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Nepalese Media System and Journalism (JMC. 515)

2009-03-31T05:12:00.001+05:30

Tribhuvan University
2060
Master Level/II Year/ Humanities Full Marks: 100
Nepalese Media System and Journalism (JMC. 515)
Group "A"
(Long- answer Questions
1. Describe the national and international conditions in which print , audio and audio–visual media have emerged in Nepal.
2. What are the objectives of National Communication Policy, 2049 B.S. ? Why policy interventions does it make achieve these objectives?
3. Give a brief account of media regulation system in Nepal. How do you evaluate the implementation aspects of Nepalese media regulations?
4. "Nepal has made big achievements in community radio broadcasting." Do you agree?

Group "B"

5. How do production houses and broadcasting stations differ from each other?
6. What are the different kinds of broadcasting services functioning in Nepal?
7. What is the role of private sector in the development of films in Nepal?
8. Explain the present status of Right to Information in Nepal.
9. Assess the relevance of the long-term Communication Policy, 2059B.S.
10. Why has foreign investment in media been a topical issue in Nepal?

Journalism II Paper (JMC 502)

2009-03-29T07:27:00.000+05:30

*2059
Journalism II Paper (JMC 502)
(Principles of Journalism)*
Attempt any THREE questions from Group 'A' and FOUR from group 'B'
Group A (3x15=45) Long Answer Questions

1. Critically examine the role of news contents in the Nepalese broadcast
media.
2. How do you assess the growth of daily newspapers in Nepal?
3. Discuss the principles of media pluralism.
4. Evaluate the code of conduct developed by Press Council (Nepal) for
journalists.
Group B (4x7.5=30 ) Short Answer Questions

5. What are the key principles of journalism?
6. How far have the Nepalese media been able to reach the people? Give
examples.
7. Explain the role of newsreels.
8. Discuss the impact of documentary films as an information channel.
9. Examine the functioning of alternative media.
10. Write short notes on any TWO.
a. Vertical ownership b. Documentary films c. Press associations
*2060
Journalism II Paper (JMC 502)
(Principles of Journalism)*
Group A (3x15=45) Long Answer Questions
1. Discuss the role of news media in democratic participation of people.
2. Examine the financial investment climate for media houses in Nepal after
1990.
3. How do you assess the application of the basic principles of journalism
in the Nepalese media?
4. Why is radio the most relevant media for Nepal?
Group B (4x7.5=30) Short Answer Questions

5. Explain media values in principle and practice.
6. What are the main stages of journalism's growth in Nepal?
7. Discuss the impact of media on society.
8. How does media contribute to informing the public accuracy and fairly?
9. Examine the practice of development journalism in Nepal, with emphasis on
illustrations and graphics.
10. Write short notes on any Two:
a. Cross-ownership b. Gate-keepers c. Newsreels.
*2061
Journalism II Paper (JMC 502)
(Principles of Journalism)*
Group A (3x15=45) Long Answer Questions
1. Discuss the factors that led to the late arrival of journalism in Nepal.
2. What are the main theories of modern journalism?
3. How has the restoration of multi-party democracy affected the growth and
development of various news media in Nepal?
4. How do you assess the application of 'ABC of journalism' in the Nepalese
media?
Group B (4x7.5=30) Short Answer Questions

5. Discuss the various stages of development of journalism in the world with
special reference to Nepal.
6. What is development journalism?
7. Why is monopoly in media against the spirit of democracy? Give examples.
8. List and elaborate the various broadcast media and their presence in
Nepal.
9. Examine the use and abuse of illustrations in news magazines.
10. Write short notes on any two:
a. Documentary Films. b. New sells in Nepal. c. Gate-keeping.
*2062
Journalism II Paper (JMC 502)
(Principles of Journalism)*
Group A (3x15=45) Long Answer Questions

1. Discuss media freedom, with special focus on licentiousness versus social
responsibility.
2. How do you take the good ethical decisions? Describe in the light of
ethical principles of journalism.
3. What is the dilemma of objectivity and subjectivity in journalism?
4. Why the use of photographs, graphics and other illustrative materials is
given priority in a magazine?
Group B (4x7.5=30) Short Answer Questions

5. Media watch mechanism in Nepal.
6. Inclusiveness in media functioning and service.
7. What is gate-keeping and how it works in media?
8. Community and commercial radio.
9. Describe various types of lenses and their uses.
10. What is journalistic fairness?

Media-imperialism Versus cultural identity

2009-03-08T05:30:00.000+05:30

If we ask question that do the mass media produce direct, immediate and powerful influences on the audiences, then a simple yes or no answer is not possible. Sometimes the media seem powerful and sometimes not. We can see that an international 'media culture' has come to stay in which certain languages, cultures and types of story have come to find wide influences in all over the world. The mass media play a crucial role in almost all aspects of daily life in these days. The sociological significance of media extends beyond the content of media messages. Their influence is not limited to what we know. People learn and internalize some values, beliefs and norms presented in the media products. Media also affect how we learn about our world and interact with one another. They provide a diversion, a source of conflict, or a unifying force. Such impact is almost obvious when we look at the ways in which the mass media mediate our relationships.

In contemporary society, it is media that most often act as the bridge between people of different origins. The media can serve as an entertainer, informer, and also as a way to transmit values or norms. The relationship between society and the media is more complex than a simple 'free flow of information' slogan might suggest. The process of 'mass communication' is not synonymous with the 'mass media', the organized technologies that make mass communication possible. The 'mass communication' remains as an abstract concept while 'mass media' has acquired a status of reality. Globalization in the field of media is not just about the technological innovations used to communicate over long distances. In addition, and perhaps more important, it also refers to the exchange and intermingling of cultures from different parts of the world. In reality, this process is quite unidirectional. Some scholars claim that the export of American and Western popular culture is latter-day imperialism.

Though there are likely to be large differences, for instance, between media those adopt or are given a significant social, cultural or political task and those that are primarily concerned with making profits. But, both types of mass media have common characteristic in the sense that they contribute in the cultural intrusion. It is a fact that most of the media have a vested interest in the Capitalist system and are inclined to give support to its most obvious defenders. The so-called Third world countries are pawns of the western-based global media and the media are like the 19th -century European colonial powers. Some people argue that Rock music encouraged youngsters to use drugs or engage in sexual behavior.

The communication flow is one way from the powerful nations to the weak ones. The result is that Western values are imposed in an impossible-to-resist way. Scholar Herbert Schiller's view is that the Western-controlled international mass media preempt native culture, a situation he sees as robbery, just like earlier colonial tapping of natural resources to enrich the home countries. 'Influence on people' is not only the final stage in the process of mass communication but also the bottom line of public concern. It is for this reason that people are worried about the effect of western mass media influence.

Communication and culture are so closely bound together that virtually all communication engaged in by humans is culturally linked. In respect of culture, according to Dennis McQuail, the mass media constitute a primary source of definitions and images of social reality and the most ubiquitous expression of shared identity. Also, they are the largest focus of leisure time interest, providing the shared 'cultural environment' for most people and more so than any other single institution. The most fundamental questions of society- those concerning the distribution and exercise of power, the management of problems and the process of integration and change- all turn on the communication. So the one way flow of communication is dangerous. It must be changed as soon as possible. Since nothing has influenced the lives of modern human society as the mass media have, we should be much more serious about it.

The consequence of media globalization should be understood properly. We should not hesitate to accept the good aspects of media influence. We know that the media often play a significant role in the adoption of new technologies and the way they are used. Media play role in diffusion of innovations. The media also change our images and interpretations. They can also change our feelings about social issue and help in decision-making. It may tell the truth so that people would have the information that they need to be sovereign. Also, there is chance of manipulation and media-imperialism. But cultural invasion in the name of globalization and modernization cannot be acceptable. Promoting conditions for the preservation of the cultural identity of every society is necessary to enable it to enjoy a harmonious inter-relationship. There should be established national cultural policies, which should foster cultural identity and creativity, and involve the media in these tasks. Such policies should also contain guidelines for safeguarding national cultural development while promoting knowledge of other cultures.

- Nirmala Mani Adhikary

International and Inter-Cultural Communication and Media (Compulsory) JMC 506

2009-02-14T04:11:00.000+05:30

Unit I
Culture of the world and Nations' communication system: Nature and scope of the study of International as well as intercultural communication and their relevancy as a discipline to the study of journalism and mass communication.

"...Through contact between different cultures via travel and trade, as well as war and colonialism. Such interactions have resulted in the transporting and implanting of ideas, religious beliefs, languages and economic and political systems, from one part of the world to another, by a variety of means that have evolved over millennia-from the oral, to being mediated by written language, sound or image.... International communication, then, is about sharing knowledge, ideas and beliefs among the various peoples of the world, and therefore it can be contributing factor in resolving global conflict and promoting mutual understanding among nations. However, more often channels of international communication have been used not for such lofty ideas but to promote the economic and political interests of the world's powerful nations, who control the means of global communication." (Thussu 3)

Communication is always caught up in cultural rules. Whenever an individual tries to communicate with another person, both of them share varying degrees of rules. The more rules they share, the easier the communication becomes. (Beatty & Takahashi, 2003, p. 25)

The communication act has been defined as having several parts (sender, message, channel, medium, context, and receiver). In human communication the matter is complicated by the fact that the entire act takes places in a cultural matrix. Senders and receivers, for example, are not just people, but specific people with various roles and statuses. These roles and statuses affect the ways in which messages can be and are interpreted.

'Intercultural communication is the exchange of cultural information between two groups of people with significantly different cultures…In other words, intercultural communication should focus on the exchange of information among two or more cultural systems embedded within a common environment that results in the reduction of uncertainty about the future behavior of the other system through an increase in understanding of the other social group.' ( Gudykunst & Mody 276)

Intercultural communication generally involves face-to-face communication between people from different national cultures. One major area of research is cross-cultural communication (i.e., the comparison of face-to-face communication across cultures; for example, comparing speech convergence in initial interactions in Japan and the United States).
Demands for intercultural communication skills are increasing as more and more businesses go global or international. People realize that there are barriers and limitations when entering a foreign territory. Without the help of intercultural communication one can unknowingly cause confusion and misunderstandings. For these intercultural businesses to breach the cultural barriers encountered when stepping into foreign grounds it is vital to fully understand the cultural differences that exist so as to prevent damaging business relations due to intercultural communication gaps.
There are many theories that set principles to help interpret the basis of intercultural communication. These theories help to iron out possible ripples of misunderstanding by giving a basic guideline on how to address situations. These guidelines help prevent clashes between different cultures groups caused by misperceptions.
The basic skills of intercultural communication are fundamentally general communication skills that can be used universally by all cultures and races. These skills are simply tweaked in a direction that takes the cultural limitation into consideration. An example of such communication skills in the intercultural environment is to listen without judging, repeat what you understand, confirm meanings, give suggestions and acknowledge a mutual understanding.
The main purpose of following such theories is to earn respect from others. Respect in all cultures in the world is a common language and by earning it through respecting other peoples culture and religion; the favor is returned.

International Communication includes the study of how communication between nation-states has been studied over the past 70 years (since 1930s).

International communication researchers studied how states used media to win on the world's battlefields. By the end of World War II, U.S. firms were expanding domestically and internationally.

Nature and scope of the study of International communication:

Unlike ICC, INC deals with the more macro-level information exchange between the nations." International communication (INC) is the study of heterophilous mass-mediated communication between two or more countries with differing backgrounds. The communicating countries may differ ideologically, culturally, in level of economic development, and in language. The primary unit of analysis in INC is the interaction of two or more societies/nations that are linked by mass media communication. So INC takes place at the societal level, as opposed to the interpersonal level, which distinguishes it from ICC. INC is a type of mass-mediated communication (i.e., few-to-many communication mediated by technologies such as radio, television and computer networks).

"Defined as 'communication that occurs across international borders' the analysis of international communication has been traditionally concerned with government-to-government information exchanges, in which a few powerful states dictated the communication agenda. Advances in communication and information technologies in the late twentieth century have greatly enhanced the scope of international communication-going beyond government-to-government and including business-to-business and people-to-people interactions at a global level and at speeds unimaginable even a decade ago.

Apart from nation-states, many non-state international actors are increasingly shaping international communication. The growing global importance of international non-governmental bodies-Public Interest Organization (PINGOs), such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace and the International Olympic Committee; Business Interest Organizations (BINGOs), such as GE, News Corporation and AT&T, and International Organizations (IGOs), such as the European Union, NATO, ASEAN-is indicative of this trend."(Thussu 1-2)

"International communication, then, is about sharing knowledge, ideas and beliefs among the various people of the world, and therefore it can be a contributing factor in resolving global conflict and promoting mutual understanding among nations. However, more often channels of international communication have been used not for such lofty ideals but to promote the economic and political interests of the world's powerful nations, who control the means of global communication." (Thussu 3-4)

International communication stimulated by WAR, TRADE, IMPERIALISM & INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION:

The rise of the global news agencies of the 20th century was made possible by technology (telegraph and radio-telephony) and stimulated by war, trade, imperialism and industrial expansion. (Mc Quail 219).

Example, how WAR stimulated international communication:

In 1896 William Randolph Hearst, a prominent newspaper publisher sent a photographer to Cuba to cover the possible outbreak of war against Spain. Historian Luther Mott reported that the cameraman replied with this telegram:

HEARST, JOURNAL, NEW YORK
EVERYTHING IS QUIET. THERE IS NO TROUBLE HERE. THERE WILL BE NO WAR. WISH TO RETURN.
The publisher's reply was quick and to the point:
PLEASE REMAIN. YOU FURNISH THE PICTURES AND I'LL FURNISH THE WAR. HEARST. (Baran & Davis 40)

TECHNOLOGY (TV) paved the way for International communication:

Technology has certainly given a powerful push to the globalization of television. The arrival of television satellites in the late 1970s broke the principle of national sovereignty of broadcasting space and made it difficult and ultimately impossible to offer effective resistance to television transmission from outside the national territory.

The national character of early mass media was reinforced by the exclusiveness of language as well as by cultural and political factors.

Multinational Media OWNERSHIP & internationalization:

The foremost example of internationalization of media ownership, production and distribution is that of the popular music industry.

Examples of INTERNATIONL communication through MASS MEDIA, presented by Mc Quail (220):

• Direct transmission or distribution of media channels or complete publications from one country to audiences in other countries. This covers foreign sales of newspapers (sometimes in special editions) and books, certain satellite television channels, officially sponsored international radio broadcast services;
• Certain specifically international media, such as MTV Europe, CNN International, BBC World, TV Cinq, etc;
• Content items of many kinds (films, music, TV programmes, journalistic items, etc.) that are imported to make up part of domestic media output;
• Formats and genres of foreign origin that are adapted or remade to suit domestic audiences;
• International news items, whether about a foreign country or made in a foreign country, that appear in domestic media;
• Miscellaneous content such as sporting events, advertising and pictures that have a foreign reference or origin.

SCOPE of the study of International communication:

Studies of the mass system of a single nation and comparative studies of different mass media systems were precursors to the study of INC; however, the focus of INC, especially in the early decades of study, was often on the flows of information between and among nations. (Gudykunst & Mody 5)

CONSEQUENCE of International communication:

INC across borders may pose threats to national sovereignty and may represent media imperialism, the process through which one nation's culture is imposed on another country through mass media channels. (Gudykunst & Mody 5) Most of the issues surrounding global mass communication have a direct or indirect connection with the thesis of 'cultural imperialism', or the more limited notion of 'media imperialism'. Both concepts imply a deliberate attempt to dominate, invade or subvert the 'cultural space' of others and suggest a degree of coercion in the relationship. (Mc Quail 221)

Reference:

Baran J. Stanley & Dennis K. Davis. Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future. Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2000.

Gudykunst, William B. & Bella Mody. Handbook of International and Cultural Communication. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication 2002.

Thussu, Daya Kishan. International Communication: Continuity and Change. London: Arnold, 2000.

McQuail, Denis. McQuail's Mass Communication Theory. London: Sage Publication, 2000.

Printing Technology in Nepal prior to 1990

2009-01-11T02:18:00.000+05:30

विश्वमा लेखनकलाको विकासबारेमा विभिन्न अन्वेषक तथा विद्वानहरुका फरक फरक मतहरू रहेका छन् । पूर्वीय सिद्धान्त अनुसार भन्नु पर्दा वैदिक वाङमयका ग्रन्थ, जस्तै : शतपथ ब्राहृमण, ऐतरेय आरण्यक र छांदोग्योपनिषदमा लिपिकला यानेकि लेखनकलाको प्रमाण पाइन्छ । यी संसारका र्सवप्राचीन ग्रन्थहरू हुन् । प्राचीन भारतवर्षमा धातु तथा काठबाट तयार पारिएका विभिन्न छापको मद्दतबाट छपाइ कार्य गरिन्थ्यो । कम्तीमापनि महाभारतकालमा (आजभन्दा करीब ५/७ हजार वर्षपहिलेनै) यस्ता छापको प्रयोग गरिएको थियो । भारतवर्षमा छाप-मुद्रणपद्धतिको प्रयोग रामायणकालमै पनि हुन्थ्यो भन्ने कतिपय विद्वानहरूको भनाइ रहेको छ । 'वाशिष्ठ धर्मसूत्र' नामक ग्रन्थमा यो कुराको स्पष्ट प्रमाण छ कि वैदिक कालमा लेखनकलाको प्रशस्त प्रचार थियो ।
तर,
पश्चिमा सिद्धान्त अनुसार मानिसले पहिले लेख्न जान्दैनथे र करिब ३५ हजार वर्षघि र्सवप्रथम मानिसले गुफाका भित्ता वा रुखका बोक्रातिर र्सवप्रथम केही किर्मिरे चित्रहरू कोरेको थियो रे । तर ती लेखाइहरू अस्पष्ट भएको एवम् आजका दिनमा मानिसले कुनै अर्थ खुट्ट्याउने नसक्ने खालका रहेको थियो भनिन्छ । अर्थपूर्ण सन्देश दिनेगरी चित्रात्मक लेखनको विकास भने इजिप्टका निवासीहरूले इ.पू. ५ हजार देखि इ.पू. ४ हजारको बीच कुनै समयमा गरेका थिए भन्ने मानिन्छ । प्राचीन सुमेरियालीहरूले ३०००-१७०० इ.पू.मा माटाका चक्काहरूमा लेख्ने कलाको विकास गरे । यसरी अध्ययन गर्दै जाँदा प्राचीन भारतवर्षा निवासी आर्यहरूले लेखनकलाको विकास इजिप्टनिवासी तथा सुमेरियालीहरू भन्दापनि अगावै गरेका थिए भन्ने देखिन्छ ।
लेखनकलाको विकास भएपछि हातैले लेखेर पुस्तकहरू तयार पार्न थालियो । लेखनकलाको विकास भएपछि प्रारम्भमा लेखिएका कुरा मुख्य रुपमा धर्मग्रन्थ नै थिए । धर्मग्रन्थ पछि साहित्यिक रचनाहरू लेखिए । समाचारको लेखन धर्म, साहित्य, स्वास्थ्य बारेमा लेख्न थालिएको निक्कै पछिमात्र सुरु भएको हो । इ.पू. ६९ मा रोमन सम्राट जुलियस सिजरको आदेशमा रोमन सैनिकहरूले युद्धमा हासिल गरेका उपलब्धिको दैनिक विवरण लेखी ठाउँ-ठाउँमा टाँसिने गरेको थियो । त्यसलाई 'एक्टा डिउर्ना' भनिन्थ्यो, यही 'एक्टा डिउर्ना'लाई अखबारको प्रारम्भिक स्वरूप मानिएको छ । त्यसो त, चीनमा छैटौं शताब्दीमा 'त्सिङ्गपाओ' नामको पत्रिका निक्लेको र सन् ६१८-९०५ मा 'पेकिङ्ग गजेट' प्रकाशित भएको पाइन्छ । त्यसताका सबै जसो प्रकाशनका काम काठे-ब्लकको प्रयोग गरेर भएका थिए । सुरु सुरुमा जापानी तथा चीनियाहरूले काठे-ब्लकको प्रयोग गरी अक्षर छाप्ने गर्दथे त्यसैलाई पछ्याउँदै यो प्रविधिको विस्तार भएको हो भन्ने इतिहासकारहरूको ठम्याई रहेको छ । चीनमा सन् १७५ मा यस्तै काठे ब्लकका छापबाट मुद्रण गरिएका ग्रन्थका केही भाग अद्यावधि प्राप्य छन् भनिन्छ । सन् ८६८ मा चीनका शासक वाङचिहले आफ्ना परिवारका सम्झनामा प्रकाशित गरेको पुस्तकलाई संसारको प्रथम मुद्रित पुस्तक मानिन्छ । सन् ९७२ मा त्यही छाप-मुद्रणपद्धतिको प्रयोग गरी एकलाख तीस हजार पृष्ठको त्रिपिटक ग्रन्थसमेत छापिएको थियो । अनेक वर्षलगाएर फरक फरक दशक अनि शताब्दीका मानिसहरूको प्रयासले विकास र विस्तार हुँदै आएको मुद्रण प्रविधिमा नयाँ युगको सुरुवात जोन गुटेनवर्गद्वारा आधुनिक मुद्रणयन्त्रको विकास र स्थापनासँगै भयो । उनले काठका अक्षरहरू प्रयोग गरेका थिए । गुटेनवर्गकै प्रेरणाले पिटरले धातुमा अक्षरलाई ढाले । यसले गर्दा मसि परेर काठको अक्षर बिग्रने र छाप्दा काठ फुटेर टंकण प्रक्रिया नै अवरुद्ध हुने समस्या समाधान भएर गयो । सन् १४६६ मा फ्रान्समा, सन् १४७७ मा बेलायतमा, सन् १५५० मा पोर्चुगलमा र सन् १५५० मा भारतमा यसको विकास सुरु भयो । सोह्रौं शताब्दीमा आएर युरोपमा मुद्रण प्रविधिमा व्यापक विकास हुन थाल्यो ।
नेपालमा भने,
नेपाली भाषाको विकास विक्रमको एघारौं शताब्दीमा जुम्लाको सिंजा प्रदेशबाट भएपछि नेपाली भाषामा लेखनको सुरुवात भएको हो । सन् ९८१ (विक्रम संवत १०३८)को दामुपालको दुल्लु अभिलेख हालसम्म प्राप्त पहिलो नेपाली भाषाको लेख्य तथ्य हो । यसरी शिलालेख, ताम्रपत्र, भोजपत्र, ताडपत्रमा नेपाली भाषाको लेखनक सुरु भएपछि राजा महाराजाहरुले आफूले गरेको दानपुण्यको काम र सैनिक सँग सम्बन्धित विषयमा यस्ता शिलालेख तथा ताम्रपत्रमा कुँदेर मन्दिर, पाटी पौवा जस्ता र्सार्वजनिक स्थलमा राख्ने गर्दथे । त्यसपछिमात्र धार्मिक, साहित्यिक तथा स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि पुस्तकहरु पनि लेख्न सुरु भएका हुन् । लेखनको क्रम चल्दै जाँदा मुद्रणको प्रयोग पनि यहाँ भएको बताइन्छ । शिला तथा तामाका पाताहरुमा लेख्ने र बुट्टा कुँद्ने क्रममा त्यसलाई रुखका रेसाबाट तयार गरिएका कागजहरुमा विभिन्न रंग पोतेर उतार्ने कामहरु भएका थिए भनिन्छ । जङ्गबहादुर राणाले बेलायतबाट आधुनिक छापाखाना (प्रेस) ल्याउनु अगाडि ढुङ्गेछापाको प्रचलन रहेको बताइन्छ । जंगबहादुरले ल्याएको प्रेसबाट मुद्रण सुरु हुनुभन्दा अगाडिको नेपालको रैथाने ढुङ्गे छापाको प्रविधिलाई नेपालमा छापाको प्रयोगको प्राथमिक रुप मान्न सकिन्छ ।

