Kathmandu Post

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Speak your mind

FEB 07 -
Drafts of the new media policy in English and Nepali are now available on the official website of the Ministry of Information and Communication. After a cursory read of the Nepali draft, readers can surmise that it is a translation of the English original. It also contains a few ambiguities regarding some of the most sensitive issues. Readers may also wonder why Nepal needs another media policy when there have already been seven such documents.

The new media policy has been critically studied by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (ACORAB) and the Broadcasting Association of Nepal (BAN). The Japanese aid agency JICA under its Media for Peace project has been supporting the Information Ministry to formulate the new media policy. The agencies involved including Radio Nepal are interested in converting state-owned Radio Nepal and Nepal Television into public service broadcasters, thus the need to revise existing policies and laws.

In Nepal, only a very nominal number of policies and laws are formulated after consultation with the public. However, the draft of the media policy is available on the net, and people can post their comments about it. The draft inherits some fundamental contradictory issues, especially with regard to foreign investment, transparency of financial transactions of media agencies and limitations on financial support to media agencies.

People are not allowed to invest in many sections of the media. This provision will definitely invite both public attention and objection. It was inserted in the draft without extensive discussions with the stakeholders. According to a media entrepreneur, a consultation meeting was held last week without the participation of the stakeholders. Questions have been raised about such meetings whether they are for the general public, media investors or state-owned media agencies.

The new media policy will definitely incorporate sectoral policies for broadcasting, print and publication, cinema and advertising. One of the major limitations of the policy is that it deliberately undermines the role of social media, identified as new media. It is estimated that about 15-18 percent of the Nepali people have access to the internet. Absolute neglect by the new media policy of this group, a majority of which consists of the young generation, is indeed critical. Meanwhile, use of social networks for sharing information and engaging in entertainment via Facebook and Twitter is the reality, and the new media policy should reflect that.

One of the most interesting issues in the current draft is the provision for foreign investment in the media. Some people argue that Nepal, being a member of the WTO, has to heartily welcome foreign investment for a more competitive environment. Those who oppose this argument have raised the issue of the volatile transitional state of affairs of the country and the transparency of foreign investment in the media. To them, the media should not be an enterprise for money laundering. They say that the current size and number of media houses is enough for the country for now and for the future.

The media policy is also silent about a few other issues like network broadcasting and news agencies. The National News Service is a state-owned news agency. There are other domestic and international news agencies that are engaged in the same task, but the draft is silent about them.

There is a debate about the operation of the state-owned Gorkhapatra, Radio Nepal and Nepal Television which in common serve the mission of the state. The draft advises converting the latter two into public service broadcasting, but the first one is to be kept under state ownership. Isn’t it better to convert all these organisations into autonomous media organisations and serve the mission of the state?

At present, 15 TV stations, more than 350 officially licensed radio stations and 100 plus newspapers are operating in Nepal. The radio is one of the most accessible means to a majority of the population. However, the draft contains some debatable points on the broadcasting sector. FM radio stations in Nepal are often cited as the best examples of the media, and the hundreds of community and private radio stations are self-sustaining and are broadcasting a wide range of content from entertainment to the news. In India, FM stations are not allowed to broadcast the news. This means that FM stations in Nepal are freer than in India.

The essence of FM radio is the content that is locally produced by the local people. However, at present, about 80 percent of the news time and 30-40 percent of the programmes are produced by the centre. Competition has made it necessary for local FM stations to increasingly depend on the news and programmes that are produced at the centre. All these challenges should be mentioned in the new draft.

The debate on issues like whether we need a free media or a responsible media is likely to continue. The ideal answer to this would be that we need a people-responsive and accountable Media. A survey needs to be done about the extent to which the media in Nepal is responsible and accountable.

At the same time, It is certain that the new media policy should encourage the Nepali media to be more responsible and accountable to the people. It should also create an environment for healthy competition. The big media associations may have their clear stands and positions on the media policy, but standing against the process might not be a wise idea. Now the focus of the debate needs to be directed towards the content so that it becomes more inclusive and participatory.



Kumar is a development media practitioner and youth activist and Ghimire is a lecturer of english literature

Posted on: 2012-02-08 08:15

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