, Dr. Abdul Waheed. (2006). Public Service Broadcasting in a Multi-Platform World . New Delhi : 26th

General

Assembly of Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), UNESCO. Slide 6, pp 5.



Chapter 3 : PSB in Nepal : Its Future

1212

a] multichannel scenario [and] the multi platform environment"39

brought about by "the ongoing

digital revolution."40

The greatest threat for any public service broadcasters is that "in their eagerness to survive on a

market that really has no use for them, [they] will dig their own graves."41

From stream of reports

and commissions in recent years (cf. Woldt 1998 and Graham 1998 , i.a.), it can be concluded that

"political support for public service media has never been stronger."42

39 Ibid .

40 Ibid .

41Findahl, Olle. Public Service Broadcasting A Fragile, Yet Durable Construction.

42 Ibid.



13

Chapter 4:

Summary & Conclusion

Summary of t he Transition Issues The two state broadcast media, viz. Radio Nepal and Nepal Television (NTV) are popularly serving

their assigned functions as national broadcasters; however, media critics have been severely

criticizing theses state-run media for being pro-governmental. In this regard, voices have been raised

that these two state-run media need to be converted as Public Service Broadcaster so that they can

perform their tasks better for the benefit of the public.

However, various factors need to be addressed for the success of this revamp. The financing model

of this switch into the PSB approach has been long discussed. In regards to this, three various

models, viz. the BBC model, the RAI model and the CBC model have been practiced in the world.

Next, the independence of the broadcaster from the political interference and the financial market

too needs to be guaranteed. Only then shall the public service broadcaster be able to perform its

function better to serve the public and/or to educate them.

Similarly, universal reach is another aspect these state-run broadcasters should work on. Coping

with the technological advancements to maintain the state-of-the-arts standard is very necessary for

these broadcasters to work in the approach of public service concept.

Recommendations & Conclusion

Few recommendations can be made to these state-run media to assist their conversion to PSB.

y Proper selection of financial model in a way to run sustainably on a long-term basis.

y Drafting a policy that guarantees editorial independence.

y Diversifying program contents and of the highest standards.

y Technological improvements to reach out the entire population.

The debates to the switch of these broadcasters into PSB have been long talked of. Considered the

world scenario of the functioning of the PSBs like the BBC, NHK, RAI, CBA, CBC and others, the

prospect of public service broadcasting seems to be ever-growing , though some scholars have also

raised questions on the future of PSBs.



VV

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a preliminary note on

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