जंगबहादुर राणाले बेलायतबाट सन् १८५१ -वि.सं.१९०८)मा ल्याएको 'भी. एण्ड जे. फिज्जिक्स मेकर्स' लेखिएको छापामेसिनको अगाडी पट्टि एउटा ठूलो गिद्धको आकार थियो त्यसैको कारण त्यसलाई गिद्धे प्रेस भनियो । भारतको बैंगलोरमा विश्वेश्वरैयाको नाममा रहेको औद्योगिक संग्रहालयमा रहेको गोर्खापत्रको गिद्धेप्रेसकै मोहडा र आकार प्रकारको प्रेसमा राखिएको परिचयपत्रमा लेखिएको छ-''कोलम्बियन प्रिन्टिङ प्रेस उन्नीसौं शताब्दीको सबैभन्दा लोकप्रिय फलामे हाते छापाखाना थियो । फलाममा गडिएका बुट्टाहरुले गर्दा यो हेर्दा राम्रो हुनाका साथै काम गर्न पनि सजिलो थियो । यसको आविस्कार फिलाडेलिफयाका जर्ज क्ल्यामरले गरेका थिए । यसमा थोरै बल लगाउँदा धेरै काम गर्ने शक्ति प्रवद्धक लिभरहरु थिए, जसले गर्दा कोलम्बियन प्रेस अरु प्रसभन्दा निक्कै उच्चस्तरको थियो । यसमा प्रेसम्यानहरुलाई अरु प्रेसमा भन्दा कम धपेडी हुन्थ्यो । धेरै संख्यामा उत्पादन गरिएको यो पहिलो हाते प्रेस थियो ।'' नेपाली गिद्धे प्रेसको सही नाम हो कोलम्बियन प्रिन्टिङ प्रेस । यो हाते प्रेस हो । हाते प्रेसका आविष्कारक जर्मनीका गुटेनवर्गले सुरुमा अंगुर निचोर्ने हाते मेसिनलाई सुधारेर अक्षरमाथि मसी दलेर त्यसमाथि कागजको पाना राखेर माथिबाट च्यापेर सिसाका अक्षरको छाप कागजमा उतार्ने उपाय अपनाएर छापाखाना बनाएका थिए । यो हाते प्रेस त्यसैको सुधारिएको रुप हो । अत नेपालको पहिलो छापाखाना गिद्धेप्रेस गुटेनवर्ग प्रेसको दोस्रो रुप हो भन्न सकिन्छ ।
जंगबहादुरले ल्याएको हाते प्रविधिको भएका कारण यसमामा काठका केसहरूमा स-साना कोठा बनाएर त्यसमा सिसाका अक्षरहरूलाई हातले झिकेर पित्तलबाट बनेको सानो हाते स्टिकमा चाहेको लम्बाइमा पंक्तिबद्ध गरेर संयोजन मिलाएर कम्पोज गरि ती पंक्तिलाई दुई हातले समातेर काठ वा जस्ताले बनेको ग्यालीमा राखेर त्यसमा रबरको रोलरले मसी लगाएर माथिबाट कागज राखेर थिचेपछि छपाइ गर्ने गरिन्थ्यो । यो छापाखाना आउँदा सम्म बिजुलीको आविस्कार भइनसकेका कारण मानिसको बलमा नै यो सञ्चालन हुने गर्दथ्यो । यसमा हात वा खुट्टाले मेसिन चलाएर छाप्ने काम गरिन्थ्यो । वि.सं.१९६९ मा नेपालमा पहिलो पटक बिजुलीबाट चल्ने छापाखानाको स्थापना भयो । पहिलो विद्युतीय प्रेस आएको एक दश भित्र नै नेपालमा करिब पाँच दर्जन प्रेसहरु स्थापित भइसकेका थिए । मनोरञ्जन छापाखाना, नारायणहिटी छापाखाना, जंगी लिथोग्राफी, बुद्ध प्रेस, पाशुपत प्रेस लगायतका प्रेसहरु बिजुलीबाट सञ्चालित प्रेस थिए । यि प्रेसहरु पहिलो नेपाल भित्रिएको गिद्धेप्रेसकै दास्रो पुस्ता थिए भन्नुमा अत्युक्ति हुँदैन । यि छापामेसिन फ्ल्याट खालका थिए । नेपालमा बिजुलीको उत्पादन सुरु भएपछि यस्ता विद्युतिय छापाखानाको प्रयोग हुन थालेको हो । गोर्खापत्रको लागि पनि सरकारले विद्युतिय प्रेसको व्यवस्था गरेको थियो । फर्पिङबाट बिजुलीको उत्पादन सुरु भएपछि त फ्ल्याट मेसिनको प्रयोगमा झन् तीव्रता आयो । यसको प्रयोगले गर्दा छपाइमा चुस्तता त आयो नै पहिलाको भन्दा छपाइको गुणस्तरमा पनि सुधार आयो ।
२००७ साल सम्म धार्मिक, साहित्यिक खालका पुस्तक र पत्रपत्रिका प्रकाशन गर्ने हिसाबले निक्कै नीजि प्रेसहरुको स्थापना भएका थिए । २००७ मा प्रजातन्त्रको स्थापना भएपछि विभिन्न पत्रपत्रिकाहरु प्रकाशनमा आउनुमा यस्ता नीजि प्रेसहरुको महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका थियो । यी नै प्रेस स्थापनाको पृष्ठभूमिमा नै आवाज, समाज, जागरण लगायतका पत्रिकाहरु प्रकाशनमा आउन सफल भएका हुन् । तर पनि यी सबैको प्रकाशन पद्दती भने फ्याट प्रविधिको प्रेस नै हो । २००७ को प्रजातन्त्रले ल्याएको खुलापनका कारण पुस्तक, पत्रपत्रिका जति संख्यात्मक रुपमा प्रकाशनमा आए त्यसरी नै प्रेसको प्रविधिमा पनि सुधार देखिन थाल्यो । यस कालको छापाखानाको विकासको चर्चा गर्दा कमलमणि दीक्षितले आफ्नो वि.सं.२०१४ मा प्रकाशित पुस्तक 'यस्तो पनि' मा उनले लेखेका छन्-वषौं सम्म काम लिँदा पनि बिग्रन नमान्ने यो मेसिनबाट अचेल प्रुफ तान्ने इत्यादि मोटा काम लिइँदो रहेछ..... (पृ.२१) । यसले २०१३-१४ सम्म आउँदा पनि नेपालमा गिद्धेप्रेस छाप्नमा प्रयोग हुँदै आएको रहेछ भन्ने देखाउँछ जसले नेपालमा छापाखानाको पद्दतीमा खासै सुधार नआएको देखाउँछ ।
२०१७ सालमा राजा महेन्द्रले शासनसत्ता आफ्नो हातमा लिएपछि वाक् तथा प्रकाशन स्वतन्त्रता खुम्चन पुग्यो । फलस्वरुप पत्रिकाहरु प्रकाशन हुने र ती छापिने प्रेसहरु प्रकाशित सामग्रीको आधारमा छापाखाना जफत हुने र तीनको दर्ता समेत खारेज गर्ने नियमका कारण छापाखाना खुल्ने तथा नयाँ प्रविधि भित्रने कामहरु हुन सकेनन् । छापाखाना तथा प्रकाशन सम्बन्धि ऐन २०१९, ले छापाखानाको सञ्चालनमा कडाइ ल्याएपछि छापा प्रविधिमा नयाँ आगमन केही हुन सकेन । पञ्चायतकालमा पहिला खुलेका छापाखानाहरु त घिटिघिटि परेको अवस्थामा नयाँ खोल्ने कुरा पनि त भएन । जनक शिक्षा सामग्री केन्द्र, सूचना विभागको छापाखाना, साझा छापाखाना बाहेक अन्य छापाखानाहरु बल्ल तल्ल हाते प्रेसबाट उठेर बल्ल विद्युतिय छापाखानामा आएका थिए । त्यस अवस्थामा मोनो टाइपको प्रयोग बढि गरिन्थ्यो । मोनो कम्पोज विद्युतद्वारा संचालित मेसिनबाट तयार गरिन्छ । यसमा विशेषतः टाइपराइटरमा टाइप गरेझैं मोनो मेसिन चालकले पहिले टाइप गरिन्छ र विशेष कागजको रोलमा प्वाल प्वाल पारी त्यो रोल कागजलाई कास्टिङ मेसिनमा राखिन्छ । त्यसपछि विद्युतीय चापबाट सिसा पगालेर एक एक ओटा अक्षर कम्पोज हुन्छ । यो नै वास्तवमा मोनो कम्पोज हो । करिब छ जनाको काम एउटै मेसिनले दिने र काम सकिएपछि अक्षरहरू पगाल्न सकिने हुनाले मोनो टाइप मेसिन देवनागरी लिपिका निमित्त अत्यन्त उपयोगी सावित भएको थियो ।
पञ्चायतकाल भर नै सामान्य प्रकाशनको विषयमा पनि स्थानिय अधिकारीहरुले तारिख माथि तारिख खेपाउने अनि महँगो धरौटी तिर्नुपर्ने भएका कारण छापाखानाहरुले नयाँ प्रविधिलाई ल्याउन सकेनन् । पश्चिमा मुलुकहरु भने द्रूत गतिमा छाप्ने प्रेसको विकास भएको समयमा नेपालमा भने छापाखाना सञ्चालकलाई कारवाहीको डण्डा लागाइरहेको स्थिती थियो । यस्तो अवस्थामा जनक शिक्षा सामग्री केन्द्र लिमिटेडले विद्यालयहरुको पाठ्य पुस्तक प्रकाशन गर्ने उद्देश्यले २०२१ सालमा चार रंगको छपाइ हुने उच्चस्तरिय अफसेट प्रविधिको प्रेस ल्याएको देखिन्छ । यसरी सरकारी तहमा स्थापना गरिएका सूचना विभाग, जनक शिक्षा सामग्री केन्द्र, अनि साहित्यिक गतिविधिमा केन्द्रीत साझा प्रकाशन, अनि सरकारी मुखपत्र गोर्खापत्रका छापाखानाहरु विकसित प्रविधिलाई आत्मसात गर्न लागि रहेका थिए ।

२०३६ सालमा राजा वीरेन्द्रबाट जनमत संग्रहको घोषणा भएपछि दल विहिन भनिएको पचायतमा पनि राजनीतिक दलहरुले प्रचार प्रसार गर्न पाउने स्थिती सृजना भयो । यस समयमा छापाखानाहरु खुल्ने क्रम पनि बढेर गयो । छापाखाना सम्बन्धि व्यवस्थाहरुमा पनि खुकुलोपन आएका कारण छापाखाना भित्रने क्रम बढ्यो । यसै क्रममा लेटर प्रेस नेपालमा आएको पाइन्छ । हुन त लेटर प्रेस २०२५ साल तिर नै नेपालमा भित्रिएको थियो तर यसको मुलुकभरका छापाखानाहरुले प्रयोग गर्ने अवस्था भने २०३० को दशकामा मात्र भयो । २०३० देखी नै मुलुकमा राजनीतिक रुपमा छाएको खुलापनका कारण विभिन्न प्रेसहरुले अफसेट प्रेसहरु नेपालमा भित्र्याए । त्यसो त रंगिन छपाइपनि नेपालमा ३० को दशमा नै लोकप्रिय बनेको हो । चेक अफसेट, मिनि अफसेट लगायतका विभिन्न साना-ठूला अफसेट प्रिन्टिङ प्रेसहरु नेपालमा आए । छपाइ प्रविधिमा भएको विकासको आधुनिक स्वरूप अफसेट प्रेस हो । दश बिस हजारको हाराहारीमा पत्रिका तथा पुस्तक प्रकाशन गर्नेहरुको लागि यो आज सम्मकै उपयोगी छापा बनेको छ । यसमा फोटोग्राफिक प्रविधिबाट प्लेट तयार पारी छपाइ कार्य गरिन्छ । यसमा पहिले त सम्पर्ूण्ा सामग्रीलाई कम्प्युटरको सहायताले मुद्रण गरिन्छ । त्यसपछि त्यो सम्पर्ूण्ा सामग्रीको नेगेटिभ उतारिन्छ । त्यस नेगेटिभलाई टिनको पातामा पोजिटिभ बनाइन्छ । यस्तो पोजिटिभ प्लास्टिक प्लेट (पोलिप्लेट) मा पनि बनाउन सकिन्छ । यही पोजिटिभलाई मेसिनमा राखेर छपाइ गरिने हो । यस प्रविधिमा फोटो बनाउन केही समय लाग्दछ । तर तुलनात्मक रूपमा सस्तो, छपाइ कार्य छिटो-छरितो र सजावटमा कम्प्युटरको प्रयोग हुनाले विविधता दिन सकिने हुनाले यो प्रविधिको लोकप्रियता बढेको हो । पुरानो लेटर प्रेस प्रविधिमा ब्लकहरू बनाउनु पर्ने बाध्यता हुन्थ्यो । तर अहिले अफसेट प्रविधिमा त्यसरी ब्लक बनाइरहने झण्झट भएन । ब्लक बनाउने प्रक्रियामा समय धेरै लाग्नेमा यसको आगमनले त्यो समय बचत भयो ।
यसरी नेपालमा पहिलो आधुनिक प्रेस भित्रिएको एक सय ३८ वर्ष-२०४६सम्म)मा नेपालमा प्रेस सम्बन्धि सेवा तथा कार्यको निक्कै विकास भएको थियो । जंगबहादुरले बेलायतबाट ल्याएको प्रेसको तुलनामा २०४६ सालमा आइपुग्दा नेपाली प्रकाशनको क्षेत्रमा निक्कै नयाँ फड्कोहरु मारिएका छन् तर मुलुकको राजनीतिक व्यवस्थाका कारण तीनमा समुचित विकास हुन नसकेको देख्न सकिन्छ । हाते छपाइबाट मुलुक अफसेटको युगमा पुगिसकेको छ । युरोप त कुरै छाडौं भारतमा आइसकेका प्रविधि समेत नेपालमा आउन दशक लाग्ने स्थिती रहेको भएपनि जनमत संग्रहको समयदेखी यता तुलनात्मक रुपमा राजनीतिक खुलापनले यसको विकासलाई छेक्न सकेन । यसरी जंगबहादुरले ल्याएको प्रेस भन्दा अगाडीको नेपाली छापा प्रविधिलाई नेपालमा छापाखानाको विकास प्रतिको तत्परता र जंगबहादुरको प्रेसले आधुनिक छपाइको सुत्रपात गरेको मान्न सकिन्छ । यसरी नेपालमा २०४६ सम्म सामान्य रुपमा केही अवरोधका बाबजुद पनि छपाई प्रविधिको आगमन भएको पाइन्छ । बुद्ध प्रेसका पालामा नेपालमा नै प्रेसको विकास गरिएको भन्ने पाउन सकिन्छ तर त्यसपछि नेपाल भित्रै प्रेसको विकासका काम भएका छैनन् तर पनि अन्य देशमा भएका विकासको प्रतिफल नेपालीले पनि लिन सकेको देखिन्छ ।

सन्दर्भ सामग्री :
१. अधिकारी, निर्मलमणि, आमसञ्चार र पत्रकारिता, प्रशान्ति पुस्तक भण्डार, काठमाडौं, २०६२
२. कसजु, विनयकुमार, ऐतिहासिक गिद्धे प्रेस र औद्योगिक सङ्ग्रहालयको खाँचो, गोरखापत्र, गोरखापत्र विशेष, २०६४ वैशाख, २४
३. खनाल, श्रीराम, प्रयोगात्मक प्रत्रकारिता, विद्यार्थी प्रकाशन प्रा.लि., काठमाडौं, २०६१
४. देवकोटा, गृष्मबहादुर, नेपालको छापाखाना र पत्रपत्रिकाको इतिहास, साझा प्रकाशन, २०५९
५. नेपाल राष्ट्रिय साप्ताहिक, २०६१ साउन, ३
६. http://www.journalism.edu.np
७. Green, Philip. "Printing", Microsoft® Encarta® 2007 [CD]. Microsoft Corporation, 2006.
त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय पत्रकारिता तथा आमसञ्चार विभागमा एमए प्रथम वर्षको JMC 503 को प्रयोगात्मक परिक्षामा प्रस्तुत

The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO)

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NWICO

The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) is a term that was coined in a debate over media representations of the developing world in UNESCO in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The term was widely used by the MacBride Commission, a UNESCO panel chaired by Nobel Prize winner Seán MacBride, which was charged with creation of a set of recommendations to make global media representation more equitable. The MacBride Commission produced a report titled "Many Voices, One World", which outlined the main philosophical points of the New World Information Communication Order.

Rights relating to communication have been central to the concept of universal human rights emerging in the mid-20th century, and its consolidation in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The idea of a “right to communicate”was at the centre of an international diplomatic row that lasted several years the debate over what became known as a New World Information and Communication Order - NWICO.

As the only UN body equipped to debate in a coherent manner the range of issues raised, the battle would primarily be staged at UNESCO, where it would stay for a decade. From 1973, the NAM was developing a much more sophisticated plan for a New World Information Order. At the 1976 UNESCO General Assembly, the wide gulf between NAM and western countries (USA, UK and others) became apparent. A showdown was avoided only by the creation of the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems or the MacBride Commission. It was set up in 1977 by then director of UNESCO Ahmadou-Mahtar M’Bow, under suggestion by the USA delegation. It was agreed that the commission would be chaired by Seán MacBride from Ireland and representatives from 15 other countries, invited due to their roles in national and international communication activities and picked among media activists, journalists, scholars, and media executives.

The commission presented a preliminary report in October 1978 at the 20th General Conference of UNESCO in Paris. The final report was delivered to M’Bow in April 1980 and was approved by consensus in the 21st General Conference of UNESCO in Belgrade. The commission dissolved after presenting the report.

Many Voices One World, also known as the MacBride report, was a 1980 UNESCO publication written by the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems. Its aim was to analyze communication problems in modern societies, particularly relating to mass media and news, and to suggest a new communication order to solve these problems to further peace and human development.

Among the problems the report identified were concentration of the media, commercialization of the media, and unequal access to information and communication. The commission called for democratization of communication and strengthening of national media to avoid dependence on external sources, among others. While the report had strong international support, it was condemned by the United States and the United Kingdom as an attack on the freedom of the press.

The MacBride Commission’s report bore the hallmarks of a fractious political process, fudging many issues and containing numerous caveats. But it was comprehensive (with a notable weakness in relation to gender) and wide-ranging, and came with concrete recommendations, including:

“Communication needs in a democratic society should be met by the extension of specific rights such as the right to be informed, the right to inform, the right to privacy, the right to participate in public communication - all elements of a new concept, the right to communicate. In developing what might be called a new era of social rights, we suggest all the implications of the right to communicate be further explored.”

For the first time, the NWICO had a general framework, a detailed justification, a set of proposals, and a unifying concept - the “right to communicate”.
Eventually the Commission’s findings were endorsed-a defining moment for NWICO, but one which was short-lived. The veneer of agreement was thin; instead of bringing the sides together, the process merely exposed the gulf between them and entrenched the positions, especially of West governments mired within Cold War geo-politics.

NWICO, spearheaded by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of UN countries focused on:
The “free flow” doctrine of information flow, which was reinforcing the dominance of western media and news content;

The growing concentration of the media and communication industry translating into more foreign ownership of media in smaller and poorer countries;
How the growing importance of western-controlled technologies to media production and dissemination was making it difficult for others to keep up.

The USA led a “counter-offensive” on UNESCO, supported strongly by the private media industry and lobbies. The main charge was that less developed countries were attempting to impose government control of media, and to suppress freedom of the press - despite the fact that press freedom was strongly endorsed at every turn by NWICO. The US (in 1984) and UK (in 1985) eventually withdrew from UNESCO, partly due to NWICO.

While the newly politicised “information society” was becoming ascendant, NWICO in its original form had declined. It did manage to stay on the UNESCO agenda, though with little action, until 1987. With the “New Communication Strategy” under new UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor in 1989, it basically died out. Yet the arguments that animated the NWICO movement continued, and even in some respects became sharper. The arguments continued to surface in new calls-outside of governments this time - for “communication rights”.

For many, the main lesson from NWICO was that the way forward would have to be through the democratization of media and communication, rather than through state - or industry - led efforts to create new global orders. In practice, a major shift was needed towards civil society, which had so far been largely excluded. Those that had been involved - mainly journalists’ organizations and some academics -continued debating in the form of the MacBride Round Table, which met annually from 1989 to 1999, and brought new civil society actors into the discussion.

By the 1990s, various coalitions were formed and initiatives taken to address the larger picture underlying many of these concerns, among them the People’s Communication Charter and the Platform for Democratization of Communication. Many broad-based conferences and meetings were held to pull the threads together and exchange understanding internationally.

CLICK for full text of MacBride report

INDIAN PRESS HISTORY

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Under British Rule

- Bengal Gazette (English weekly) published by James Augustus Hicky in 1780 Jan 29th from Calcutta. It was the first news paper in South Asian sub- continent

- Bengal Gazette alias ‘Hicky Gazette’, ‘Calcutta General Advertiser’

- Declaration ‘a weekly political and commercial paper open to all but influenced by none’

- Hicky had his own column, many persons wrote by pen names.

- Bengal Gazette could not survive more than two years due to sharp confrontation with Governer General Warren Hastings and Chief Justice Elijah Impey.

- Indian Gazette as a rival to Bengal Gazette, published in the same year (1780) by Peter Read, a salt agent (backing by Hastings).

- After Bengal Gazette, other publications from India were- Madras Courier weekly (1785), Bombay Herald weekly (1789) merged into Bombay Gazette in 1791, Hurukaru weekly (1793), Calcutta Chronicle (1818), Bengal Journal, Indian world, Bengal Harkarer etc.

- In the early period newspapers in India were run by Britishers.

