The RnM interview with Ashish Sen, head of AMARC Asia Pacific, is available here: http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/interviews/amarc-asia-pac-president-ashish-sen-we-need-more-information-disseminated-about-availabilit
Sajan On Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 6:08 PM, Vickram Crishna <[email protected]>wrote: > Ashish Sen, AsiaPac head of AMARC, is interviewed in the current issue of > RadioandMusic by Aparna Joshi, following the recent meeting in Bihar, > supported by Action Aid. > > It is an interesting interview, lengthy enough to cover several important > matters. I have excerpted a few, with my comments inline. > > Technology: "There needs to be more information disseminated about the > availability > of appropriate and low cost technology in setting up community radio > stations. For instance, very few are aware of NOMAD technology that is > authorized manufactures of low cost transmitters. Most of us are aware > only of BEL and WEBEL (also authorized dealers) whose costs are far > steeper and beyond the reach of the aam aadmi. If community radio is to > assert itself as a "voice for and of the voiceless" there needs to be > greater impetus given towards providing and accessing low cost > technology. > " > > Comment: It is a pity that Ashish does not mention the possibility of DIY > construction, something that actually helped his own VOICES aided community > media station, Namma Dhwani, to come up, using cable radio, at a time when > the government, sans policy, proscribed community broadcasting. While there > are places in India where cable radio is not an option, because of the local > population's geo-spatial, economic and gender distribution, it is still a > viable and relatively inexpensive solution for many. In addition, self-made > TXs are far cheaper than any manufactured set, and also encourage > entrepreneurship (what Nehru called self-reliance) in construction and > maintenance. > > Sure, the Nomad sets are 'authorised' (and represent an international > effort to promote CR), but why has the government imposed the need for > authorising particular manufacturers, instead of simply publishing standards > and allowing Indians to help themselves? This is particularly poignant > considering the interview talks about the meeting in Bihar, which is where > the use of a DIY Tx led to an international outcry against Indian government > policy on CR, leading to the amendments that finally kicked off true > grassroots stations. Later in this interview, Sen talks about the need for > strengthening the CR Forum, and I wish he had spelt out how this would help > bring about self-reliance. > > C for campus or community?: "...the single window clearance should be > applicable for ngo/cbo applicants alike and not just for campus radio > applicants. > There needs to be more inclusiveness – both in spirit and practice – > within the sector. While respecting differences between campus > community and grass roots community stations, we need to build bridges > between both to ensure a vibrant community radio climate in the > country. > " > > Comment: In fact, the attitude of the government (both the Wireless Adviser > office and the I&B ministry) has been directed in exacerbating differences > between these two forms of public radio, perhaps in order to prevent them > from chipping away at PB's remaining domain. Or maybe they are just ornery, > eh? > > Rural/Urban divide: "The relevance of community radio in rural and remote > areas is not > disputed. But we also need to ensure that we do not lose sight of the > wood for the trees. Community Radio has a vital role to play in > addressing urban poverty and providing the urban poor and less > privileged communities with a powerful voice." > > Comment: As has been pointed out on this list by others, some cities have > as many as 3 campus stations jostling around each other, with no space yet > given for any other form of grassroots 'voices'. Apparently the vision of a > community-driven media service has not yet penetrated our worthy (and > unelected, do I need to point out?) panjandrum's consciousness, despite so > many years of desperate advocacy. > > Frequency allocation: "The paucity of frequencies for community radio > stations, as articulated > by official quarters, is worrying and needs to be reviewed." > > Comment: In fact, The Wireless Adviser openly allots only three discrete > frequencies for CR, and completely ignores the paucity of actual usage of > this band across the country. I recall someone (was it Sajan?) had advocated > using this list to monitor FM usage across the country, and I think that is > a very practical idea. Publishing such usage in the format of a distribution > map will go a long way in making up the gap in information dissemination > (unfortunately still a defining characteristic of the government). Without > such action, it is fairly obvious that the office of the Wireless Adviser > has absolutely no intention of taking proactive action to promote CR in > India (be it in the form of community and/or campus radio stations. > > Commercial is another story, since we witness