RUDYARD KIPLING

A renowned man of the pen – born in Bombay – his father, a British citizen was a government officer in India – Rudyard joined Civil and Military Gazette (Lahore) in 1872 at the age of 17- worked for five years in Gazette- then moved to the Pioneer- his writings specially monologue and fictions were very impressive- ‘writing and every thing associated with, is a glorious fun’, ‘I love both the fun and riot of writing’- after suffering from malaria he was compelled to left India and went to England in1890- he served about 7 years in India as a journalist- he is still remembered as a creative journalist in the history of Indian journalism- reflections of his Indian experience can be seen in his several writings.

Indian’s involvement in publication

- Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the pioneer Indian journalist and social reformer

- By his inspiration Gangadhar Bhattacharjee published Bengal Gazette (1816),
the first Indian owned English daily newspaper, but could not survive long

- Raja’s own publications- Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali 1821), Mirut ul Akhbar (Persian 1822) and Brahminical Magazine (English 1822)

- Press Regulation –1823 imposed by British govt. in India to control newspapers.

- The regulation was used as a tool to deport James Silk Buckingham, Editor of Calcutta Chronicle.

- Raja presented a petition to Supreme Court to protest the regulation in favour of J.S. Buckingham.

- It was his bold step for the preservation of press freedom, however he defeated the case.

- Anti reformists Hindu fundamentalists published Samachar Chandrika weekly to challenge Raja’s social reforms.

- Raja passed away in 1833

- 1857 Mutiny (the first war of Indian independence) was a turning point to Indian journalism.

- In the issue of mutiny, British owned press and Indian owned press blamed each other in the lowest level.

- British owned press acted like blood mongers of Indians.

- This event worked as a fuel to Indian owned press against the British rule in India.

- Pioneers Indian journalists on those days- Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Gangadhar Bhattacharjee, Bhawani Charan Bannerjee, Dwarkanath Tagore, Girish Chandra Ghose, Harischandra Mukharjee, Ishworchandra Vidyasagar, Kristo Pal, Manmohan Ghose, Keshub Chander Sen etc.

- Other major publications by Indians- The Reformer, Enquirer, Gyan Auneshun, Bengal Herald, Bang Doot, Hindu Patriot, Indian Mirror, Sulab Samachar, etc.

After Mutiny

- Standard, The Bombay Times and Telegraph merged into Times of India in 1861, Robert Knight was the owner , he was also owner of Statesman daily (1875) from Calcutta, Indian Economist monthly and Agriculture Gazette of India, his editorials and writings were balanced and impressive.

- Other major publications- Indu Prakash weekly, Gyan Prakash, Lokhitavadi (all 1861), Amrit Bazar Patrika (1868 Cacutta), Pioneer (1872 Allahbad), The Hindu (1878 Chennai) , Keshari (marathi) and The Maratha (English) (both in1878 from Pune by veteran freedom fighter Balgangadhar Tilak)

- Pioneer Indian Journalists- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahadev Govinda Ranade, Dadabhoi Naoroji, Gopal Rao Hari Deshmukh, Vishu Shastri Pandit, Karsondas Mulji, Bal Sashtri Jambhekar etc.

- British govt. enacted Vernacular Press Act-1878 to suppress Indian language newspapers

- Indian National Congress (INC) founded in 1885.

- It was led by many nationalists like Surendranath Banerjee, Balgangadhar Tilak, Dadabhoi Naoroji, Motilal Gosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, G. Subramania Aiyer, etc., who were active journalists too.

- After establishment of INC, Indian press became an important part of struggle for independence.

Leading Newspapers After Establishment of INC

-1900- Bangalee English Daily (ed)- Surendranath Banarjee

-1901- New India English Weekly (ew)- Bipinchandra Pal

- 1901- Bande Mataram – Bengalee weekly- Bipinchandra Pal

- 1906- Yugantar – Bengali daily- Barendra kumar Ghose

- 1909- Leader- ed- Madan Mohan Malviya

- 1913- New India –ed- Annie Besant

- 1913- Bombay Chronicle –ed- Phiroj Shah Mehata

- 1918 –Justice- ed- Dr.T.M.Nair (published by non- Brahmin movement in Madras)

- 1918 – Searchlight- English biweekly- Shachindranath Sinha

-1919- The Independent -ed– Pandit Motilal Neharu

- 1919- Young India – ed- Mahatma Gandhi

- 1920 – Nav Jeevan – Gujarati weeky- Mahatma Gandhi

- 1922- Swarajya- ed- T.Prakasham

- 1923- Forward- ed- Chittaranjan Das

- 1923- The Hindustan Times –ed- K.M. Panikar (first daily in Delhi)

- 1929- Liberty-ed- Subhas Chandra Bose

-1932- Harijan- Gujarati weekly- Mahatma Gandhi

- 1938- National Herald- Jawaharlal Neharu

- Viceroy Lord Curzon Vs. Indian press

- In 1907 series of arrests and prosecutions against the journalists and press

- India Press Act –1910 asked for heavy security deposits

- 963 publications and press were prosecuted under the act

- 173 new printing press and 129 newspapers were killed at their birth by the weapon of security deposits

- British govt. collected about 5 lakhs Indian Rs. in the first year of the act enforcement

- During the First world war (1914-1918) Indian press were divided.

- The act was forcely executed against the press who were not in support of British side in the world war.

- In 1919 Jaliawala Bagh massacre was a big disaster to the Indian press.

- Even the Anglo- Indian press were not escaped.

The Golden Era of Indian Mission Journalism (1920 – 1947)

- Declaration of non-cooperation movement against British rule in India.

- Press marched shoulder to shoulder with satyagrahis.

- Mahatma Gandhi lauded for freedom of expression, ideas and people’s sentiments

- Gandhi would not accept adv., he believed newspapers should survive on the revenue from subscribers

- He would not accept any restrictions on the paper, he rather close it down

- His writings were widely circulated and reproduced in the newspapers all over the country

- A big challenge to non-Gandhian newspapers.

- Gandhi declared ‘Salt Satyagraha’ in 1930

- The nationalist press played a memorable role, which perhaps is unique in the history of any freedom movement.

- Press ordinance issued in 1930 to suppress Indian press through heavy security deposits.

- When second world war broke out , British rulers became more suppressive to the Indian press

- In 1940 UP government directed the press to submit the headlines of the news to the secretary of the information department for his pre- approval

- In response to this, National Herald (newspaper run by Jawaharlal Neharu) published the news without headlines

- Second world war and freedom fight gave more fuel to Indian press

- Britishers charged them as ‘ pro-Hitler’

- All India Newspaper Editors Conference held in 1940 at Delhi voiced against the suppressive attitude of the British govt.

- Fresh suppression and struggle started from 1942 when Quit India Movement initiated

- Many press, publications and journalists including Neharu suspended and arrested in1942

- It continued until the declaration of independence in1947 August

- K. Rama Rao, Editor, Swarajya “ It was more than a vocation, it was a mission and the newspaper was a noble enterprise working for patriotic purpose”.

1947 Onwards

- India received independence from British rule on 1947 August 15th

- The press celebrated the independence, because it was their victory too.

- At the beginning of independence the relation between the national govt. and press was good, but a year after situation was changed

- P. M. Neharu, Sardar Ballav Bhai Patel, etc. were not happy with the press.

- Press Commission- 1952, report- 1954

- Recommendations – Press Council, press registrar, minimum basic salary for working journalists, strengthen the role of the editors

- The working journalist act-1955

- The newspaper (price and page) act- 1956

- Press Council established – 1965

- P.M. Mrs. Indira Gandhi declared state of emergency on 1975 June

- It was a shocking blow to the freedom of press

- Ignored the press freedom guaranteed by article 19 (1) in the constitution

- Heavy censorship during the emergency period under Defence Rule “ in order to maintain public order…”

- 1975 Dec 8th ordinance banned the publication of all ‘ objectionable matter’, no permission to report parliament, close down Press Council , blaming it was failed to curb provocative writings

- During 19 months of emergency 253 journalists detained and 7 foreign correspondence expelled

- When Janata Dal came into power, all the restrictions over press were removed

- After emergency Indian press became more professional along with high tech., simultaneous publications increased, tremendous change in the contents, more supplements, booming of specialized magazines

- Press Council re- established under new act- 28 member, chaired by retired judge of high court

According to UNESCO

Top circulation –

The Times of India – approx. 18 lakh copies / day

The Indian Express – approx. 15 lakh copies / day

Total no. of all publications – approx. 40 thousand
Out of them dailies- 4,453 (including 320 English dailies)
NOTE : Circulation information may differ in changing situation.

CENTENARIAN NEWSPAPERS OF INDIA
The Times of India – 1861
Amrit Bazar Patrika – 1868
Pioneer - 1872
The Statesman - 1875
The Hindu - 1878

RADIO

- Amateur Radio Club started local broadcasting in 1924 at Madras

- Indian Broadcasting co.(private) 1927- Bombay and Calcutta

- Indian State Broadcasting Service – 1930

- Name changed as All India Radio (AIR) / Aakashbani

- Before independence AIR stations in Hyderabad, Baroda, Mysore, Trivandrum, Aurangabad, Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lukhnow, Pesawar and Dhaka

- During second World War radio became more popular in India

- After independence AIR was a major tool to dissiminate govt. information

- AIR as an ‘ electronic ambassador’ in abroad

- Now AIR have more than 200 stations covering 90% of the land and 97% of the population

- News in 24 languages including Hindi, English and many other languages of India

- From 1997 broadcasting is beeing regulated by an autonomous corporation under Prasar Bharati Act

- 12 radio sets / 100 people

TELEVISION

- Door Darshan (DD) started as an experiment in 1959 from New Delhi, for educational purpose

- Regular broadcasting started from 1965 from New Delhi

- Indian Space Research Organization borrowed a satellite from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1975

- Community TV sets in 2,400 villages

- Colour broadcasting from 1982 on the eve of Asian Games held in New Delhi

- 40 different broadcasting centers

- covers 70% of land and 87% 0f population

- programs in about a dozen languages

- 6.5 tv sets / 100 people

- after 1995 many private channels

- all TV broadcasting regulated by Prasar Bharati Act

NEWS AGENCY

- Press Trust of India (PTI) 1947

- Hindustan Samachar 1948

- United News of India (UNI)- 1961

- Samachar Bharati –1965

Hindustan Samachar and Samachar Bharati produce news in various Indian languages while PTI and UNI in English

- Press Information Bureau (PBI), under Ministry of Information, provides government news and information in English, Hindi, Urdu and 13 regional languages.

History of Mass Communication in PAKISTAN

2008-10-20T00:17:00.005+05:30

Pre- Independence

- Turning point for Indian muslims was establishment of All India Muslim League in 1906, for the promotion of muslim interest

- League inspired muslims for paper publications

- By 1925 muslim press comprised 220 various publications in Urdu, English, Bengali etc.

- In 1930 muslims began their struggle for a separate state

- Then they faced the hostility with both Hindu owned press and Anglo- Indian press .

- Mohammad Ali Jinnah helped to established Dawn English weekly in 1930 from Delhi, (Dawn became daily in 1942)

- Influencial muslim papers – Azad, Jung, Dawn,The Star of India, Morning News, Manshoor, Anjam, Nawa-e-Waqt, Eastern Times, Weekly Observer, Sindha Times, New Life, Khaiber Mail, Zamindar etc.

- Dawn shifted to Karachi from Delhi after its Delhi office attacked and burnt by anti separation groups in 1947 August .

- Jung and Anjam also shifted Karachi from Delhi

Post Independence (1947- 1958)

- Press was weak in Pakistani territory

- Only Lahore, Karachi and Dhaka were ahead

- After 1949 war between India and Pakistan on Kashmir issue, press freedom has been curtailed

- Pak.govt. believed completely free press could threaten the country’s security

- Public safety act-1949 and Security of Pakistan act-1952 were sufficient to supress the press freedom

- During the first seven years of independence Pak. Govt. banned 33 newspapers in Punjab alone

- Between 1947 to 1958 no. of periodicals- 1106, dailies- 103, weeklies and biweeklies- 379

- Circulation of dailies increased from 1, 25,000 (in1948) to more than 7 lakh (in 1958)

The Authoritarian Period (1958 – 1988)

- Field Marshal Ayub Khan came into power in 1958

- He imposed system of ‘press advice’, a power to dictate press what to publish and what not

- In 1960 decline of dailies from 103 to 74, weeklies and biweeklies from 379 to 260

- In 1959 govt. took over Lahore Progressive Paper ltd., the publisher of leading English daily Pakistan Times and leading Urdu daily Imroze

- In 1961 govt. took over APP

- In 1963 Ayub Khan imposed PPO (press and publication ordinance), ‘the blackest of the black laws’

- It gave obsolute power to govt. to supress the press and to prohibit reporting on a wide range of subjects

- Second Indo-Pak war in1965 led to declared Marshal Law and Defence of Pakistan, lasted for 20 yrs.

- After Ayub Khan, his successors Yahya Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Zia-ul- Haq followed the same supressive attitude towards the press.

- Situation changed after sudden death of Zia ul Haq

- Care taker govt. lifted PPO and introduced RPPPO ( registration of printing press and publication ordinance) , comparatively liberal than PPO`

- 1n 1990 govt.of Benazir Bhutto ended govt. monopoly over import and distribution of newsprint paper

- Art.19 of the constitution of Pakistan provides the freedom of press, subject to a number of restrictions

- Should not against the glory of Islam, integrity, security or defense of Pakistan, friendly relation with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, related to contempt of court, defamation.

- Official secret act, Security of Pakistan act., Maintenance of public order act etc. are sufficient to punish any news organization or journalist

- In 1995 a Lahore based free lance journalist was arrested and charged for his reporting on child labour in Pakistani carpet industries.

- In 1995 June, under Maintenance of public order ordinance, license of 122 newspapers were cancelled, but nationwide strike of journalists forced the govt. to withdraw the decision

- In 1998 editor and several journalists of Urdu daily Pakistan were arrested for publishing negative aspects of Prophet Mohammad

- RPPPO is an ordinance yet

- According to RPPPO not more than 25% foreign ownership in print media, and pre- approval by the govt. is compulsory

- News paper employees (condition of service) act –1973

Out of more than 300 dailies , 6 major dailies who have more than 1 lakh circulation-
(according to UNESCO Report)

- Jung- 8,50,000
- Nawa-e- Waqt- 5 lakh
- Pakistan-2, 80,000
- Khabarain- 2,32,000
- The News – 1,20,000
- Dawn - 1,10,000

( Circulation report may changed)
- Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad are major cities for press.

- Govt. do not owned newspapers

RADIO

- After the partition, India and Pakistan divided the assests of All India Radio.

- Pakistan inherited AIR stations in Lahore, Pesawar and Dhaka

- In 1949 August, Radio Pakistan formally launched in Karachi

- Now stations in 22 places

- 100% coverage

- Broadcasting in 20 languages

- 48% entertainment, 13% religious, 11 % news and current affairs,28% socio-eco

- National news bulletin 18 times / day in Urdu and English

- Govt. controls over Radio Pakistan through Pakistan Broadcasting Corp. (1973)

- After 1995 private FM increased in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, allegation to Benazir Bhutto for giving license only to her close persons.

TELEVISION

- PTV launched in1964 November from Lahore

- Agrrement with Nippon Electric corp.

- Colour broadcast from 1976 Dec.

- 6 centers- Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad (2), Pesawar and Quetta

- High power broadcasting stations in 32 places

- PTV-2 from 1992

- PTV World from 1998

- PTV Middle East Channel from 1999

- PTV coverage 86% population and 38% territory

- Entertainment – 56%, News and Current aff. 16%, educational 10%, religious 8%, others 10%

- PTV broadcastes 54 % program in Urdu

- Shalimar tv network (STN)- 1989

- Approved by Benzir govt.

- 54% govt. share

- Shaheen Pay tv – 1996

- Approved by Benazir’s second govt.
- Private tv with foreign investment

- Run by Shaheen Foundation, a welfare organisation of retired air force officers

- Private tv are not permitted to produce news.

- They just replay news from PTV, BBC and CNN

- All the tv channels are regulated by Pakistan Broadcasting Act-1973

NEWS AGENCIES

- Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) – 1948
( a part of Ministry of Information and Media Development)

- Pakistan Press International (PPI) – Private

- Many other small news organizations funded by political parties and groups.

Communication and Journalism Class XII

2008-10-20T00:14:00.000+05:30

Unit I

News Editing:

Quality of a sub editor, steps in copy reading tips on headline writing, planning a house journal/school magazing, elements of make up, tips to make up editors, Editor's job, editorial, news designer comments, News editing for print and electronic media.

Unit II

Photo Journalism:

Introduction of Photo journalism.
Handling a camera.
Use of pictures, tips for better pictures, preparing photos for photography and news photography.

Unit III

Specialized Reporting

Truth, accuracy and objectivity in reporting about events and issues, interviews and press conferences, specialized reporting – investigative, sports, crime, development and court reporting.

Unit IV

Broadcast Journalism:

The era of broadcasting.
Natures of radio and TV journalism.
Reporting on broadcast media, Editing news copy for radio and television.
News bulletin, preparing materials to be broadcasted, Introduction to online journalism.

Unit V

Press and Laws

Standards and ethics in journalism, Press Freedom and responsibility, Codes of Conduct, Press laws and regulations in Nepal, law on libel and obscenities.

Unit VI

Practical

Details of the practical works:

1. Reporting assignment on social issues. Each student should submit five items including completion of reporting assignments.
2. Production of 2 news stories each on environment, court, human rights and minorities.
3. Presentation of magazine file based on classroom assignments: News clipping of human-interest stories in the lab copy from the national newspapers – 5 items
And three news items of classroom assignment must be pasted in the lab copy.
4. Production of a wall newspaper.

Communication and Journalism Class XI

2008-10-20T00:04:00.000+05:30

Unit I

Introduction of mass communication:

1. Definition of mass communication, elements of communication, mass media and communication
2. Communication information: key feature, information process, information life cycle
3. Mass Communication, scope and functions
4. Types of media: Print, electronic and film
5. Brief historical development of world press with emphasis on history of mass media in Nepal.

Unit II

The Concept of News:

1. Introduction to reporting
2. Source of News
3. Writing reports and news stories
4. Quality of a reporter

Unit III

News Reporting

1. Introduction to news reporting
2. News and its basic ingredients
3. Headlines
4. The news structure
5. The art of Sub-editing
6. Rewriting of news
7. Page making and lay –out

Unit IV

Freedom of Press and Human Rights:

1. Introduction to press theory
2. Definition of Freedom of Press
3. General concept of Human Rights
4. Concepts of Fundamental Rights, UN provision and Provision of the Constitution of Nepal.

Unit V

Practical:

1. Knowledge of Computer and its use in mass media: preparation of profile of places and personalities.
2. Reporting assignment on social issues: at least five news-beats.
3. Production of a news story: at least one each from accident crime and events using computer.

Concepts and Theories Of Film

2008-10-14T21:59:00.002+05:30

Background

Earlier photographic optics and chemistry prohibited the recording of moving subjects except for a few experiments under special circumstances. Anything that moves produces a blur on the photographic plate or paper, and this was seen as limiting the medium's inherent capacity for Absolute Realism. The camera's inability to record motion perceived as a problem similar to its inability to record color was addressed almost immediately after the birth of the medium and solved step by step. The solution had widespread consequences: it made vulnerable the assumptions about the veracity of the medium; it produced a new graphic system to represent movement and it lead to be invention of Motion Pictures.

In the beginning all of motion pictures are screened silent until the global diffusion of sound recording technology in the period of 1927-32. This changed the structure of film industry and aesthetic dynamics of film industry. After the film became popular medium of entertainment. Film became influential and popular among mass so, some rulers as Hitlor, Stalin used film as propaganda tool during their rule.

Film

Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects. Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.

Traditional films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.

The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) had historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, photo-play, flick, and most commonly, movie. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema, and the movies.

Famous Indian Film maker Satyajit Roy identified film as a mirror of society. He opines that film should capture the social reality not only superficial. Another expert George Paul have own definition and meaning about film, he opine that film neither teach society nor life but only gives amusement. Using 'Film Liberty' it makes impossible as possible.

Renown Nepalese Film maker Nabin Subba analyze film interrelated with Culture, Market, Science and Art. He opines these all are basic component which makes film a film.

Film and Society

Capacity of capturing movement made revolution in human society. It's not only the tool amusement and propaganda but it captures history and transfers culture in generation to generation. All communicative acts and means have significance in human society. Film is not differ than others. In 1920s when film became a part of lifestyle in America, its massive effects were seen on children. Lumieres brothers invented film in 1895 and first show was held in 1903. Since then there is a debate about the relationship between film and society. Some experts opine film influence the people and others film is just a mirror of society, they are guided by normative values of society. There is divergent perspective in theorizing film.

Theories of Film

The word Theory has its etymological root in the Greek word Theoria. In ancient Greece, Theoria was a term used to refer to a group of envoys who represented each city states on the occasion of religious festivals or games. Theory is proposed explanation for set of coordinated occurrences and relationships of matters or phenomenon. In other words, a theory is systematic understanding. In this sense, theories provide "explanations of how or why things happen the way they do." Same applies in the sector of Moving Pictures. Film theories describe how and why films are. As other sector, there are divergent perspectives on film and film theory. Some experts opine film can portray the reality of society other emphasize on positive message. Some as George Paul describes film as a tool of entertainment. Giving emphasis to Film Liberty Paul opine that film nether teaches neither society nor life, it only provides amusement; there is no logics behind its arrangement.
Film theory seeks to develop concise, systematic concepts that apply to film and video. Classical film theory provides a structural framework to address classical issues of techniques, narrativity, diegesis, cinematic codes, "the image", genre, subjectivity, and authorship. Recent analysis has given rise to psychoanalytic film theory, structuralist film theory and feminist film theory. Behavioral, Structural and Cultural patterns are taking place in film study recently.
Here we discuss some of Film Theories:

1. Socialist Realism Theory — Socialist realism is a teleological-oriented style of realistic art which has as its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism. Although related, it should not be confused with social realism, a type of art that realistically depicts subjects of social concern.

Socialist realism was the officially approved type of art in the Soviet Union for nearly sixty years. Communist doctrine decreed that all material goods and means of production belonged to the community as a whole. This included means of producing art, which were also seen as powerful propaganda tools. During the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks established an institution called Proletkult (the Proletarian Cultural and Enlightenment Organizations) which sought to put all arts into the service of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Socialist realism became state policy in 1932 when Soviet leader Joseph Stalin promulgated the decree "On the Reconstruction of Literary and Art Organizations".

The Soviet Union exported socialist realism to virtually all of the other Communist countries, although the degree to which it was enforced there varied somewhat from country to country. It became the predominant art form across the Communist world for almost fifty years. The doctrine of socialist realism in other Soviet-controlled new People's Republics was legally enforced from 1949 to 1956. Today, arguably the only countries still focused on these aesthetic principles are North Korea, Laos, and to some extent Vietnam. The People's Republic of China occasionally reverts to socialist realism for specific purposes, such as idealised propaganda posters to promote the Chinese space program. Socialist realism had little mainstream impact in the non-Communist world, where it was widely seen as a totalitarian means of imposing state control on artists.

Socialist realism had its roots in neoclassicism and the traditions of realism in Russian literature of the 19th century that described the life of simple people. It was exemplified by the aesthetic philosophy of Maxim Gorki. The work of the Peredvizhniki ("Wanderers," a Russian realist movement of the late 19th / early 20th centuries), Jacques-Louis David and Ilya Yefimovich Repin were notable influences.
Socialist realism held that successful art depicts and glorifies the proletariat's struggle toward socialist progress. The Statute of the Union of Soviet Writers in 1934 stated that socialist realism. It demands of the artist the truthful, historically concrete representation of reality in its revolutionary development. Moreover, the truthfulness and historical concreteness of the artistic representation of reality must be linked with the task of ideological transformation and education of workers in the spirit of socialism.

Its purpose was to elevate the common worker, whether factory or agricultural, by presenting his life, work, and recreation as admirable. In other words, its goal was to educate the people in the goals and meaning of Communism. The ultimate aim was to create what Lenin called "an entirely new type of human being": New Soviet Man. Stalin described the practitioners of socialist realism as "engineers of souls". The political doctrine behind socialist realism also underlay the pervasive censorship of Communist societies many then joined Western observers in denouncing socialist realism as mere propaganda. Maxim Gorky's novel Mother and films based on it is usually considered as socialist realism.

2. Structuralist Theory — The structuralist film theory emphasizes how films convey meaning through the use of codes and conventions not dissimilar to the way languages are used to construct meaning in communication. An example of this is understanding how the simple combination of shots can create an additional idea: the blank expression on a person's face, a piece of an appetising cherry-topped chocolate fudge cake, and then back to the person's face. While nothing in this sequence literally expresses hunger—or desire—the juxtaposition of the images convey that meaning to the audience. Unraveling this additional meaning can become quite complex. Lighting, angle, shot duration, juxtaposition, cultural context, and a wide array of other elements can actively reinforce or undermine a sequence's meaning.

3. Apparatus Theory — Apparatus theory derived in part from Marxist film theory, semiotics, and psychoanalysis, was a dominant theory within cinema studies during the 1970s. It maintains that cinema is by nature ideological because its mechanics of representation are ideological. Its mechanics of representation include the camera and editing. The central position of the spectator within the perspective of the composition is also ideological. Apparatus theory also argues that cinema maintains the dominant ideology of the culture within the viewer. Ideology is not imposed on cinema, but is part of its nature. Apparatus theory follows an institutional model of spectatorship.

4. Auteur Theory — Auteur theory holds that a director's films reflect that director's personal creative vision, as if he or she were the primary "Auteur" (the French word for "author"). In some cases, film producers are considered to have a similar "Auteur" role for films that they have produced. In law the Auteur is the creator of a film as a work of art, and is the original copyright holder. Under European Union law the film director shall always be considered the author or one of the authors of a film. The Auteur theory was used by the directors of the nouvelle vague (new wave) movement of French cinema in the 1960s (many of whom were also critics at the Cahiers du cinéma) as justification for their intensely personal and idiosyncratic films. One of the ironies of the Auteur theory is that, at the very moment Truffaut was writing, the break-up of the Hollywood studio system during the 1950s was ushering in a period of uncertainty and conservatism in American cinema, with the result that fewer of the sort of films Truffaut admired were actually being made.

5 Feminist film Theory — Feminist film theory is theoretical film criticism derived from feminist politics and feminist theory. Feminists have many approaches to cinema analysis, regarding the film elements analyzed and their theoretical underpinnings. The development of feminist film theory was influenced by second wave feminism and the development of women's studies within the academy. Feminist scholars began applying the new theories arising from these movements to analyzing film. Initial attempts in the United States in the early 1970’s were generally based on sociological theory and focused on the function of women characters in particular film narratives or genres and of stereotypes as a reflection of a society's view of women. Works such as Marjorie Rosen’s Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies, and the American Dream (1973) and Molly Haskell’s From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in Movies (1974) analyzed how the women portrayed in film related to the broader historical context, the stereotypes depicted, the extent to which the women were shown as active or passive, and the amount of screen time given to women.

6 Formalist Theory — Formalist film theory is a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of color, shot composition, and editing. It is a major theory of film study today. Formalism, at its most general, considers the synthesis (or lack of synthesis) of the multiple elements of film production, and the effects, emotional and intellectual, of that synthesis and of the individual elements. For example, let's take the single element of editing. A formalist might study how standard Hollywood "continuity editing" creates a more comforting effect and non-continuity or jump-cut editing might become more disconcerting or volatile.

7. Marxist Theory — Marxist film theory is one of the oldest forms of film theory. Sergei Eisenstein and many other Soviet filmmakers in the 1920s expressed ideas of Marxism through film. In fact, the Hegelian dialectic was considered best displayed in film editing through the Kuleshov Experiment and the development of montage. While this structuralist approach to Marxism and filmmaking was used, the more vociferous complaint that the Russian filmmakers had was with the narrative structure of Hollywood filmmaking.
Eisenstein's solution was to shun narrative structure by eliminating the individual protagonist and tell stories where the action is moved by the group and the story is told through a clash of one image against the next (whether in composition, motion, or idea) so that the audience is never lulled into believing that they are watching something that has not been worked over. Eisenstein himself, however, was accused by the Soviet authorities of "formalist error," of highlighting form as a thing of beauty instead of portraying the worker nobly.

8. Psychoanalysis Theory — the concepts of psychoanalysis have been applied to films in various ways. However, the 1970s and 1980s saw the development of theory that took concepts developed by the French psychoanalyst and writer Jacques Lacan and applied them to the experience of watching a film. The film viewer is seen as the subject of a "gaze" that is largely "constructed" by the film itself, where what is on screen becomes the object of that subject's desire.
The viewing subject may be offered particular identifications (usually with a leading male character) from which to watch. The theory stresses the subject's longing for a completeness which the film may appear to offer through identification with an image; in fact, according to Lacanian theory, identification with the image is never anything but an illusion and the subject is always split simply by virtue of coming into existence.

9. Screen Theory — Screen theory is a Marxist film theory associated with the British journal Screen in the 1970s. The theoreticians of this approach -- Colin MacCabe, Stephen Heath and Laura Mulvey -- describe the "cinematic apparatus" as a version of Althusser's Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). According to screen theory, it is the spectacle that creates the spectator and not the other way round. The fact that the subject is created and subjected at the same time by the narrative on screen is masked by the apparent realism of the communicated content.

10. Culture theory
The '60s saw the humanities undergo considerable expansion. Film programs were established in Western countries. Many film scholars came from other fields of study, which meant that many new theoretical questions were raised. More important was the sheer proliferation of theories and epistemologies, and the shift toward a new focus in cinema studies. The question of the essence of cinema was still an undercurrent in many writings but the legitimisation of cinema studies as a scientific enterprise seemed more urgent. The domination of structuralism followed by semiotics and psychoanalysis meant that cinema studies were connected to new fields. Also the politicisation of the humanities meant the import of new theories concerned with cultural philosophy and ideology, which were essentially taken from different strands of Marxism. The questions throughout that period were, therefore, scientific and political in nature.

Reference:

Books in English:

1. Filming the Gods: Religion and Indian Cinema, Dwyer, Rachel. 2006. London: Routledge
2. International Encyclopedia of communications, Vol 3, Barnouw, Erik, George Gerbner, Wilbur Scharmm, Tobia L. Worth and Larry Gross. Eds. 1989, New York and Oxford ; The Annenberg school of communication university of Pennsylvania and oxford university press
3. International Communication, Continuity and Change, Thussu, Daya Kishan, 2000. London: Arnold
4. McQuail's Mass Communicaiton Theory, Denis McQuail, 2005. New Delhi : Vistaar

Books in Nepali:
१. जक्स्टापोजिसन । राई, मोहन । २००४. काठमाण्डौं शान्ती चेमजोङ्ग
२. चलचित्रकला । शर्मा, लक्ष्मीनाथ । २०३८. काठमाण्डौं साझा प्रकाशन

Presentations in Nepali:

१. वैकल्पिक चलचित्र निर्माण सम्बन्धि अवधारणापत्र । गौचन, दिपेन्द ।, २०५८, चलचित्र विकास बोर्डद्वारा काठमाण्डौंमा आयोजित 'राष्ट्रिय चलचित्र महोत्सवमा प्रस्तुत'
२. नेपालमा चलचित्र वितरण र प्रदर्शनका समस्या तथा समाधान । पौड्याल, उद्वव । २०५७, चलचित्र विकास बोर्डद्वारा विराटनगरमा आयोजित क्षेत्रिय गोष्ठिमा प्रस्तुत
३. चलचित्र र समाज । भट्टराई, प्रदिप । २०५८. नेपाल रसिया फिल्म सोसाइटी एवं चलचित्र समिक्षक समाज नेपालद्वारा आयोजित 'चलचित्र र समाज' गोष्ठिमा प्रस्तुत

Websites:

1. http://www.answers.com
2. http://www.wikipedia.com
3. http://www.cinemateca.org

MASS MEDIA & SOCIETY ::::: A Sociological Perspective on Media

2008-09-27T22:07:00.002+05:30

The communication media are the different technological processes that facilitate communication between (and are in the "middle" of) the sender of a message and the receiver of that message. The mass media include newspapers, magazines, radio, and films, CDs, internet, etc. The media communicate information to a large, sometimes global, audience. Near-constant exposure to media is a fundamental part of contemporary life but it is TV that draws our attention the most as one of the primary socializing agent of today's society.

• 98.3 % of households (hh) have TV sets (2.3 sets per hh)
• 99% of hh have a radio (5.6 radios per hh on average)
• 65% have cable TV
• 82% have VCR (US Census Bureau, 1996).
• by 1999: 1/2 of US hh have a home computer, 1/3 of hh have internet access @ home
• TV sets are turned on for an average of 7 hours each day
• average american spend 2.5 hours a day in front of TV ( = 38 solid days of TV viewing in a year)

Media are very integral part of our lives and therefore they generate popular interest and debate about any social problem that we can think of.

• Does TV have too much sex and violence?
• Are the news media biased?
• Have TV talkshows gone too far with their sensationalized topics?
• Should the content of Internet be regulated?
• Are media shaping our values?
• IS TV harmful for our children?
• Do media drive foreign policy?
• Are newspapers insensitive to minorities?
• Is emphasis on body image harmful to our society?
• Should the names of rape victims be reported?
• Should tobacco advertising be restricted?
• Should the media cover criminal trials?
• Do media reports of crime heighten the fears of citizens?
• Is coverage of political campaigns fair?
• Is advertising ethical?
• Do paparazzi threaten First Amendment Rights?
• Does concentration of ownership jeopardize media content?
• Does the globalization of media industries homogenize media content?

In order to address such questions we need an understanding of the mass media's role in contemporary social life. What is the nature of the relationship between media and society? From a sociological perspective we can consider the role of media in our daily lives (the micro level) within the context of larger social forces such as the economy, politics, religion and technological development (the macro level)

Mass Media and Socialization

Socialization is the process of developing a sense of self connected to a larger social world through learning and internalizing the values, beliefs, and norms of one's culture. Through socialization we learn to perform certain roles as citizens, friends, lovers, workers, and so forth. Through internalization our culture becomes taken-for-granted. We learn to behave in socially appropriate and acceptable ways. Some social institutions have explicit roles in socializing the young (such as the family and schools) and others have less intentional but still powerful roles in the process (such as adolescent peers).

Where do the media fit in this process? An average American high school graduate spent more time in front of the TV than in the classroom (Graber 1980). The mass media is a powerful socializing agent. For sociologists significance of the media is not limited to the content of media messages. Media affect how we learn about our world and interact with one another. Media literally mediate our relationship with social institutions. We base most of our knowledge on government news accounts, not experience. We are dependent on the media for what we know and how we relate to the world of politics because of the media-politics connection. We read or watch political debates followed by instant analysis and commentary by "experts." Politicians rely on media to communicate their message. Similar dynamics are present in other mediated events such as televised sports and televangelism. media is part of our routine relations with family and friends. They define our interaction with other people on a daily basis as a diversion, sources of conflict, or a unifying force. Media have an impact on society not only through the content of the message but also through the process.

Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills 1959)

Sociological imagination helps us grasp the relationship between history and biography. Through a sociological imagination we can see how our personal lives are connected to social world (micro-macro connection). Our personal choices are shaped by larger social forces around us such as the historical or cultural context and social institutions. In this context, media's importance is apparent. Media often act as the bridge between our personal/private lives and the public world. We see ourselves and our place in society through mass media. It is because of this connection that we need to pay special attention to mass media if we want to understand how society functions.
Media play many different - and maybe incompatible- roles. For the audiences, it is a source of entertainment and information while for media workers, media is an industry that offer jobs- and therefore income, prestige and professional identity-. For the owners, the media is a source of profit and a source of political power. For society at larger, the media can be a way to transmit information and values (socialization). Therefore depending on whose perspective and which role we focus on we might see a different media picture.

Structure vs Agency

By structure sociologists suggest constraint on human action while agency indicates independent action. Each social relationship we will look at will exhibit this tension between the structure and agency. Social structure "describes any recurring pattern of social behavior" (Croteau and Hoynes 2000: 21). For example, family structure could be defined as a pattern of behaviors associated with the culturally defined idea of 'family.' Another example is educational system which is a structure comprised of students, teachers, administrators in their 'expected roles.' Having an education makes it possible for many Americans to achieve a better life standard but it also can be very constraining (required courses, assignments, deadlines, grading criteria that limit actions of students and teachers). When we talk about structure in this class it is very important to consider the constraining nature of structure. Therefore it is inevitable that we will also refer to agency in the same context. Agency is intentional and undetermined human action. For example, even though the educational system is rigid in many ways it is up to the student how much time and energy to be spent on schoolwork. Students do have agency however that agency is limited by the structural constraints.

It is very important that we recognize how human agency reproduces social structure. As we accept and act out our appropriate roles in this system we reproduce the system. Therefore, while structure constrains agency, "it is human agency that both maintains and alters social structures" (Croteau and Hoynes 2000: 22).

Class Perspective:

Below are some questions we will try to answer in this class through a sociological perspective. Our class will take a critical look at media's role in society. Therefore we will question taken-for-granted assumptions about how things work.
• Who owns the media- and why does it matter?
• How are media products created?
• What should be government's relation to regulating the media?
• Why are some images and ideas so prevalent in the mass media, while others are marginalized? Whose voices are not heard?
• How has growth in mass media influenced the political process?
• What impact do mass media have on our society and on our world?
• How do people use and interpret the mass media?
• What is the effect of technological change?
• What is the significance of the increasing globalization of mass media?

The 10 rules of writing news for television

2008-08-27T21:12:00.001+05:30

By Jessica Grillanda

If you think television news is simplistic, cliché and shallow, there
are many examples to prove you right. It conjures images of anchors
with bob cuts giving the “Coles Notes” on the day’s car crashes and
town fairs. But when it’s done right, television is more than
aesthetics and abbreviations.

Television is the most powerful medium available to newsmakers. Did
you just wait to read about the collapse of the Twin Towers in the
paper the next day? Television can deliver the moving images, sounds
and stories that affect our lives and those of people half a world
away.

Getting it right takes much more skill than weaving a good tale,
recording bed sound or capturing emotive close-ups. It takes
synchronizing all these elements into a cohesive story that appeals to
both the eyes and ears.

Here are a few tips for students on producing a television news story
to prove the “print snob” wrong.

#1 YOU CAN ONLY TALK FOR AS LONG AS YOU HAVE IMAGES
News is the story you tell. In television, the story can’t be told
without images to cover it. It sounds simple, but a good television
piece is planned well before you hit the record button on your camera.
If it’s important to explain—“David Pearson is the science director of
Science North in Sudbury. He is also a leading researcher in Ontario
on climate change”—you need visuals to cover your words. Plan ahead
and ensure you shoot not just your interview but sequences of Pearson
studying weather charts or giving a talk on the subject.

#2 DON’T EXPECT YOUR AUDIENCE TO READ THE SUPER
Okay, you forgot. Can you just put a subtitle that says, “David Pearson
—Science Director and Climate Change Researcher— Sudbury”? Yes, but
only if your audience doesn’t need to know who he is. If your subject
needs no introduction (e.g., Jane Doe on the street thinks the
potholes are too big), then by all means put up a super. But you can’t
count on your viewer to watch, listen and read simultaneously.

#3 IMAGES SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
Images can be deafening. If your visuals do not support your words,
your audience will remember the visuals but not the news. If you are
explaining how faulty wiring led to a blaze while showing video of the
charcoal remains of a house, don’t expect your audience to pay
attention to your well-researched details. If you say it, show it.

#4 DON’T SAY WHAT THE PICTURES DO, SAY WHAT THEY DON’T
Nonetheless, don’t waste your time trying to say what the pictures
already do. What insight does your audience gain by showing a quiet
suburban neighbourhood and then saying, “This is a quiet suburban
neighbourhood”? Give your viewers the information to understand why
they are looking at those photos. “This is the first murder on record
in Sleepytown.”

#5 REFER TO YOUR IMAGES
Just because you aren’t describing your images doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t refer to them. If you show us a set of closed doors, tell us
“The meeting is taking place behind THESE doors.”

#6 BUT AVOID CLICHE
You show a shot of a group of kids at a fair with a clown and then
say, “Kids are clowning around….” The pun is fun, and feels like
genius in the edit suite after a long day of work, but it usually
detracts from the news.

#7 TIMING MATTERS
If you are doing a story on water pollution and say, “The toxic soup
goes in here and comes out here,” plan your images to change at the
precise time your sentence takes a turn. Synchronizing your words with
your images may take some rewriting, but ensures your audience is
following with both its eyes and ears.

#8 SOMETIMES IT’S BETTER TO LET PICTURES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
Time is a luxury in television news and your impulse may be to cram as
many words into that two-minute story as possible. But then, your
audience would rather just watch the figure skater’s triple-axis
finale. When images speak loudly, you shouldn’t try to talk over them.

#9 DON’T FORGET SOUND
Television is an audio-visual medium, so don’t forget the audio.
Before you tell us, “And with that Canada took the gold in figure
skating,” let us listen to the crowd erupt in applause. Your pictures
and sounds tell the story too. Don’t compete with them.

#10 BUT ABOVE ALL… YOU ARE DELIVERING THE NEWS
Sequences and script timing and natural sound don’t matter if you
don’t cover the 5 Ws. When you are finished your piece, sit back and
ask yourself whether you told the story. That’s your job.

Jessica Grillanda is coordinator of broadcast-new media at Cambrian
College in Sudbury. jessica.grilla...@cambriancollege.ca

John Milton's Areopagitica

2008-08-26T20:11:00.002+05:30

When John Milton wrote Areopagitica (1644) to argue against a proposal in the British Parliament that would require licences to print books, he was writing an impassioned plea both for his own intellectual freedom and for the ideal of free speech. The principal argument, couched in Protestant doctrine, is that the knowledge of good and evil is complementary—that a person cannot know what is good without knowing what is evil. According to Milton, preventing wrong-headed or evil books from being printed would only make it harder for citizens to know what books are correct or good.

Excerpt from Areopagitica

I deny not but that it is of greatest concernment in the church and commonwealth to have a vigilant eye how books demean themselves, as well as men; and thereafter to confine, imprison, and do sharpest justice on them as malefactors; for books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. I know they are as lively, and as vigorously productive, as those fabulous dragon’s teeth: and being sown up and down may chance to spring up armed men. And yet, on the other hand, unless wariness be used, as good almost kill a man as kill a good book: who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image; but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were, in the eye. Many a man lives a burden to the earth; but a good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life. Tis true, no age can restore a life, whereof perhaps there is no great loss; and revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss of a rejected truth, for the want of which whole nations fare the worse. We should be wary, therefore, what persecution we raise against the living labours of public men, how we spill that seasoned life of man preserved and stored up in books; since we see a kind of homicide may be thus committed, sometimes a martyrdom; and if it extend to the whole impression, a kind of massacre, whereof the execution ends not in the slaying of an elemental life, but strikes at that ethereal and fifth essence, the breath of reason itself; slays an immortality rather than a life...

Good and evil we know in the field of this world grow up together almost inseparably; and the knowledge of good is so involved and interwoven with the knowledge of evil, and in so many cunning resemblances hardly to be discerned, that those confused seeds which were imposed on Psyche as an incessant labour to cull out, and sort asunder, were not more intermixed. It was from out [of] the rind of one apple tasted, that the knowledge of good and evil, as two twins cleaving together, leaped forth into the world. And perhaps this is that doom which Adam fell into of knowing good and evil—that is to say, of knowing good by evil. As therefore the state of man now is; what wisdom can there be to choose, what continence to forbear, without the knowledge of evil? He that can apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming pleasures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better, he is the true warfaring Christian. I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and seeks her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat. Assuredly we bring not innocence into the world, we bring impurity much rather; that which purifies us is trial, and trial is by what is contrary. That virtue therefore which is but a youngling in the contemplation of evil, and knows not the utmost that vice promises to her followers, and rejects it, is but a blank virtue, not a pure; her whiteness is but an excremental whiteness; which was the reason why our sage and serious poet Spenser (whom I dare be known to think a better teacher than Scotus or Aquinas) describing true temperance under the person of Guion, brings him in with his palmer through the cave of Mammon, and the bower of earthly bliss, that he might see and know, and yet abstain.

Since therefore the knowledge and survey of vice is in this world so necessary to the constituting of human virtue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth, how can we more safely, and with less danger, scout into the regions of sin and falsity, than by reading all manner of tractates, and hearing all manner of reason? And this is the benefit which may be had of books promiscuously read...

Many there be that complain of divine providence for suffering Adam to transgress. Foolish tongues! when God gave him reason, he gave him freedom to choose, for reason is but choosing; he had been else a mere artificial Adam such an Adam as he is in the motions. We ourselves esteem not of that obedience, or love, or gift, which is of force. God therefore left him free, set before him a provoking object, ever almost in his eyes; herein consisted his merit, herein the right of his reward, the praise of his abstinence. Wherefore did he create passions within us, pleasures round about us, but that these rightly tempered are the very ingredients of virtue? They are not skilful considerers of human things who imagine to remove sin by removing the matter of sin; for, besides that it is a huge heap increasing under the very act of diminishing, though some part of it may for a time be withdrawn from some persons, it cannot from all, in such a universal thing as books are; and when this is done, yet the sin remains entire. Though ye take from a covetous man all his treasure, he has yet one jewel left, ye cannot bereave him of his covetousness. Banish all objects of lust, shut up all youth into the severest discipline that can be exercised in any hermitage, ye cannot make them chaste that came not thither so: such great care and wisdom is required to the right managing of this point. Suppose we could expel sin by this means; look how much we thus expel of sin, so much we expel of virtue: for the matter of them both is the same: remove that, and ye remove them both alike. This justifies the high providence of God, who, though he command us temperance, justice, continence, yet pours out before us, even to a profuseness, all desirable things, and gives us minds that can wander beyond all limit and saitety. Why should we then affect a rigour contrary to the manner of God and of nature, by abridging or scanting those means, which books freely permitted are, both to the trial of virtue and the exercise of truth?