pains taken to enable > nationally owned or promoted stations to maintain the same frequency across > the country, presumably as a moneysaving branding exercise. Incidentally, in > other countries such as the US, I believe such stations have a four letter > callsign, not a frequency. When the move to digital broadcasting takes > place, this question - or should I say opportunity? as in golden goose - > will no longer be relevant). > > In late 1871, one of Bombay University's first engineering graduates, > Samuel Nagavkar, joined the PWD in the erstwhile Mysore State. An upright > man, he is quoted as later advising a son-in-law, who was about to take up a > government post, that 'dishonesty did not consist only in being corrupt, but > that a man who did not put forth his best effort in the discharge of his > duties was "guilty of gross dishonesty." ' I fear that till today, this is > observed more in the breach. > > News: "The ban on news. This contradicts and inhibits some of the key > objectives of community radio which seeks to provide local/community > information for local/community needs. Further, it is not clear what > constitutes news." > > Comment: I mentioned in an earlier post what the government view on this > is, as stated at the Ahmedabad consultation: acceptable news on > non-government stations (including commercial, I assume, since they also > languish in a grey area) consists of announcements, unlike on the > government-owned channels. I suppose 'my sister's wedding' announcement will > be allowed, but no comments on what the guests wore, or who showed up. > Announcing the tsunami about to hit will be ok, but nothing about the > hoarding of stocks by the unscrupulous, or sale by them of donated relief > supplies, once said tsunami has passed, and decimated the listening > audience. > > Monitoring of news: Ashish does not make any suggestions. However, several > of us in this list have suggested this activity be devolved down to the > local level, especially given the vibrancy of the local language and > culture, without knowing which it is impossible to assess the value of the > content. Needless to say, this is pretty well anathema to the Centre, which > remains adamant about surrendering any effective power to the States. I see > no reason why the States need be involved, actually, since the Centre can > directly appoint local luminaries for this vocation. In any case, such > monitoring is only meaningful in case of complaints, and even as it stands, > recorded content (up to 3 months old) need only be sent to the Centre (in > transcribed and translated form, mind you) in such an eventuality. This is > not my opinion, I am repeating what I heard at the consultation. > > Quality of the CR Policy: "The need to review and extend the transmitter > range especially in > hilly terrain. (The current policy does take cognizance of this to the > extent that it indicates that exceptions to the current 100 watt range > can be made depending on the terrain). There is need to also reconsider > the validity of mobile broadcasting especially in the context of > emergencies and disaster situations. > Another constraint is linked to the age of the NGO applicant. > Currently, the policy permits NGOs that have been in existence for > three years to be eligible for licenses. However, in areas vulnerable > to floods and famines, there are credible and community based NGOs that > have come up in the recent past." > > Comment: Again, Ashish seems focused on transmitter power (which is, > incidentally, irrevocably linked to costs), rather than effective range. > Multi-modal broadcasting (combining data and voice in modules) is cheaper > and more robust for such situations, and promotes a variety of > entrepreneurial talents in addition to the valuable skills involved in > content management that typify the traditional CR deployment. Mainstream > media provides precious few opportunities for serious comment on community > radio, unsurprisingly, and each opportunity ought to be maximised. > > Revenue generation: "Sponsored programmes that are relevant to the > community and development > or educational could be other sources of revenue generation." > > Comment: Actually, sponsored programmes are specifically disallowed on CR. > I think we need to focus on total cost of operations and total community > earnings rather than looking at blinkered revenue models that derive from > 'organised' revenue stream visions. By its very nature, a community is not > organised, and any effort to organising it leads to internal politics. > Failure to recognise this seminal fact will doom any grassroots community > initiative, whether or not encouraged (and these are not) by the government. > > Looking ahead: "A core group has been formed to take the (Bihar > consultation) endorsement forward." > > Well, that is good news. Will this group be aligned directly with the CR > Forum? > > Vickram > http://communicall.wordpress.com > http://vvcrishna.wordpress.com > > >
_______________________________________________ cr-india mailing list [email protected] https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india