Gerbner's General Model (1956)

2008-08-26T19:18:00.001+05:30

Gerbner's General Model emphasizes the dynamic nature of human communication. It also gives prominence to the factors which may affect fidelity. The model shown diagrammatically is to be read from left to right, beginning at E - Event.

• The event (E) is perceived by M (the man (sic) or machine).
• The process of perception is not simply a matter of 'taking a picture' of event E. It is a process of active interpretation.
• The way that the E is perceived will be determined by a variety of factors, such as the assumptions, attitudes, point of view, experience of M.
• E can be a person talking, sending a letter, telephoning, or otherwise communicating with M. In other words, E could be what we conventionally call the Source or Transmitter.
• Equally, E can be an event - a car crash, rain, waves crashing on a beach, a natural disaster etc. In this case, we could be applying the model to mass media communication, say the reporting of news.

The model is a useful starting-point for the analysis of wide variety of communication acts. Note that the model, besides drawing our attention to those factors within E which will determine perception or interpretation of E, also draws our attention to three important factors:

• Selection: M, the perceiver of the event E (or receiver of the message, if you prefer) selects from the event, paying more attention to this aspect and less to that. This process of selecting, filtering is commonly known as gatekeeping, particularly in discussion of the media's selection and discarding of events or aspects of them.
• Context: a factor often omitted from communication models, but a vitally important factor. The sound represented by the spelling 'hair' means an animal in one context, something that's not supposed to be in your soup in another. Shouting, ranting and raving means this man's very angry in one context, raving loony in another.
• Availability: how many Es are there around? What difference does availability make? If there are fewer Es around, we are likely to pay more attention to the ones there are. They are likely to be perceived by us as more 'meaningful'. What sort of Es are there - for example, in the UK's mainly Conservative press, how many non-Conservative messages are available to us?

Gerbner: E1 and M
E1 is the event-as-perceived (E) by the man (sic) or machine M. In terms of human communication, a person perceives an event. The perception (E1) they have of that event is more or less close to the 'real' event. The degree of correspondence between M's perception of event E (E1) will be a function of M's assumptions, point of view, experiences, social factors etc.

Gerbner: Means and Controls
In the next stage of the model, M becomes the Source of a message about E to someone else. M produces a statement about the event (SE). To send that message, M has to use channels (or media) over which he has a greater or lesser degree of control. The question of 'control' relates to M's degree of skill in using communication channels. If using a verbal channel, how good is he at using words? If using the Internet, how good is he at using new technology and words? And so on? 'Control' may also be a matter of access - does he own this medium? can he get to use this medium? Think of teachers in classrooms controlling the access to communication channels, parents at home, owners of newspapers, editors of letters pages etc.

Gerbner: SE
SE (statement about event) is what we would more normally call the 'message'. S stands for Signal in fact, so in principle an S can be present without an E, but in that case it would be noise only. The process can be extended ad infinitum by adding on other receivers (M2, M3etc.) who have further perceptions (SE1, SE2 etc.) of the statements about perceived events.

Journalist: The Social Scientist

2008-08-16T19:51:00.000+05:30

Sciences are broadly divided in to natural (or physical) sciences and social sciences. Social sciences include various disciplines dealing with human life. They consist of Anthropology, Economics, Education, Geography, History, Behavior Science, Commerce, Demography, Law, Linguistics, Management, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, and Social work. Though these sciences are treated as separate branches of knowledge for the purpose of study, they are interdependent studies of the different aspects of same object- human being. By applying scientific method of study, the social sciences have grown and advanced man's knowledge of himself. Journalism is a discipline under social science.
Social sciences are not exact science like physical sciences, as they, unlike the latter, deal with human beings. Human nature and man's environment are so complex that it is more difficult to comprehend and predict human behavior than the physical phenomena. Hence, we can say, by terming Journalism social science we are referring to scientific attitude. A scientific attitude is many things in many situations. It requires consistent thinking, stern pursuit of accurate data (or fact), stubborn determination to analyze one's own system of thinking and to take nothing for granted. Evidence, tests, proof are the pillars of a stern court of "evidential confrontation". We have to think of science as an activity, a means of finding things out in which personal and vested interests avoided. It is based on observable evidence, which has been carefully recorded (or, reported in case of journalism) and presented to make it as close to the actual observation as possible. This attention to recording and presenting the observations carefully and precisely is part of the effort to make the studies scientific. The purpose of each study or reporting is to seek to know something better, more deeply, and more clearly by applying rational, logical rules of analysis to the empirical evidence gathered through observation.
J. Arthur Thomson, in his book Introduction to Science, says, "What makes a science is not, of course, the nature of things with which it is concerned, but the method by which it deals with these things." Similarly, Karl Pearson (The Grammar of Science) says, "The man who classifies facts of any kind, who sees their mutual relations and describes their sequences is applying the scientific method and is a man of science.... It is not the facts themselves which make science, but the method by which they are dealt with." Thus a journalist could be a scientist by having scientific method and scientific attitude. According to O.R. Krishnaswami, the scientific method is based on certain "articles of faith"; these are: reliance on empirical evidence, use of relevant concepts, commitment to objectivity, ethical neutrality, generalization, verifiability, logical reasoning process. Objectivity is the sine qua non of the scientific method. Since journalism is a social science discipline, strict objectivity is next to impossibility, it is possible to attain a reasonable level of objectivity.
The journalists are social scientists, not natural scientists. As Karl Pearson states (in the book "The Grammar of Science"), every group of social phenomena, every phase of social life, every stage of past and present development is material for the social scientist. This is true in case of journalists too. The scientific attitude helps journalist to deal scientifically with all these materials. This approach leads a journalist to become a researcher rather than a mere collector of information about happenings.
It is important to learn to present the news clearly, accurately, concisely, and interestingly and to know how to interpret it when necessary. Journalism is a restless profession, as changeable as the news in which deals. With the media becoming complex and also specialized, the work environment of a journalist has become even competitive. The working pattern of these days' journalists differs in various aspects as compared to journalists of few years ago. The need of journalists to be a researcher is one of such differences.
Experts, such as Wimmer and Dominick, opine that print media reporters and social scientists now have more in common with each other, because of two recent trends. The first trend is precision journalism, a technique of inquiry in which social science research methods are used to gather the news. Essentially, precision journalism is the use of social science methods and information by journalists; it takes two forms. In active precision journalism, reporters conduct surveys or other research. In reactive precision journalism, they use reports already assembled by government agencies, universities, and private forms. Precision journalists attempt to make journalism more scientific. They assess the views of citizens through systematic sampling rather than through random interviews. Unlike the standard use of polls, precision journalism presents statistical information within the context of traditional news stories. Tables, graphs, and statistics are used along with interviews that serve as examples. Thus, experts say, precision journalism can provide a fuller and more exact view of the community. To use this technique, journalists must be trained in social science methods such as survey research, experimental design, questionnaire, sampling, data presentation, and content analysis, etc. They need to understand how to apply statistical tests or direct some one else to do so. DeFleur and Dennis rightly say that precision journalism pushes the whole field of reporting toward science. The second trend is known as database journalism. This form of reporting is said to rely upon computer-assisted analysis of existing information files.
It is not that research is useful in only precision journalism and database journalism. These are the fields that have been using techniques of social science research while reporting. Research has greater scope than that. In fact, research is very useful in every piece of news reporting. It guides journalists to search facts in scientific way. Since journalism is the profession which seeks revealing truth and the research is pursuit of truth with the help of study, observation, comparison and experiment, the scope of research in the filed of journalism is obvious.
Research has been defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. Some view it as an art of scientific investigation. This clearly helps in maintaining truth, objectivity, accuracy and fairness. Over the years, news media practitioners, as well as their critics have expressed considerable concern about objectivity, and accuracy, reality, truth, fairness in news stories. Scholars opine that the media are not merely a conduit; they have the responsibility to assess the validity or truth of the information they disseminate. The journalists need to be fair as well as truthful, accurate as well as objective. For this, research, undoubtedly, is the only tool. This clearly emphasizes the need of a journalist to be a researcher.
By adopting techniques of social science research, the journalist adopts scientific attitude as well as practice, which help in attaining the principal goal of journalism -that is, finding truth and reporting it to general people.

निर्मलमणि अधिकारीको शोधपत्र ''हिन्दू अवधारणामा सञ्चार प्रक्रिया''को सारांश

2008-08-16T19:44:00.003+05:30

निर्मलमणि अधिकारीद्वारा पूर्वाञ्चल विश्वविद्यालय अर्न्तर्गत आमसञ्चार र पत्रकारिता विषयको स्नातकोत्तर तह, दोस्रो वर्ष (चौथो सेमेस्टर) को शैक्षणिक प्रयोजनका लागि "हिन्दू अवधारणामा सञ्चार प्रक्रिया" शिर्षकमा शोधपत्र तयार पारिएको थियो । त्यसपछि समाजशास्त्रीय जर्नलमा समेत प्रकाशन भइसकेको उक्त शोधपत्रले नेपालका साथै भारत र अमेरिकामा पनि चर्चा पाइसकेको छ । साधारणीकरण ढाँचा भनेर सञ्चारको पृथक् ढाँचा (कम्युनिकेसन मोडल) समेत प्रस्तुत गर्न सफल भएकाले उक्त शोधलाई अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय ख्यात्रि्राप्त सञ्चारविद्हरूले महत्वपूर्ण मानेका हुन् ।

(क) सारांश -
प्रस्तुत शोधपत्रको पहिलो प्रकरण परिचयात्मक प्रकृतिको रहेको छ । यस प्रकरणका पाँच खण्डहरू रहेका छन्, जसमध्ये पहिलो खण्डमा केही पृष्ठभूमिगत चर्चाका साथै समस्या कथन प्रस्तुत गरिएको छ । नेपाली संस्कृतिको मूलआधार हिन्दूधर्म भएकाले सञ्चार प्रक्रियालाई नेपाली सन्दर्भमा बुझ्नकालागि पनि यस सम्बन्धी हिन्दू अवधारणा अध्ययन हुनु जरुरी छ । 'पश्चिमा संस्कृति' र 'हिन्दू संस्कृति' पृथक् पृथक् सांस्कृतिक-व्यक्तित्व भएकाले जीवन र जगत्का बारेमा हिन्दू अवधारणा र पश्चिमा अवधारणामा आधारभूत अन्तर छ । के त्यस्तो पृथक्ताको असर सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको सन्दर्भमा पनि परेको छ - के सञ्चार प्रक्रियाका दुई अवयवका रूपमा रहेका शाब्दिक सञ्चार र गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चारलाई हिन्दू अवधारणाको छुट्टै स्वरूपमा अध्ययन गर्न सकिन्छ - ती कुन मानकमा पश्चिमा अवधारणा भन्दा पृथक् होलान् - के हिन्दू संस्कृतिको मुख्य विशेषताका रूपमा मानिने आध्यात्मिकतासँग सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको हिन्दू अवधारणा निरपेक्ष रहन सक्ला - के कुनै हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तको निरूपण गर्न सकिन्छ - पश्चिमा विद्वानहरूका विभिन्न सिद्धान्तसँगै विभिन्न प्रकारका सञ्चार-ढाँचाहरू प्रस्तुत भएजस्तै हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तलाई कुनै ढाँचामा प्रस्तुत गर्न सकिएला - पश्चिमा अवधारणासँग तुलना गर्दा हिन्दू अवधारणाका मौलिक विशेषता के हुन् त - यस्ता आधारभूत अवधारणात्मक सवालहरू नै यस शोधकार्यका प्रस्थान बिन्दु रहेका छन् ।

पहिलो प्रकरणको दोस्रो खण्डमा यस शोधको औचित्य, आवश्यकता तथा महत्व बारेमा स्पष्ट पार्ने प्रयास गरिएको छ । सञ्चार प्रक्रियालाई राम्ररी बुझ्न यसलाई र्सार्वजनीन स्तरमा मात्र होइन कि अन्तरसांस्कृतिक स्तरमा पनि हेर्नैपर्ने मान्यता स्थापित भइसकेको सन्दर्भमा हिन्दूसंस्कृति विश्वका अन्य संस्कृतिहरूको माझमा पृथक् पहिचान भएको संस्कृतिविशेष भएकाले सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको विशेष 'हिन्दू अवधारणा' खोज्नु औचित्यपूर्ण छ । सञ्चारको पश्चिमा अवधारणा भारतवर्षा जस्ताको तस्तै स्वीकार गर्न मिल्दैन । नेपाल लगायतका भारतवर्षीय मुलुकको सञ्चार परम्परालाई हिन्दुत्वको छत्रछायाँमा नै भेट्न सकिन्छ । आज संसारमा सञ्चारलाई आफ्ना-आफ्ना सन्दर्भमा व्याख्या, पुनर्व्याख्या वा परिभाषित गर्ने कार्य व्यापक रूपमा चलिसकेको परिवेशमा नेपालजस्तो सभ्यता र संस्कृतिमा सम्पन्न मुलुकमा यस खालका शोध नगरिनु बुद्धिमानी होइन । त्यसैले सञ्चारको हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक अध्ययन औचित्यपूर्ण साथै आवश्यक पनि छ । यसबाट हिन्दू-इतिहासको व्यापक कालखण्डलाई बुझ्ने दिशामा उल्लेख्य प्राप्ति हुने, सञ्चार सिद्धान्त साथै परम्परागत मिडियालाई समष्टिमा जान्न र सदुपयोग गर्न मद्दत मिल्ने, नयाँ पुस्ताका हिन्दूलाई हिन्दू-समाजमा सामाजिकीकरण गर्न प्रभावकारी उपायको अवलम्बनमा पनि यसबाट मद्दत पुग्ने जस्ता कारण दिँदै यसको महत्व दर्शाइएको छ । शोधपत्रको मूल विषय-वस्तुको औचित्य, आवश्यकता र महत्व बारेमा चर्चा गरेपछि यस विषयमा नेपालभित्रबाट यो नै पहिलो शोधपत्र भएको उल्लेख समेत यस खण्डमा गरिएको छ ।

पहिलो प्रकरणको तेस्रो खण्डमा यस शोधकार्यका साधारण र विशिष्ट उद्देश्य उल्लेख गरिएको छ । साधारण उद्देश्य गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चार तथा शाब्दिक सञ्चारको हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक अध्ययन गर्ने, हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्त निरूपण गर्ने र सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको हिन्दू अवधारणालाई पश्चिमा अवधारणासँग सामान्य तुलनात्मक अध्ययन गर्ने रहेका छन् । विशिष्ट उद्देश्य दार्शनिक आधारका रूपमा 'मीमांसादर्शन' लिई भरतमुनिकृत 'नाट्यशास्त्र'लाई आधार मानी गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चारको तथा भर्तृहरिकृत 'वाक्यपदीय'लाई आधार मानी शाब्दिक सञ्चारको हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक अध्ययन गर्ने र हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तको रूपमा 'साधारणीकरण'को अध्ययन गरी हिन्दू अवधारणालाई पश्चिमा अवधारणासँग सामान्य तुलना गर्ने रहेका छन् ।

पहिलो प्रकरणको चौथो खण्डमा शोधकार्यका प्रमेय र सीमाङ्कन उल्लेख गरिएका छन् । प्रमेय अर्न्तर्गत 'सञ्चारको पश्चिमा अवधारणा' भन्नाले सुप्रसिद्ध ग्रीसेली दार्शनिक अरस्तुको वाक्कला (रेटोरिक) सम्बन्धी अवधारणाको परम्परामा रही बनेका सम्पूर्ण सञ्चार-ढाँचा एवं सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तलाई जनाइएको उल्लेख गर्दै हाल मूलधारमा रहेको पश्चिमा-सञ्चार-अवधारणा मूलतः अरस्तेली अवधारणाकै निरन्तरता हो भन्ने पनि मानिएको छ । हिन्दूत्वलाई धर्म, अर्थ, काम, मोक्ष सबै पुरूषार्थलाई समुचित महत्व दिने एवं आधिभौतिक, आधिदैविक, आध्यात्मिक तीनै तहको सुसंयोजन भएको मान्दै आध्यात्मिकता हिन्दू समाजको मूल-प्रवृत्ति र भौतिकता पश्चिमा समाजको मूल-प्रवृत्ति रहेको भन्ने प्रमेयलाई प्रस्तुत शोधपत्रले आधार मानेको छ । सीमाङ्कनमा समयगत, अध्ययनक्षेत्रगत तथा साधन-स्रोतजन्य सीमितताका चर्चा गरिनुका साथै उपयुक्त पुस्तकालय तथा यथेष्ट पूर्व-कार्यको अनुपलब्धताको गुनासो पनि पोखिएको छ ।

पहिलो प्रकरणको पाँचौं खण्डमा महत्वपूर्ण शब्दावलीका अर्थ तथा परिभाषा दिइएको छ । जसअर्न्तर्गत पहिले 'हिन्दू अवधारणा' र पछि 'सञ्चार प्रक्रिया' बारेमा चर्चा गरिएको छ । हिन्दू शब्द र यससँग सम्बद्ध विविध शब्दावलीका अनेक पक्षहरूको चर्चा गरिसकेपछि यस शोध प्रयोजनको निमित्त निम्नानुसारका तत्वहरूलाई हिन्दूत्वको आधार मानिएको छ-

- मूलमन्त्र
- वेद वा/तथा वैदिक परम्पराका मत वा शास्त्रमा आस्था
- निराकार वा/तथा साकार परम्सत्तामा अखण्ड विश्वास
- मूर्त वा अमूर्तको पूजा वा ध्यान
- कर्म अनुसारको फल मिल्दछ भन्नेमा विश्वास
- 'आत्मा' तथा 'पुनर्जन्म'मा विश्वास
- मानवजीवनको परम्लक्ष्यका रूपमा 'मोक्ष'
अन्त्यमा 'हिन्दूअवधारणा' को परिभाषा पनि यसै खण्डमा दिइएको छ ।

त्यसपछि सञ्चार बारेमा चर्चा गर्दै यस शोधप्रयोजनकालागि सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको औपचारिक परिभाषा निम्नानुसार दिइएको छ- "सञ्चार प्रक्रिया भन्नाले मानवका ती सबै वैयक्तिक वा सामाजिक-सांस्कृतिक क्रियाकलापलाई सम्झनु पर्दछ, जसमा कुनै सन्देश वा अर्थपूर्ण संकेतको सम्प्रेषणबाट प्रक्रियामा संलग्न सदस्यबीच साझेदारी वा समझदारीको सामान्य सम्बन्ध कायम हुन जान्छ ।" साथै सञ्चार प्रक्रियाका दुई अवयवका रूपमा शाब्दिक सञ्चार र गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चारको उल्लेख पनि भएको छ । आधुनिक सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको ढाँचा पनि यसै खण्डमा प्रस्तुत गरिएको छ ।

प्रस्तुत शोधपत्रको दोस्रो प्रकरणमा पूर्व-कार्यहरूको सामान्य समीक्षा गर्ने क्रममा पहिले नेपालबाहिरबाट प्रकाशित सामग्रीको र त्यसपछि नेपालबाट प्रकाशित सामग्रीको चर्चा गरिएको छ । यस शोधकर्ताको अध्ययनबाट देखिएअनुसार सञ्चारको हिन्दू अवधारणा खोज्ने पहल सन् १९७१ मा सम्भवतः पहिलोपल्ट गरिएको उल्लेख गर्दै सन् १९८० यस क्रममा कोसेढुङ्गा मानिएको छ । हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्त विभिन्न लेख तथा कार्यपत्रको विषयवस्तु बनेको देखिएतापनि यस विषयमा शोधकार्य भएको भने नपाइएको र यस सन्दर्भमा लेखिएको सिङ्गो पुस्तक एउटै पनि नभेटिएको चर्चा पनि यस प्रकरणमा गरिएको छ । तत्पश्चात् सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक अध्ययनमा पूर्ववर्ती अध्ययनहरूको तुलनामा प्रस्तुत शोधपत्रको थप योगदान बारेमा प्रष्ट्याउने प्रयास गरिएको छ ।

यस शोधकार्यको शोध-ढाँचाका बारेमा तेस्रो प्रकरणमा चर्चा गरिएको छ । सञ्चार शोध अर्न्तर्गत यो सन्देशअभिमुख शोध भएको चर्चा गर्दै सन्देशअभिमुख शोध अर्न्तर्गतपनि प्रलेखात्मक शोध र प्रलेखात्मक पक्षमा पनि यो शोधकार्य मूलतः पुस्तकालयीय/प्रलेखात्मक शोध भएको बताइएको छ । यस शोधकार्यमा 'जनसंख्या'का रूपमा सम्पूर्ण हिन्दूशास्त्रहरूलाई मान्दै तिनीहरूमध्येबाट प्रयोजनपरक नमूना छनोटमा नाट्यशास्त्र, वाक्यपदीय र मीमांसार्-दर्शनलाई चयन गरिएको छ । तथ्य-सङ्कलनको निमित्त यसमा द्वितियक स्रोतहरूको प्रयोग गरिएको चर्चा गर्दै पूर्व-प्रकाशित एवं पुस्तकालयमा उपलब्ध प्रलेख नै तथ्यका स्रोतका रूपमा रहेका पनि बताइएको छ । स्रोत-ग्रन्थको अध्ययन गरी तिनमा रहेका सम्बद्ध अंशहरूको टिपोट नै यस शोधकार्यको मुख्य तथ्य-सङ्कलन विधि रहेको छ भने तथ्यहरूको व्याख्यात्मक तथा तुलनात्मक चर्चाबाट तर्कसम्मत आधार स्थापना गर्नु नै यस शोधकार्यको विश्लेषण विधि रहेको छ । अन्त्यमा तथ्यहरूको विश्लेषणअनुरूप आगमनात्मक निष्कर्षा पुग्ने विधिलाई यस शोधपत्रले अंगीकार गरेको छ ।
चौथो प्रकरण प्रस्तुत शोधपत्रको मुख्य भागका रूपमा रहेको छ, जहाँ तथ्यहरूको प्रस्तुतिकरण र विश्लेषण गरिएको छ । यस प्रकरणको पहिलो खण्डमा सर्वप्रथम नमूना छनोटमा परेका शास्त्र -नाट्यशास्त्र, वाक्यपदीय र मीमांसार्-दर्शन) को सामान्य परिचयका साथमा तिनीहरूलाई छनोट गरिनुको कारण बारेमा चर्चा, दोस्रो खण्डमा गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चारको तथा तेस्रो खण्डमा शाब्दिक सञ्चारको हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक अध्ययन गरिएको छ । हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तको रूपमा 'साधारणीकरण'को निरूपण यसै प्रकरणको चौथो खण्डमा गरी त्यसको ढाँचा -साधारणीकरण ढाँचा) समेत दिइएको छ । अन्त्यमा चौथो प्रकरणकै पाँचौं खण्डमा सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको हिन्दू सिद्धान्तलाई पश्चिमा सिद्धान्तसँग तुलनात्मक अध्ययन गरिएको छ ।

(ख) निष्कर्ष -
गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चारः

(क) शाब्दिक र गैर-शाब्दिक दुवै क्रियाहरूमा सूचना निहित रहेको हुन्छ भन्ने तथ्यमा प्राचीन कालदेखि नै हिन्दूहरू विज्ञ रहेको देखिन्छ ।

(ख) नाट्यशास्त्रमा अङ्गोपाङ्गका कर्महरू बारेमा गरिएको वर्ण्र्ााहिन्दू समाजमा लौकिक व्यवहारमा प्रयुक्त 'नन्र्-भर्बल कम्युनिकेसन' अर्थात् 'गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चार'को शास्त्रीयरूप हो । नाट्यशास्त्रमा वणिर्त 'आङ्गकि' तथा 'आहार्य' अभिनयहरूले गैरशाब्दिक सञ्चारको स्वरूप प्रस्तुत गर्दछन् । शारीर चेष्टा, मुहारभाव तथा शरीर स्वयम्मा सञ्चारको माध्यम, यिनको एकदमै स्पष्टतः र विषद् वर्णन नाट्यशास्त्रमा पाइन्छ । कुनैपनि मानवका हरेक क्रियाहरू सञ्चारको व्यापक परिधि भित्र समेटिएका हुन्छन् र केही कुरा पनि सञ्चारविहीन हुँदैन भन्ने तथ्य हिन्दूहरूलाई प्राचीन कालदेखि नै ज्ञात रहेको देखिन्छ ।
(ग) हिन्दू अवधारणा अनुसार चक्षु, रसना, घ्राण, र्स्पर्शन (त्वक्), श्रोत्र -कर्ण्र्ाायी पाँचका अतिरिक्त मन समेत छओटा इन्द्रिय छन् ।

चक्षुलाई तैजसरूप मानिएको छभने यसले चाक्षुष (भिजुअल) सन्देश ग्रहण गर्दछ । रसनालाई जलीयरूप मानिएको छभने यसले रसात्मक (टेस्ट्) सन्देश ग्रहण गर्दछ । घ्राणलाई पार्थिवरूप मानिएको छभने यसले नस्य (ओल्फ्याक्टोरी) सन्देश ग्रहण गर्दछ । त्वक्लाई वायवीयरूप मानिएको छ भने यसले स्पृश्य (ट्याक्टाइल) सन्देश ग्रहण गर्दछ । कर्ण्र्ााई आकाशरूप मानिएको छभने यसले श्रव्य (अडिटरी) सन्देश ग्रहण गर्दछ । इन्द्रियहरूको कार्यमा मनलाई कार्य वहन गर्ने 'विभु'को रूपमा मानिएको छ । इन्द्रियहरूको साथमा बाह्य सर्म्पर्क गर्नमा मन माध्यमको रूपमा रहेको हुन्छ र त्यही माध्यम प्रयोग गरी आत्माले बाह्य जगत्को ज्ञान प्राप्त गर्दछ । आत्मा अनुभवकर्ता अथवा फलोपभोक्ता हो; शरीर अनुभवको स्थान हो; र इन्द्रियहरूचाहिं अनुभवका साधन हुन् ।

(घ) शारिरीक हावभाव जस्तो चेतन मनको नियन्त्रणभन्दा परै समेत घटित हुनसक्ने क्रियाकलापलाई पनि स्वेच्छाले सञ्चालन गरी अपेक्षित सन्देश दिन सकिने हिन्दू अवधारणा रहेको देखिन्छ । यो कुरा अचेतन वा अर्धचेतन मनद्वारा निर्देशित क्रियाकलापमाथि समेत नियन्त्रण गर्न सक्षम 'आत्मा'को शासनमा इन्द्रियलाई राख्नुपर्ने हिन्दू मत अनुकुल रहेको छ ।

(घ) हिन्दू संस्कृतिमा रहेको आध्यात्मिक चेतनाको प्रभाव गैर-शाब्दिक सञ्चारको हिन्दू अवधारणामा पनि परेको छ । तर यो भौतिक जगत्बाट निरपेक्ष भने रहेको छैन । वास्तवमा भौतिक एवम् आध्यात्मिक दुवै सत्यको सुसंयोजन गर्ने हिन्दूत्वको विशेषताको प्रत्यक्ष प्रभाव गैर-शाब्दिक हिन्दू-सञ्चार-अवधारणाका सन्दर्भमा पनि परेको छ ।

शाब्दिक सञ्चारः

(क) हिन्दूसंस्कृतिमा शब्दको महिमा खुब गाइएको छ । प्राचीन हिन्दूहरू शब्दको दुवै स्वरूप -लेखात्मक र भाषात्मक) बारेमा विज्ञ थिए । भाषिक प्रतीक आफ्नो मूल प्रकृतिमा ध्वनिपरक हुन्छ भन्ने आधुनिक भाषाविज्ञानको मान्यता अनुकूल प्राचीन कालदेखिनै हिन्दू अवधारणामा शब्दलाई 'श्रोत्रेन्द्रियग्राह्य' मानिएको पाइन्छ ।

(ख) विभिन्न साक्ष्यहरूबाट 'वैदिक' कालमा लेखन-कलाको प्रशस्त प्रचार रहेको देखिन्छ ।

(ग) हिन्दू परम्परामा भाषाका चार रूप मानिएका छन्( परा, पश्यन्ती, मध्यमा र वैखरी । पहिलेका तीन अवस्थाका शब्द गुप्त अव्यक्त छन्, चौथो अवस्थाको व्यक्तशब्दलाई नै मनुष्यहरूको बोलीले प्रकाश गर्दछ भनी वेदवाक्यले निरूपण गरेको छ । वाक्यपदीयमा त्यही वैदिक मत प्रतिबिम्बित भएको छ । वैखरी शब्दको बाह्य र खुट्ट्याउन सकिने रूप अवस्था हो, जहाँ वाक्लाई वक्ताले उच्चारण गर्दछ र श्रोताले श्रवण गर्दछ । प्राण अथवा श्वासले वागेन्द्रिय तथा श्रवणेन्द्रियलाई ध्वनिको क्रमबद्ध उत्पादन तथा ग्रहण गर्न सक्षम तुल्याउँछ । प्राण अथवा श्वास नै वैखरी वाक्को कारण हो । यसभन्दा आन्तरिक तहमा जाँदा मध्यमा वाक् चाहिं मुख्यतया बुद्धिसँग सम्बद्ध छ । कुनै कुरा बोलिनुअघि वक्ताले दिमागमा सोचेको कुरा वा कुनै कुरा सुनिसकेपछि श्रोताले आफ्नो मनमा मनन गरेको कुरालाई मध्यमा वाक्को उदाहरणका रूपमा लिन सकिन्छ । यस अवस्थामा शब्द र अर्थको सम्बन्ध व्यक्तिलाई ज्ञात भइसकेको हुन्छ तापनि तिनको पृथक् पृथक् अस्तित्व पनि रहेकै हुन्छ । अझ आभ्यन्तरिक तहको पश्यन्ती अवस्थामा चाहिं शब्द र अर्थको पृथक् पृथक् अस्तित्व हुँदैन; यी दुई एकाकार भइसकेका हुन्छन् । यो तह अन्तर्ज्ञर्ााो हो र यहाँ अनुभूतिले नै ज्ञान हुन्छ । योभन्दा परको 'परा' अवस्थामा नपुगी 'शब्दब्रह्म' साक्षात्कार हुँदैन भन्ने वैदिक मत रहेको छ ।

(घ) जीवन र जगत्को अन्तिम लक्ष्य ब्रह्म नै हो भन्ने सिद्धान्तको प्रतिपादन वैयाकरणको दृष्टिबाट वाक्यपदीयमा भएको छ र यो आस्तिक हिन्दू दर्शनहरूसँग मतैक्यता राख्ने दृष्टिकोण हो ।
(ङ) आधुनिक विद्वान भाषाको दुई रूप लांग र परोल अर्थात् मध्यमा र वैखरीमै रोकिए, भारतवषर्ीय मनीषी दुई तह अझ अघि बढेका छन्, परा र पश्यन्तीसम्म । पश्चिमा दर्शन मूलतः भौतिकवादी भएकाले बढी भन्दा बढी यसमा मानसिक तह (अर्धचेतन तथा अवचेतन मन) सम्ममात्र यसको दृष्टि पुगेको छ । हिन्दू धारणामा भौतिक स्वरूपलाईमात्र सम्पूर्णा नमानी त्यसभित्रको परमतत्वलाई पनि चिन्ने प्रयास गरिने प्रवृत्ति अनुरूप भौतिक र मानसिक तहलाई समेट्दै अझ उच्चतम् तह अर्थात् आध्यात्मिकतासम्म पुगेको देखिन्छ । हिन्दू संस्कृतिमा रहेको आध्यात्मिक चेतनाको प्रभाव शाब्दिक सञ्चारको हिन्दू अवधारणामा प्रत्यक्षतः एवम् निर्ण्ाायक तवरले परेको छ । तर यो भौतिक जगत्बाट निरपेक्ष भने रहेको छैन । जहाँ पश्चिमा अवधारणा भौतिक सत्यप्रतिको अत्यधिक आग्रहले एकाङ्गी बनेको छ; शाब्दिक हिन्दू-सञ्चार-अवधारणाको निर्माण भौतिक एवम् आध्यात्मिक दुवै सत्यको सुसंयोजन भएर नै भएको छ ।

हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तः

(क) भारतवर्षीय- वा हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तको विकास प्राचीनकालमा कहिले भयो भन्ने तथ्य अस्पष्ट छ । हिन्दू-सञ्चार-सिद्धान्तका रूपमा निरूपित 'साधारणीकरण'को निमित्त दशौं शताब्दीका काव्याशास्त्राचार्य भट्टनायकलाई जस दिने मूल प्रवृत्तिका साथै सिद्धान्तलाई वैदिककालसम्म नै तन्काउने प्रयत्न पनि भएका छन् ।

(ख) भट्टनायकले मानव-मानव बीचमा सन्देशको आदान-प्रदानको मुख्य उद्देश्य आपसमा भावको साझेदारी वा साझा अनुभूति नै हो भन्ने मानेर त्यस प्रक्रियालाई 'साधारणीकरण'को रूपमा व्याख्या गरेका हुन् । पश्चिमा सन्दर्भमा 'कम्युनिकेसन' शब्दको व्युत्पत्ति हर्ेदा कम्युनिकेसन -सञ्चार) भनेको कुनै कुराको साझेदारी गर्ने प्रक्रिया हो भन्ने बुझिन्छ । तर्सथ पश्चिममा कम्युनिकेसन भनेर र पूर्वमा साधारणीकरण भनेर एकै प्रक्रियालाई बुझाउन खोजिएको देखिन्छ ।

(ग) साधारणीकरणका निम्नानुसारका तत्वहरू रहेका छन्- सहृदय (प्रेषक र प्रापक), भाव, अभिव्यञ्जन, सन्देश, सरणि, रसास्वादन, सम्भाव्य दोष, सन्दर्भ, प्रतिक्रिया ।

(घ) भारतवर्षीय काव्यशास्त्रको आधारमा निरूपित सिद्धान्त पनि हिन्दू अवधारणाका आधारभूत विशेषताबाट निरपेक्ष छैन । जसरी हिन्दूत्वले आधिभौतिक, आधिदैविक एवं आध्यात्मिक सबै तहलाई समेट्दछ, उसरी नै साधारणीकरणको क्षेत्र पनि विस्तृत रहेको छ ।

(ङ) जटिल प्रक्रियाको सरल परिणति हुनु नै साधारणीकरणको विशेषता हो ।
तुलनात्मक अध्ययनः

(क) इश्वरलाई अतिशय प्रेम गर्ने हुनाले एक आदर्श हिन्दू सारा जगत्लाईर् इश्वरकै अभिव्यक्तिको रूपमा प्रेम गर्दछ । तर्सथ हिन्दू जीवनपद्धतिमा मानवका अलावा मानवेतर सम्पूर्णा प्रकृतिप्रति समेत प्रेमपूर्ण दृष्टिकोण छ र त्यसको प्रभाव सञ्चार व्यवहारमा समेत परेको छ ।
(ख) हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक सञ्चार प्रक्रिया चक्रवत् रहेको छ, जहाँ पश्चिमा अवधारणामा त्यसलाई रेखीय मानिएको छ ।

(ग) अरस्तेली ढाँचामा सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको उद्देश्य नै प्रापकलाई प्रेषकले अभ्रि्रेरित गर्नु रहेकाले पश्चिमा अवधारणामा प्रेषकलाई महत्व दिइएको स्वतः स्पष्ट छ । यता हिन्दू पर्रि्रेक्षमा प्रेषक-प्राधान्यता वा प्रापक-केन्द्रियता परिस्थितिजन्य अवस्थामात्र हुन् । यस्तो पृष्ठभूमिमा एउटालाई मात्र प्रमुखता दिनु वस्तुनिष्ठ हुनेछैन । तर्सथ लौकिक वा भौतिक जगत्को सन्दर्भमा भन्ने हो भने पूर्वमा सम्बद्धता र अन्तरनिर्भरतालाई महत्व दिइन्छ भने साधारणीकरणलाई आध्यात्मिक सन्दर्भमा समेत हर्ेदा ब्रह्म र जीवात्माबीचको साधारणीकरणलाई 'अन्तरनिर्भर' भन्नु उपयुक्त हुनेछैन । लौकिक वा भौतिकदेखि आध्यात्मिकसम्म सबै सन्दर्भलाई प्रतिनिधित्व गर्ने गरी भन्ने हो भने सहभागीहरूको आपसी सम्बन्धलाई बुझाउने प्राविधिक संज्ञा 'सहृदय' नै भन्नुपर्ने हुन्छ ।

हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक सञ्चारमा सम्बन्ध स्वयम्लाई महत्व दिने वा सम्बन्धको हेतुलाई ख्याल राख्ने भन्ने कुरा परिस्थिति-सापेक्ष हुनजान्छ । हिन्दूहरूले आवश्यकता अनुरूप सम्बन्ध वा सम्बन्धको हेतुमध्ये कुनै एक वा दुवैको सुसंयोजनलाई महत्व दिने गर्दछन् । तर्सथ हिन्दू अवधारणा पूर्णाङ्गी छभने उता पश्चिमा अवधारणामा चाहिं सम्बन्धको हेतुलाई मात्र ख्याल राखिने भएकाले त्यो एकाङ्गी छ ।

(घ) लौकिक वा भौतिक सन्दर्भमा हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक सञ्चार प्रक्रियाको उद्देश्य यसको आदर्शस्थितिमा भावहरूको साझेदारी, पारस्परिक समझदारी, सहमति एवं सामुहिक क्रियान्विति हो । साधारणीकरणको आदर्श उद्देश्य सहृदयहरूबीचमा साझेदारी, समभाव वा ऐक्यता हासिल गर्नु हो । उच्चतर रूपमा यसको उद्देश्य आत्मज्ञान पाई मोक्षको परम लक्ष्य हासिल गर्नु नै हो । उता पश्चिमा अवधारणामा सञ्चारको उद्देश्य उद्देश्य अभ्रि्रेरणा वा प्रापकलाई प्रेषकले अभ्रि्रेरित गर्नु रहेको छ ।

पश्चिमा संस्कृतिमा झैं इहलौकिक प्राप्तिमा मात्र कुनैपनि आदर्श हिन्दूले सन्तोष मान्दैन; तर हिन्दू दर्शनलाई भौतिक वा लौकिक जीवनप्रति अनिच्छुक र पारलौकिक वा आध्यात्मिक जीवनप्रति मात्र आकषिर्त रहेको ठान्नु चाहिं अर्को अपाङ्ग सोच हो । धर्म, अर्थ र कामलाई सदुपयोग गरी मोक्षसम्म पुग्नु हिन्दूत्वको अभीष्ट हो । यो कुरा अवश्यै होकि यदि अर्थ र काम धर्म-प्रतिकूल भएमा त्यसलाई त्याग्न तत्पर रहनुपर्दछ । संक्षेपमा भन्नुपर्दा धर्म, अर्थ, काम, मोक्ष अर्थात् पुरुषार्थ-चतुष्टयको प्राप्ति नै एक आदर्श हिन्दूको जीवन-उद्देश्य हो । त्यसैले सञ्चार क्रियाकलापलाई यी सबै सन्दर्भमा नहेरी हिन्दू अवधारणाको पूर्ण स्वरूप प्राप्त हुँदैन ।

(ङ) हिन्दू अवधारणात्मक सञ्चारलाई 'सन्दर्भ-सापेक्ष' मान्नुपर्ने हुन्छ, जबकि अरस्तेली सञ्चार-अवधारणामा 'सन्दर्भ-निरपेक्ष' रहेको छ ।

(च) सामाजिक व्यवहारमा हिन्दू संस्कृति समष्टि-प्रधान रहेको छभने आध्यात्मिक प्रयोजनमा यो सदैव व्यष्टि-केन्द्रित रहेर चिन्तन गर्दछ । यसरी वैयक्तिकता र सामुहिकताको समन्वित रूप नै हिन्दूत्वमा रहेको हुन्छ । तर्सथ व्यष्टि र समष्टि दुवैको सुसंयोजन हिन्दू अवधारणाको विशेषता हो । उता पश्चिमा सिद्धान्त व्यष्टि-प्रधान वा व्यक्तिवादी रहेको छ ।

(छ) हिन्दू अवधारणामा सञ्चारको आभ्यन्तरिक पक्ष -अन्तर्ज्ञान लाई जोड दिइएको छ भने पश्चिमा अवधारणामा बाह्य पक्ष (इन्द्रियजन्य ज्ञान) लाई जोड दिइएको छ । जसको फलस्वरूप भारतवर्षा अन्तरनिहित वा आन्तरिक सञ्चार तथा पश्चिममा आमसञ्चारलाई जोड दिइएको पाइन्छ । प्रायः सबै आमसञ्चारका प्रविधि पश्चिममै आविष्कार गरिनु र अर्कोतर्फअन्तर्ज्ञनको साधन अर्थात् 'योग'को विकास चाहिं भारतवर्षा जति भयो, त्यो तहसम्म पश्चिम कहिल्यै नपुग्नुको कारण पनि यही हो ।

Telematic Media

2008-05-20T20:09:00.003+05:30

The Internet refers to what is sometimes called telematic media telematic because they combine telecommunications and informatics. The telematic media have been heralded as the key component in the latest communication revolution that will replace broadcast television, as we know it. The Internet is a multifaceted mass medium, that is, it contains many different configurations of communication. Its varied forms show the connection between the interpersonal and mass communication (Morris, Organ, 1996). Since the 1970s this new media have been widely taken up as a mass media (MacQuail, D., 1997). Several kinds of technology are involved: of transmission (by cable or satellite); of miniaturization; of storage and retrieval; of display (using flexible combinations of text and graphics); and of control (by computer). The main features by contrast with the ´old media´ as described, are: decentralization –supply and choice are no longer predominantly in the hands of the supplier of communication; high capacity – cable or satellite delivery overcomes the former restrictions of cost, distance and capacity; interactivity –the receiver can select, answer back, exchange and be linked to other receivers directly; and flexibility of form, content and use.

Not only does this new media facilitate the distribution of existing radio and television it also offer computer video games, virtual reality and video recordings of all kinds. CD-ROMS (standing for compact disc, read only memory) offer flexible and easy access to very large store of information, by way of computer-readable discs (MacQuail, D., 1997). In general, the new media have bridged differences both between media and also between public and private definitions of communication activities. The Internet communication takes many forms, from World Wide Web pages operated by major news organizations to Usenet group discussing folk music to E-mail message among colleagues and friends. The Internet’s communication forms can be understood as a continuum. Each point in the traditional model of the communication process can, in fact, vary from one to a few to many on the Internet. Production, for example, need no longer be concentrated in large centrally located organizations (typical of film and television), nor so centrally controlled. The sources of the message can range from one person in E-mail communication, to a social group in a Listserv or Usenet group, to a group of professional journalists in a World Wide Web page. The message themselves can be traditional journalistic news stories created by a reporter and editor, stories created over a long period of time by many people, or simply conversations, such as in an Internet Relay Chat group. The receivers, or the audiences, of the message can also number from one to a potential millions, and may or may not move fluidly from their role as audience members to producers of message (Morris, Organ, 1996).

What distinguish the telematic media is:

• Computer-based technologies
• Hybrid, flexible character
• Interactive potential
• Private and public functions
• Low degree of regulation
• Interconnectedness (MacQuail, D., 1997p.22).

Communication research in Nepal

2008-05-20T08:11:00.001+05:30

– Nirmala Mani Adhikary

In case of Nepal, Adhikary's "Hindu Awadharanama Sanchar Prakriya" is the first significant research regarding studying communication from Hindu perspective. Written in Nepali, it presented a unique communication model based on the Sadharanikaran theory. It was first ever attempt from Bharatavarsha to propose a model of communication in diagrammatic form. And, so far, the Sadharanikaran model is the only model of communication in diagrammatic form proposed from the Hindu perspective.
"Prakriya" sought to study both of the verbal and non-verbal forms of communication from Hindu point of view. The research draws on Bharata Muni's Natyashastra for studying non-verbal communication and Bhartrihari's Vakyapadiya for studying verbal communication. Moreover, Natyashastra has been drawn for the concepts of Rasaswadana and Sadharanikaran.

The Mimamsa philosophy (one of the six mainstream or orthodox schools of Vedic philosophy) has been accepted as the guiding philosophy. Based on the Mimamsa viewpoint, it has been argued that communication in Hindu concept is not merely for the purpose of sending and receiving message. In worldly matters, the process is ideally for achieving mutual understanding and becoming Sahridaya. But it does not limit its goal up to that achievement. The goal of communication process covers worldly as well as spiritual matters and it serves as a means for attaining all of the four highest goals of human life (purushartha chatustaya) as envisioned in Hinduism: Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha.

Adhikary "Siddhanta" and Adhikary "Sancharko" both are abridged versions of "Prakriya" and "Sancharko" is more comprehensive than "Siddhanta." Adhikary "Gaira-Shabdik" also has been taken from the same source. It is entirely concerned with the non-verbal communication in Hindu concept. All of these works are in Nepali.
Written in English, Adhikary "Comparative" seeks to assess and analyze the fundamental differences between Aristotle's and the Sadharanikaran models of communication. The concept of communication process from Aristotelian and Sadharanikaran perspectives has been studied in terms of structure and scope of two models, human relationships in the process and the goal of communication. It has been established that these two models differ in all of the four aspects:
Aristotle's model has unrealistic linear approach due to which number of biases created and advancement of the communication discipline stained. But the Sadharanikaran model is non-linear and hence free from the limitations of Aristotle's model.

The scope of the Sadharanikaran model is too broad as compared to Aristotle's model. The latter is considered applicable to public speaking merely. But the former seems applicable for the study of all levels of communication from intrapersonal to interpersonal to mass. Its scope ranges even from the human communication to the attainment of Moksha. Thus it is in consonance with the Hindu worldview.
In Aristotle's model, the receiver is vulnerable to dominance and manipulation by the sender as he/she is passive. In the Sadharanikaran model, though the relationship is hierarchical the sender and the receiver are Sahridayas and thus are capable of experiencing satisfaction and joy. This model offers explanation of how successful communication is possible in Hindu society where complex hierarchies of castes, languages, cultures and religious practices are prevalent.
Finally, these two models differ vastly while setting the goal of communication. Aristotle's model has a highly specific and narrower goal of influencing or persuading the receiver as intended by the sender. The Sadharanikaran model, on the other hand, aims mutual understanding and becoming Sahridaya. Its goal covers worldly as well as spiritual achievements by encompassing all of Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha.

Finally, it has been argued that Aristotle's model cannot represent and describe the communication theory and practice of countries like Nepal and India. Rather, a comparative study of different concepts of communication is a must for the improved understanding of the process and the advancement of the discipline.

WORKS CITED:

Adhikary, Nirmala Mani. "Aristotle's and the Sadharanikaran Models of Communication: A Comparative Study." An Independent Study Presented to the Graduate School of Pokhara University in the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy. September 2007.
---. "Communication in Nepali Perspective." Space Time Today 13 January 2003.
---. "Hindu Awadharanama Sanchar Prakriya." Diss. Purvanchal U, 2003 (2060 B.S.).
---. "Hindu Awadharanma Gaira-Shabdik Sanchar." Sanchar Shodha Ra Media Paryavekshan. Kathmandu: Prashanti, 2007 (2063 B.S.). 139-180.
---. "Hindu-Sanchar Siddhanta: Ek Adhyayan." Baha Journal 2004 (Phagun 2061 B.S.). 25-43.
---. "Sancharko Hindu Awadharanatmak Adhyayan." Sanchar Shodha Ra Media Paryavekshan. Kathmandu: Prashanti, 2007 (2063 B.S.). 93-138.

Mimamsa-Philosophy and Mass Media Ethics

2008-05-16T21:56:00.001+05:30

By: Nirmala Mani Adhikary

This article is continuation of my previous article "Exploring New Paradigm in Mass Media Ethics" (MBM Anthology of Media Studies 2007), where I argue that "being rich in philosophy and culture, Nepal has her strength to explore new paradigm" on mass media ethics (59). There I have attempted to draw attention of media academia, educators, students and professionals that we should not take media ethics merely as prescribed by and in accordance with the Western perspectives but rather should, at least theoretically in the beginning, explore native, specifically Hindu, perspectives on media ethics. After brief discussions on mass media ethics firstly and later Hindu point of view on it, I have proposed some aspects of philosophies in relation to media ethics for discussion. Moving further, here I attempt to sketch an outline of mass media ethics from Mimamsa-philosophical perspective.

Of course, such endeavor is expected in the context of Vedanta, Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika and Yoga philosophies too. Nepal represents old civilization with a known history of thousand of years and having a distinct cultural identity of its own. In this light, paying little attention to explore Hindu point of view on mass media ethics is not good. Rather, "the ethical considerations must be judged in the touchstone of concerning society and its social cultural inheritance" (Adhikary "Mass Media Ethics"). And, this will certainly bring fruitful consequences: "Understanding one's own ethical texts and one's own ethical underpinnings will establish a foundation through which communication problems can be explored and solutions can be delivered" (Babbili 173).

In recent years, Nepal has witnessed advancement in the field of mass media and journalism. Significant achievements can be located with respect to media as a profession or as an industry. Likewise, Mass Communication and Journalism or Media Studies has been incorporated as an applauded discipline of knowledge in the academy. Media ethics or journalistic ethics also has been included in the curricula. However, just as "modern communication technology has been introduced without evolving a communication philosophy, approach and policy relevant to Nepali context, conditions and needs" (Adhikary “Exploring New Paradigm” 58), the trend of studying media ethics does not seem quite enthusiastic. Just to copy and paste the Western concept of ethics as if it is a universal concept and doing nothing to understand native ethical idea is not the situation of pride. This is really annoying situation because "A society that ignores its own ethical ideal does it at its own peril" (Babbili 163).

Since mass media professionals and their community are inextricably bound together, the ethical questions of particular professional communicator must be judged against the social cultural background of the society for which the medium is aiming to work. What I am emphasizing is that ethical concern in the field of mass media including journalism is relative to the Dharma or religious faith[1] and philosophical stand-point taken by the media professionals.

Certainly, there are views denying ethics as relative or subjective and holding that ethics is "entirely independent of religion" (Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics 3) and "ethical judgments must be made from a universal point of view" (Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics 12). But we cannot ignore the very fact that the concept of ethics is inherently different in the Hindu perspective and in the West. "In the Hindu perspective, problems of ethics are treated in a distinct way" (Babbili, Anantha 147), which is different that of the West.

Hindu dharma gives outstanding importance to ethics. "Ethical perfection is the first step towards divine knowledge" (Radhakrishnan. India Philosophy. Vol I. 52). It should be very clear, in the very beginning, that Hinduism, being "doctrinally more open" (Harrison-Barbet 276), should not be considered entailing one and only standard set of ethical principles. Vedic Hinduism "comprises many diverse schools of thought. It incorporates various views, from extreme spiritual to extreme materialistic" (Adhikary Exploring New Paradigm 64). Since the Vedic Hindu philosophical tradition is extensive, rich, and complex, "it would be irrational to declare only one set of ethical guidelines as 'Vedic Hindu ethics'. Rather, we should consider that each philosophy suggests unique set of ethical guidelines. Thus it becomes individual matter to which philosophy you associate yourself"(Adhikary10).

Clearly, there is scope for different, even diverse, sets of ethical principles. As Hindery observes, "Hindu ethics is itself both diachronically and synchronically (past and present) pluralistic" (Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions 10).

However, Hindu philosophers, Rishis, Munis have always emphasized a synthesis of various schools of thought. There is "the Vedic tradition of direct experience of an all-comprehensive oneness in the midst of plurality" (Bhattacharya, Sibajiban. "The Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today" 3). And, "except a few systems upholding gross materialism and hedonism, all the systems prescribe a code of moral discipline to uplift man from animality or brutality to humanity" Shastri, Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya. "The Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today" 92).

Since "Ethical questions are not concerned with what one would do (an essentially psychological concern) but what one ought to do" (Velasquez, Manuel and Vincent Barry 315) there should be external authority. Most Hindu ethical teachings are found in various texts from Veda to Upanishads, Puranas to Ramayana and Mahabharata, and even in poetics. "To reach the people, ethical philosophy or dharma(s) would have to be communicated in the forms of poetry, rhythm, song, dance and, most of all, in ... the figure of the 'ideal model person'" (Hindery 98).

Thus ethics for Hindus "stem from the basic Hindu religious texts that are often considered cultural and philosophical texts" (Babbili 156). Hindu ethics "appear most often as subtle manifestations of human conduct in the narrative of prominent cultural and religious texts, traditions and customs" (Babbili 158). A person of Hindu society is obligatory to follow the guidelines given by those Shastras, traditions and customs.

The Vedic scriptures contain sentences enjoining what is or is not to be done (Mohanty 22). Vedas are "creation of an age anterior to our intellectual philosophies" (Sri Aurobindo 10). They are considered "to be the truths heard (Shruti) or, in an inside-out sense, revealed. Not 'revealed' in the sense of divine, outside intervention, they were ... inwardly inspired" (Hindery, Roderick. Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions 39). Believers hold that "There is no substitute of Vedas, insofar as the code of human behavior and conduct is concerned" (Mahatma Gopal Swami Saraswati. Human Rights and The Vedas 55).

The mainstream philosophies that directly follow the Vedas tradition include:
1. Mimamsa (with sub-schools including Kumaril Bhatta's)
2. Vedanta (with sub-schools including Shakaracharya's)
3. Vaisheshika
4. Nyaya
5. Samkhya
6. Yoga

Mimamsa is "claimed to have a more authentic grip on the Vedas" (Mohanty, J.N. Explorations in Philosophy 64). "The beginnings of the Mimamsa may be traced to the Veda itself, where it is used to denote doubt and discussion regarding the rules of ritual and doctrine" (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. 374). The aim of the Mimamsa
is to ascertain the nature of dharma. Dharma is not a physical existent, and so it cannot be apprehended through the senses. The other pramanas are of no use, since they all presuppose the work of perception. Perception, inference and such other sources of knowledge have nothing to say on the point that the performer of the Agnistoma sacrifice will go to heaven. This knowledge is derived only from the Vedas. Though the pramana of the Veda is the only source of our knowledge of dharma, the others are considered, since it is necessary to show that they cannot give rise to a knowledge of dharma. They are also found useful in repudiating wrong views (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. 387-388).

The Mimamsa and Vedanta philosophies are so closely related that the former is called Purva Mimamsa and the latter Uttara Mimamsa. They take "the Vedas to be exclusive and eternal guides of human destiny (Shastra)" (Pandeya, R.C. "Pramana-Centricity" 47). Both present
only an account of what the Vedas say, hence their purpose is solely to enquire into Dharma or Brahman part of the Veda (athato-Dharma-jijnasa or athato-Brahma-jijnasa). In all matters of dispute or difference of opinion the court of final appeal is the Veda itself. They, therefore, hold Shruti as the final authority; reasoning, perception, etc. have therefore assumed auxiliary status as aids to strengthen or clarify the Vedic position. These two Mimamsas endeavor at any cost to show that there is nothing other than the Vedas which could be evidence or Pramana in all matters of human life (Pandeya, R.C. "Pramana-Centricity" 47).

The Veda is the final and supreme authority for both the Purva and the Uttara Mimamsas. "Their conviction is that in respect of super-sense truths and realities, which are not knowable by perception and even by inference, the only source of knowledge is the Shruti or the Vedas whose validity as a pramana is axiomatic (svatahsiddha)" (Shastri, Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya. "The Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today" 87). However,
their difference lies in the aspects of the Veda chosen for consideration. In the former case the subject of preferred treatment is human conduct for the guidance of which the Veda provides evidence. In the latter case the nature of existence is a matter of investigation and the Veda is taken to be final authority (Pandeya, R.C. "Pramana-Centricity" 47).

In fact, "The dichotomy between the empirical and the transcendental, the transitory and the eternal, the worldly and the divine is the recurring theme in Hindu religio-philosophical scriptures" (Sinari, Ramakant. "The Worldly and the Transcendental in Indian Philosophy" 62). Particularly in case of worldly matters, Mimamsa is preferred over Vedanta. The influence of Mimamsa is such that there is the saying, 'vyavahare bhattanayah', that is the Bhatta Mimamsa School is the authentic one, even for the Vedanta, including Advaita Vedanta, in case of vyavaharika (secular) matters (R. Balasuramanian 24).

The importance of Mimamsa "for the Hindu religion is great. The scriptures which govern the daily life of the Hindu require to be interpreted in accordance with the Mimamsa rules. Modern Hindu law is considerably influenced by the Mimamsa system" (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. 375-376).

For ensuring "the proper understanding of Vedic texts" Mimamsa philosophy "has developed an elaborate and rigorous method of interpretation. This method of interpretation is applicable to not merely the Vedic texts but also Dharmashastra and legal texts" (Bhattacharya, Sibajiban. "The Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today" 11).

"The Mimamsa has a well-developed and interesting account of how ethics and the human character are interrelated" and "it analyzes ethical language in terms of our possibilities to act in particular ways" (Leaman, Oliver. Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy 112). Though Manusmriti "is the most often quoted 'source book' of Hindu ethics" (Hammer, Raymond. "Karma and Dharma: Hindu Ethics" 190) Mimamsa is crucial in this regard because Hindu ethics is related with the Dharma and "the avowed aim of the Purva Mimamsa is to examine the nature of dharma" (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. 375).
Dharma is the scheme of right living. Jaimini defines dharma as an ordinance or command. Chodana, or injunction, is the lakshana or sign of dharma. It is the jurist's definition of law. According to Sabara, chodana denotes utterances which impel men to action. The 'ought' has an external source, since duties are revealed to us by a power not ourselves. The word 'chodana' has another meaning, namely, inspiration or impulsion from within. What appeals to heart within agress with what is commanded from without. The individual's will and the verdict of the race agreee. ...
The ethics of the Purva Mimamsa is founded on revelation. The Vedic injunctions lay down the details of dharma. Good action, according to the Mimamsaka, is what is prescribed by the Veda. (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. 417-418).

If any scripture is in conflict with the Veda, then such scripture is to be disregarded and the Vedic point of view is to be considered (Adhikary Mimamsa-Darshan Nirdeshan 11-12). To be ethical, one must abide by the 'chodana' of Veda. So Mimamsakas accept Smriti texts only to the extent they are in accordance with the Shruti. "Next to the Smritis is the practice of good men or custom" (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. 418). By all means, Mimamsa insists that the life of a human being has to be governed by the rules of the Vedas. In accordance, Manusmriti says: "The whole Veda is the first source of the sacred law, next the tradition and the virtuous conduct of those who know the (Veda further), also the customs of holy men, and (finally) self-satisfaction" (Manusmriti II.6. Trans. taken from Hindery 76).

"Ethics during the Vedic period espoused obedience to divine law: Rita" (Babbili 158). Etymologically, Rita is "related both to rite and right" and "refers variously to order at three levels: 1. nature (cosmic order), 2. sacrificial or ritual order, and 3. the order of human conduct" (Hindery, Roderick. Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions 50).

Turning to the ethics of the Rig-Veda,
we find that the conception of Rita is of great significance. It is the anticipation of the law of karma ... It is the law which pervades the whole world, which all gods and men must obey. ...
Rita furnishes us with a standard of morality. It is the universal essence of things. It is the satya or the truth of things. Disorder or An-Rita is falsehood, the opposite of truth. The good are those who follow the path of Rita, the true and the ordered. Ordered conduct is called a true vrata. Vratani are the ways of life of good men who follow the path of Rita. Consistency is the central feature of a good life. The good man of the Vedas does not alter his ways. ... When ritual grew in importance, Rita became a synonym for yajna or sacrificial ceremony (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol I. 109-110).

The term Rita was succeeded by dharma "in the later Vedic Age connoting the same meaning" (Zaehner, R.C. Hinduism 30). In contemporary Hindu society, "ethics cannot be understood without locating them in a broad definition of religion" (Babbili 154). Here, "religion, esthetics and ethics have remained better integrated" (Hindery, Roderick. Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions 9). It is relevant to take the note that the major element of Hindu ethics developed in the Gita, too, is the concept of dharma (Babbili 161).

The dharma in the Vedic Hindu context should be understood at its proper sense. "Among its more general meanings, dharma also refers to a whole way of life rather than to mere doctrines or moral teachings alone" (Hindery, Roderick. Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions 50). The underlying central idea of dharma is
that a human being though a creature of the evolutionary process, is distinguished from other animal species by their endowment of reflective capacity which enables them to discriminate between the Good and the Evil. ... Humans can exercise their free-will in choosing the right against wrong. In other words, dharma postulates that humans possess general moral sense.
As the idea of moral choices inherent in the concept of dharma, the term dharma may be understood as representing the moral principle which lends human life its worth and makes for the meaningfulness of the system that has been evolved to support human life (Rai, Lal Deosa. Human Rights in the Hindu-Buddhist Tradition 51).

Religion here "is not dogmatic. It is a rational synthesis which goes on gathering into itself new conceptions as philosophy progresses. It is experimental and provisional in its nature, attempting to keep pace with the progress of thought" (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol I. 25). "The supremacy of religion and of social tradition in life does not hamper the free pursuit of philosophy" (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol I. 27).

Vedas do not advocate any religion, in the sense, the English word of Latin-origin, religion, is understood in modern parlance. But
they do point out 'dharma' meaning duties and essential characteristics, without which a thing cannot retain its very existence. Religion may be a personal affair owing its allegiance to personal beliefs and convictions of a person, but 'dharma' is a universal affair. ... Righteous people, adhering to Vedas, therefore, consider the whole world as one family. Vedas expect every human being to be humane in true sense and thus advocate 'humanism' as the dharma of entire humanity. 'Be humane and humanize others'; this is clarion call of the Vedas since eternity (Mahatma Gopal Swami Saraswati. Human Rights and The Vedas 55-56).

It is in this light a typical dharmik Hindu thinks,
Religion has been pervading human life from times immemorial. Every tiny act that a man does is looked upon from a religious point of view. All human institutions are more or less based on religious sentiments. It is one of the most undeniable facts of psychology that an average man can as little exist without a religious element of some kind as a fish without water (Swami Vidyananda Saraswati. Vedic Concept of God 32).

The dharma of Mimamsa is always associated with the karma. "Karma(n) is a Sanskrit word meaning simply 'act', 'deed', or 'work'. The 'theory' of karma, if we may call it such, is that every action must produce its inevitable 'fruit'; good actions produce good fruit, evil actions evil fruit" (Zaehner, R.C. "Introduction." Hindu Scriptures. xv-xvi). The importance given to karma by Mimamsa can be assessed from Mimamsa's belief that the law of karma can function on its own even in the absence of God (R. Balasuramanian 19). The karmayoga is the essence of Mimamsa philosophy which holds that "when duty is performed in a spirit of dedication to God it becomes the cause of emancipation" (Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. 420). "Morality, fair play, ethics and justice are the basis of karma yoga" (Krishnamurthy, V. Essentials of Hinduism 82).
Ethics in Hindu society is not detached from the dharma. ... Hindu ethics consists a highly refined moral sensibility visualized with standards of character and conduct. Hindu classical philosophers often think about ethics in connection with the notion of karma, and reincarnation. Since, on the presumption of karma, the nature of one's deeds determines one's future state, the universe includes laws of moral payback (Adhikary "Exploring New Paradigm" 66).
Obviously, an ideal Hindu is supposed to follow "without question the universal law of dharma and the particular law of karma" (Babbili 162).

"The freedom of the human individual is assumed, though the limitations of karma are mentioned" (Radhakrishnan, S. Ed. The Principal Upanisads 105). "Right and wrong are determined in four ways: through the authoritative scriptures, through the other inspired writings, through good conduct and through conscience" (Raymond Hammer 190). "The context is significant in deciding how to act, according to the Gita" (Leaman, Oliver. Eastern Philosophy: Key Readings 135). "The ethical individual is required to become like a child. The perfect man is a divine child, accepting the divine play, without fear or reserve, care or grief, in utter purity" (Radhakrishnan, S. Ed. The Principal Upanisads 111). Perhaps it is in such stage when a person becomes able to experience the dharma of the good which is within the heart of every person.

It is argued that "The duties of Hindu ethical life consisted primarily of the prescribed caste-duties and the specific duties of the different stages of life" (Leaman, Oliver. Eastern Philosophy: Key Readings 133-134). However, "Hindu ethics is not absolutist and unbending, but is reflective and contextual in its approach to ethical problems" (Babbili 163). Moreover, "The scope of Hindu ethics not only covers human beings, but also extends far more. For instance, the Srimadbhagavat says that since animals are capable of experiencing pain, humans have an obligation not to harm them" (Adhikary Studying Mass Media Ethics 10).

Studying mass media ethics from Mimamsa-philosophical perspective should not be viewed mere theoretical endeavor. In Hindu society, "Philosophy was never conceived as a merely theoretical exercise for the sake of conceptual clarity," rather with "a practical aim to achieve" (Bhattacharya, Sibajiban. "The Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today" 4). Vedic Hindu philosophies "subscribe to the view of the unity of theory and practice" (Balasubramanian, R. "Advaita Vedanta: Its Unity with Other Systems and Its Contemporary Relevance" 16).

In Bharatavarsha, "the Philosopher did not merely think Philosophy and talk Philosophy but also lived Philosophy. The truths of Philosophy were sought to be translated into living experiences by strenuous moral and spiritual exertions" (Sen, Biswanath. "Nyaya View of Perception of Composite Objectives" 75). "All the systems agree that knowledge and action are intimately connected" (Sen, Biswanath. "Nyaya View of Perception of Composite Objectives" 77). That is why the Vedic Hindu mind "constantly engaged in theorizing about practice" (Mohanty 25).

In Bharatavarsha "darshana (philosophy) has a tradition of totality and integralism. The instruction of preceptors and systems of vision combine rational investigation, logic and epistemology in a fuller acceptance of life" (Das, Maya. "Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today" 93). Hindu philosophies
basically represent 'a way of life', an approach to spiritual realization rather than a mere 'view of life'. The approach makes the philosophical systems both humanistic and scientific, practical and theoretical. Correlating vision and sadhana the systems lead to a correct 'way of thinking' as well as 'a right way of living' (Das, Maya. "Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today" 93).

As to Kautilya, philosophy has its practical use: "it does good to mankind, makes one's intelligence, buddhi, settled in the midst of pleasure and pain and makes one expert, visarada, in wisdom (prajna), in speech (vakya) and in action (kriya)" (Mohanty 21). There must be insistence "on justifying philosophy in terms of Prayojana or practical utility" (Das, Maya 94). Thus, developing a code of ethics for journalists and other media professionals based particularly on Mimamsa philosophy seems not only rational, it also seems in coherence with the practical nature of Mimamsa.

Works Cited

Adhikary, Nirmala Mani. "Exploring New Paradigm in Mass Media Ethics." MBM Anthology of Media Studies. Kathmandu: CSC, Madan Bhandari Memorial College, 2007. 57-72.
---. "Mass Media Ethics." Space Time Today 18 March 2003.
---. Mimamsa-Darshan Nirdeshan. Kathmandu: Prashanti Pustak Bhandar, 2006 (2062 B.S.).
---. Studying Mass Media Ethics. Kathmandu: Prashanti Pustak Bhandar, 2006.
Babbili, Anantha. "Culture, Ethics, and Burdens of History: Understanding the Communication Ethos in India." Critical Issues in Communication. Eds. Srinivas R. Melkote and Sandhya Rao. New Delhi: Sage, 2001. 144-176.
Balasubramanian, R. "Advaita Vedanta: Its Unity with Other Systems and Its Contemporary Relevance." Indian Philosophical Systems. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture: Calcutta, 1990. 15-34.
Bhattacharya, Sibajiban. "The Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today." Indian Philosophical Systems. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Calcutta, 1990. 1-14.
Das, Maya. "Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today." Indian Philosophical Systems. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Calcutta, 1990. 93-98.
Hammer, Raymond. "Karma and Dharma: Hindu Ethics." The World Religions. Eds. R. Pieree Beaver et al. Oxford: Lion Publishing, 1994.
Harrison-Barbet, Anthony. Mastering Philosophy. London: Macmillan, 1990.
Hindery, Roderick. Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass Publishers, 2004.
Krishnamurthy, V. Essentials of Hinduism. New Delhi: Narosa Publishing House, 1989.
Leaman, Oliver. Eastern Philosophy: Key Readings. London: Routledge, 2004.
Leaman, Oliver. Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2004.
Mohanty, J.N. Explorations in Philosophy. Vol. I. Ed. Bina Gupta. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Pandeya, R.C. "Pramana-Centricity." Indian Philosophical Systems. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Calcutta, 1990. 46-52.
Radhakrishnan, S. Indian Philosophy. Vol I. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999.
---. Indian Philosophy. Vol II. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999.
---. Ed. The Principal Upanisads. New Delhi: INDUS, 1996.
Rai, Lal Deosa. Human Rights in the Hindu-Buddhist Tradition. Jaipur: Nirala Publications, 1995.
Saraswati, Mahatma Gopal Swami. Human Rights and The Vedas. New Delhi: Siddharth and Milan, 2001.
Saraswati, Swami Vidyananda. Vedic Concept of God. Delhi: Vijayakumar Govindaram Hasananda, 2001.
Sen, Biswanath. "Nyaya View of Perception of Composite Objectives." Indian Philosophical Systems. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Calcutta, 1990. 75-85.
Shastri, Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya. "The Indian Philosophical Systems: Their Basic Unity and Relevance Today." Indian Philosophical Systems. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Calcutta, 1990. 86-98.
Sinari, Ramakant. "The Worldly and The Transcendental in Indian Philosophy." Indian Philosophical Systems. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Calcutta, 1990. 57-74.
Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics. 2nd ed. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Sri Aurobindo. The Secret of the Veda. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1998.
Velasquez, Manuel and Vincent Barry. Philosophy. 3rd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1988.
Zaehner, R.C. Hinduism. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1966.
---. Hindu Scriptures. London: Everyman Publishers, 1992.

[1] Some readers may associate the Dharma here with the religious faith. However, my preference generally is to distinguish between Dharma and religion. I am convinced that the word Dharma can not be translated into English.

FIRST PUBLISHED IN Bodhi (Vol. I, No. 1, 2007), a journal published by the Department of Languages and Mass Communication, Kathmandu University.

SANCHARYOGA: VERBAL COMMUNICATION AS A MEANS FOR ATTAINING MOKSHA

2008-05-04T19:36:00.005+05:30

The present research examines whether the process of communication (Sanchar) can be accepted as yoga provided that the process of communication in general and the process of verbal communication in particular, as envisioned in Hindu perspective, qualifies as a means for the attainment of Moksha.

The general objective here is to study the verbal communication process as a means for attaining Moksha and examining it as Sancharyoga in the same sense as in Karmayoga, Jnanayoga and Bhaktiyoga. The specific objectives include describing the verbal communication process from Hindu point of view, and understanding how verbal communication leads human being to Moksha, and also examining whether Sanchar could be considered as a kind of yoga.

Hinduism has not only set Moksha as the highest of purushartha chatustaya (four goals of human life), it is believed to assure all humans of equal rights for the attainment. Since humans are of different natures Hinduism has incorporated different paths for Mumukshus (Moksha-seekers). Based on those different paths, a number of yogas have been introduced. For instance, Karmayoga, Jnanayoga and Bhaktiyoga are renowned modes for the pursuit of Moksha.

Sanchar, originally a Sanskrit word with number of meanings including the one equivalent to what is understood as the communication in modern sense, has been envisioned uniquely in Hindu perspective. The verbal communication process from Hindu perspective, as understood with the help of the Sadharanikaran model, qualifies not only as a process of perfect human communication in worldly setting but also as a means for attaining Moksha-in-life. Moksha is highest attainment of human; Moksha is not just a theoretical concept; and Moksha can be attained even during the life. The process of verbal communication qualifies as a means for attaining Moksha no matter how it is the Shabda Brahman or the Shabda pramana. In either case the Vak or Shabda verily is the Supreme Brahman. Thus Sancharshastra ultimately becomes a Mokshashastra and the discipline of communication a kind of vidya (true knowledge).The process of communication (Sanchar) can be accepted as a kind yoga provided the process results in the attainment of Moksha. As Hinduism has set Moksha as the highest of purushartha chatustaya (four goals of human life) and has introduced different paths, that is, different kinds of yoga, for the attainment of Moksha, the Sancharyoga is an added path in this tradition. Thus Sancharyoga is a kind of yoga wherein the suffix represents the same as in Karmayoga, Jnanayoga and Bhaktiyoga.

Nirmala Mani Adhikary

Sadharanikaran

2008-05-04T19:16:00.005+05:30

In "Aristotle's and the Sadharanikaran Models of Communication: A Comparative Study" (N.M. Adhikary's Independet Study for M.Phil.), Aristotles model and the Sadharanikaran model have been compared in terms of structure and scope of two models, human relationships in the process and the goal of communication. Then it is shown that these two models differ in all of the four aspects.

Aristotle's model has unrealistic linear approach due to which number of biases created and advancement of the communication discipline stained. But the Sadharanikaran model is non-linear and hence free from the limitations of Aristotle's model.

The scope of the Sadharanikaran model is too broad as compared to Aristotle's model. The latter is considered applicable to public speaking merely. But the former seems applicable for the study of all levels of communication from intrapersonal to interpersonal to mass. Its scope ranges even from the human communication to the attainment of Moksha. Thus it is in consonance with the Hindu worldview.

In Aristotle's model, the receiver is vulnerable to dominance and manipulation by the sender as he/she is passive. In the Sadharanikaran model, though the relationship is hierarchical the sender and the receiver are Sahridayas and thus are capable of experiencing satisfaction and joy. This model offers explanation of how successful communication is possible in Hindu society where complex hierarchies of castes, languages, cultures and religious practices are prevalent.

Finally, these two models differ vastly while setting the goal of communication. Aristotle's model has a highly specific and narrower goal of influencing or persuading the receiver as intended by the sender. The Sadharanikaran model, on the other hand, aims mutual understanding and becoming Sahridaya. Its goal covers worldly as well as spiritual achievements by encompassing all of Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha.

By this comparative understanding, we come to the conclusion that Aristotle's model cannot represent and describe the communication theory and practice of countries like Nepal and India.

The scope of the Sadharanikaran model should be properly understood. With vast diversities of cultures and philosophies within the Hindu society, it is just one of many models that could be developed. Many theories and models of communication would come out if communication discipline has enthusiasm of encountering with different Hindu philosophical traditions.

Nirmala Mani Adhikary

The Electronic Media

2008-05-04T05:53:00.000+05:30

– Christopher Sterling

The first experimental broadcast stations operated in the United States in the years prior to World War I. They had sporadic schedules of but a few hours a week. The first broadcast in the world was probably done by Reginald Fessenden in 1906 from a transmitter south of Boston, Massachusetts.

AM (or medium wave) radio broadcasting began on a regular basis in late 1920, when several stations first went on the air, primarily to sell radio receivers (the first stations were owned by major electrical manufacturers). In 1922, the number of stations shot up from about 30 to more than 500 -- with 30 to more than 500, with no overall supervision or regulation about access to spectrum. The public craze for radio dates to this time. Only after much pressure from radio operators did the U.S. Congress finally agree to set up a regulatory scheme to license stations in 1927.

Until 1941, broadcasting consisted only of AM stations and networks. In 1926 to 1928, both the CBS and NBC networks began operation, rapidly establishing the pattern of advertising-supported entertainment programs that still characterizes the American system of electronic media.

Just before the United States entered World War II (December 1941), FM (or VHF) radio and television broadcasting was approved for regular operation. Only a few stations of either service got on the air before a wartime freeze on most civilian construction, which lasted until 1946.

From 1945 to 1952, the industry and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grappled with allocation problems for FM and television, and getting both services up and running. FM was moved from its old allocation to the present 88-108 MHz in 1945.

Television networks owned by ABC, CBS, and NBC began regular operation in 1948. Then, just as the public's appetite for television was at its height, the FCC had to suspend accepting applications for new television stations from 1948 until 1952, while crucial decisions were made to add UHF frequencies (to the 12 VHF channels already in use) to allow more television stations in more communities and to reserve some frequencies for noncommercial TV stations. In a parallel proceeding, color television standards were issued late in 1953 (though color was not commercially important until the late 1960s).

The number of stations on the air grew slowly after 1952 as both television and AM expanded. For much of that decade, FM radio stagnated due to lack of original programming, limited numbers of receivers, and almost total disinterest in the secondary radio service by advertisers because of tiny audiences. Only after 1958 did the number of FM radio stations begin to climb as interest in high-fidelity sound aided its expansion, which was pushed further by agreement on FM stereo standards early in 1961 and requirements after the mid-1960s that most FM stations program differently from co-owned AM operations. That gave the medium an identity of its own for the first time, and by 1979, more people listened to FM than AM. A decade later, three quarters of all radio listening was to FM stations.

Competition for broadcasting was slow in developing. The first community antenna television (CATV, now usually called cable) systems began operation in the Rocky Mountains and in the Appalachians, where small towns could not get signals from distant markets and were too small to support stations on their own. Only a tiny proportion of Americans were "on cable" until well into the 1970s.

In 1975 came two separate developments that would show the way to a more competitive future in electronic media. Sony placed the first Betamax VCRs on sale, and Home Box Office, a pay-cable service, announced plans to begin use of a domestic communications satellite (domsat) transponder to deliver its signal across the nation.

Fifteen years later, two-thirds of all American households had VCRs and could "time-shift" their viewing, about 60 percent had "basic" cable television service (that supported by advertising), about 30 percent subscribed to one or more pay cable networks, and virtually all national electronic media program services were distributed to stations and cable systems by means of domsats.

Cable program networks expanded rapidly after the late 1970s, with Cable News Network (CNN) and others beginning operation by 1980. At the same time, the number of noncommercial and independent (of network affiliation) stations grew, giving viewers more choice of programming.

Where the networks dominated prime time viewing (usually between 7 and 11 p.m.), controlling about 90 percent of those watching television in 1980, a decade later their share of the TV audience had dwindled to between 55 and 60 percent. The audience was making increasing use of competitive cable services, rental movies for their VCRs, and independent or noncommercial broadcast stations.

Broadcasting in America is based on a system of privately owned local radio and television stations and cable television systems. While these outlets are widely diversified in their ownership, nearly all subscribe (contract for) one or more national program services or networks.

In round numbers, there are nearly 12,000 broadcast stations in the country -- more than 5,000 AM and 5,000 FM stations -- and nearly 1,500 television stations. Major markets often have 30 or more radio stations and five to seven television stations.

Federal regulation allows any company or individual to control up to 12 AM, 12 FM, and 12 television stations, no more than one of each kind in a given market. There are no ownership limits on the number of cable systems or subscribers one company can control. Telephone companies are not allowed to own cable systems where they also provide telephone service, a limitation presently under attack by the telephone industry. One owner cannot control a television station and cable service in the same marketplace.

Most television stations sign a contract with a national network in order to carry its programs. Fewer radio stations are network affiliates.

There are four major television broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox), which each owns a few stations in large markets (called O&Os, for owned-and-operated) and is affiliated by contract with about 200 other stations across the country.

There is no ownership connection between the networks -- they are held independently of one another. Network programs are beamed to O&O and affiliate stations by means of satellites. The broadcast networks (except Fox) each operate news divisions that present daily newscasts and specials. Entertainment programming is leased from independent companies.

There are nearly 60 cable networks, all of which are distributed nationally by means of domestic satellite transponders that beam signals to the "headends" of cable systems for distribution to homes. Of these networks, a few are pay networks (Home Box Office, owned by Time Warner, is the oldest and largest), where viewers subscribe by paying a monthly fee averaging nearly $10 to $50 a month. The rest are advertiser-supported services such as Turner Broadcasting System, the Discovery Network, and the USA Network.

Many cable networks are very specialized -- in comedy, weather forecasts, business news. More services are announced all the time.

Dozens of radio networks -- most of them music services -- deliver programming by satellite or mailed recordings. A few provide regular news services.

Broadcasting and most cable services in America are supported by the sale of advertising time. Of all advertising dollars spent each year, television takes about 22 percent and radio another 7 percent. Cable advertising is negligible thus far -- perhaps 1 percent of the total. For comparison, newspapers account for about 29 percent of all advertising dollars. The largest portion of broadcast advertising revenue comes from sales to local advertisers.

Most commercial television stations devote between 10 and 12 minutes per hour to advertising, usually less in prime-time hours. Radio stations carry more advertising -- often 18 to 20 minutes per hour. Cable advertising is relatively undeveloped thus far.

The electronic media industries are not large. About 100,000 people work directly in radio or television broadcasting, mostly for local television stations. The typical radio station may have just two or three employees in small markets and up to several dozen in bigger cities. Increasing use of automation has cut the size of station staffs.

Television outlets have anywhere from 25 to several hundred employees. Cable systems have many employees in customer relations and repair, but only a few are needed in technical operation and program categories.

Most of this article deals with commercial broadcasting, since that is the most widely available and most listened to service. But there is an alternative service in both radio and television -- noncommercial service.

The first noncommercial radio stations went on the air in the 1920s (and, experimentally, even earlier). Many school systems and universities operated stations -- but most had given up their licenses by the early 1930s under financial pressure, lack of sure need for the facilities, and demands for their frequencies from commercial operators. By the end of World War II, there were only about 25 AM educational stations on the air.

When the FCC approved FM radio on its present spectrum in 1945, it set aside the lowest 20 channels for noncommercial operation.

Beginning in the late 1940s, and growing steadily ever since, the noncommercial radio industry had expanded to some 1,400 outlets by 1990.

Key to that expansion was a rising federal government funding role. Prior to 1963, there was no federal funding for noncommercial radio. The chief national supporter, through grants, was the Ford Foundation. Formation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in 1967 and its creation of National Public Radio (NPR) a year later gave the noncommercial stations their first nationwide identity.

Noncommercial television stations lacked reserved channels until 1952 and got them then only after several years of government debate over the idea. The first stations, mainly on the UHF band, went on the air in 1953 and 1954. Early years saw the slow growth of stations, usually for lack of financing. Well into the 1970s, many major U.S. cities and some whole states lacked even one noncommercial station.

As with radio, Ford Foundation funding was central to the survival of the pioneering noncommercial stations, most of which were run by universities or community organizations.

The creation of CPB and its formation of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) helped give the scattered noncommercial television stations a national identity. Increased federal funding and those national programs pushed the number of noncommercial stations to well over 300 by 1990. Several states operate networks of public TV stations, enabling statewide coverage of important events.

Until recently, about half of all money helping to support the noncommercial stations and networks came from taxes -- federal funds through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or state taxes in support of stations in that state. Tax support by 1990 amounted to under 40 percent of total revenues. The remainder comes from businesses providing program grants (called underwriting), individual donations, foundations, and other sources.

Public broadcasters agree that their chief problem is and always has been to raise sufficient money to operate. They note that public radio and television in the United States operate with a fraction of the revenue of commercial broadcasting. Some critics have suggested that the lack of a clear agreement on the role of a noncommercial service in the largely commercial American system is at the heart of the continuing quest for funds.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the two network operations, National Public Radio for radio and the Public Broadcasting Service for television, largely represent noncommercial broadcasting in the Washington policy arena. NPR connects some 250 noncommercial radio stations -- the larger and better-financed outlets. It provides popular news programs in the early evening and weekday mornings. NPR produces much of what it provides to stations.

On the other hand, PBS only operates the interconnection of the television network. All PBS programs are produced by a few major public TV stations (such as those in Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington), overseas broadcast systems (especially those in Britain), and independent producers. Through a complicated "Station Program Cooperative" voting process each year, PBS member stations vote their support dollars for programs they want.

Proponents of public service broadcasting have argued for years that only noncommercial stations can offer the culture, education, and other programs to balance the largely entertainment fare offered by the networks and cable.

Critics say that as the number of channels received in most houses increases, and as VCR ownership surges past two-thirds of all American homes, noncommercial broadcasting is too expensive to continue to support. Those who desire such programs can receive them less expensively by means of videotapes or other methods, while the channels now held by noncommercial stations could be put to far more efficient use by others.

The development of children's, science, and other specialized cable networks has only added pressure on noncommercial broadcasters to justify why they should continue to enjoy reserved channels and other exemptions from rules that apply to other broadcasters.

The chief and continuing problem for the electronic media generally is the appetite of stations and channels for program material. The entertainment programming that occupies most network time (and makes up the majority of syndicated programming) is produced by independent companies, most based in southern California.

Prime time is the most important competitive showcase for television network programming and is largely devoted to comedy and drama programs. Schedules are set early each year to begin the new TV season in September. Unsuccessful programs (those with low ratings) are replaced throughout the year as needed.

Local network affiliates simply carry network programming in prime time and many daytime hours. Remaining time is nearly all filled with other entertainment programming (chiefly game shows and reruns of network material) offered to stations on a syndicated basis (the station buys the rights to air a program two or three times over a given period, usually exclusive rights for that city).

Virtually no television entertainment programming is produced locally -- it is far too expensive.

The vast majority of radio programming consists of various types of recorded popular music. In major cities, some stations emphasize news and talk formats, but most exist to play records and provide short newscasts -- and lots of advertisements! Radio networks were important until the 1950s, when television competition killed them off. In recent years, use of satellites to distribute radio program formats has revived some degree of national programming.

Some surveys suggest that most Americans get most of their news (especially national and international coverage) from television. With the rise of CNN and other cable information services, this may be even more true. Many Americans get their view of the world from five-minute radio newscasts or short items on network or local station programs.

News is popular with audiences and advertisers. The evening network half-hour newscasts get most of the news viewership. In recent years, CNN's two news networks have become something of a viewing habit with many Americans, given their 24-hour availability in homes that have cable television.

Other serious information programming -- interviews, public affairs programs, documentaries -- are in decline because audiences are small.

The content of all these programs is largely determined by the networks (or local stations for their own local evening newscasts -- major attractions for advertisers and audiences). National news agencies provide considerable input, but most American networks have their own reporters and use stringers in more remote areas.

Certainly the best-known American television program for children is "Sesame Street," a product of the Children's Television Workshop in New York, which first aired on public television in 1969. "Big Bird," "Kermit the Frog," and other characters are known around the world in various national versions of this highly successful combination of live action, animation, and lessons.

The television networks all reach children Saturday mornings with action-adventure cartoons.

Professional and college football is the most popular continuing sports coverage on television. Radio and television also present hours of baseball and basketball coverage, with less time given to other sports. The general public also gets very interested in Olympic coverage. There is some evidence (falling audience ratings) that audiences may have reached the saturation point with certain sports coverage.

Since about 1930, ever-better means of researching and reporting audience listening and viewing habits have had a major impact on program trends. A.C. Nielsen (a division of Dun & Bradstreet) and Arbitron (part of Control Data Corporation) are the major national ratings firms. Nielsen reports network and local market TV ratings, while Arbitron reports local market television and radio ratings. There is no ownership connection between these companies and any broadcasting entity.

Ratings are gathered because advertisers need to know who and how many are watching programs -- this information being crucial in deciding which media to "buy" for a given product. Broadcasters (and increasingly cable networks) "sell" audiences to advertisers, using ratings to measure their reach -- how many of the potential audience are in the actual audience.

Ratings are based on the principle of sampling. For example, Nielsen draws its national ratings from a sample of about 4,000 homes scientifically selected to represent various geographic regions of the country, along with different economic and social groups. These ratings are said to be a fair representation of national listening patterns, plus or minus about 3 percent.

Ratings are gathered by different methods. Most recent -- and controversial -- is the use of the people meter, a device requiring viewers to punch in on a remote control device when prompted by a computer in their receiver.

Older methods include telephone surveys of various kinds and keeping paper diaries of listening or watching activity over a week or so.

In the United States, the electronic media play a vital role in the election campaigns for both local and national office. Television time is expensive and makes up the largest portion of election campaign budgets.

It is now traditional (but certainly not required) for presidential candidates to debate one another on television a few times during the campaign. These "debates" are usually in the form of candidates answering questions rather than directly arguing with one another.

The media in the United States and elsewhere are also said to have an agenda-setting effect on listeners. If the media cover a given event or problem area, then surveys show that most viewers more readily think of that issue as a serious matter.

Two provisions of the American Constitution govern the regulation of communications. The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8) gives Congress the right to regulate commerce between and among the states and between the states and foreign countries. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the press. From these two precedents, both over 200 years old, comes all governmental activity in communication.

Congress first passed laws regulating wireless in 1910 and 1912. Only in 1927 was the first law passed specifically to regulate the licensing of broadcasting stations. That law created the all-important "public interest, convenience, and necessity" (PICON) standard by which licensing and other regulatory decisions are judged.

Congress felt broadcasting needed regulation, in part because the industry itself had requested it to reduce interference on the air, but also because there was (and is) insufficient spectrum to accommodate all who wish to broadcast. Further, the electromagnetic spectrum is held to be a natural public resource, and thus government oversees its use by licensing services needing spectrum.

In 1934, Congress passed the more comprehensive Communications Act, which brought telephone and broadcasting regulation under one agency and which still governs federal regulatory policy, though it has been amended several times since. That law continued the "PICON" standard and established the FCC.

The Federal Communications Commission consists of five commissioners who are appointed by the president and approved by the U.S. Senate, and some 1,800 civil servants who provide the legal, engineering, and economic expertise required to regulate modern telecommunications. The FCC's annual budget is about $110 million, relatively small by federal government standards. The FCC's Mass Media Bureau of some 300 people oversees broadcasting. Its chief function is to license stations.

Broadcast stations are licensed for seven years (radio) or five years (television), and these licenses may be and usually are renewed time and again. The licensing of services is the single most important function of the FCC. Cable systems, on the other hand, are franchised by local communities, and there is little federal regulation of cable.

The FCC has the authority (delegated by Congress) to set technical standards for telecommunication services. Until the early 1980s, companies and industry groups would test competing systems for a given standard and would recommend a standard to the FCC which would usually then approve (mandate) that standard. The standards for black-and-white and color television (the NTSC system) and stereo FM were derived in this fashion.

With its decision on AM stereo broadcasting in early 1982, the FCC moved away from that approach, leaving it to the undefined "marketplace" to decide on a specific standard. The very limited success of AM stereo suggests that the marketplace approach does not work well in this case.

There is little regulation of programming in America. The primary reason for this is the First Amendment to the Constitution. There are federal limits on the use of obscene program materials, and there are requirements on access by candidates for political office.

Otherwise, the amount and type of programming provided by stations and cable systems are a matter of managerial choice, not government fiat. Most particularly, there is no government control over the broadcasting of news and public affairs programs.

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Christopher Sterling is a professor with the National Center for Communications Studies at The George Washington University in Washington.

Original Location of this Article

The Right to Know

2008-05-04T05:45:00.002+05:30

– Richard A. Bumstead

Constitutionally protected free speech. Freedom of the press. They represent, as former U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan once wrote, "a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."

But something is missing. How can spirited and informed debate on public issues take place, particularly debate that embarrasses officials, if the public does not know what is going on -- if government cloaks its activities in secrecy and evasion? The historical record shows that, at one time or another, government at all levels -- federal, state, and local -- stands guilty of this charge.

It is the self-appointed role of the American press to inform the public about government activities, thereby sparking debate. Reporters continually look for stories that will play on the front page -- stories about corrupt government officials, or agencies that fail to do what is required by law, or government policies gone wrong. The press maintains that it gets little cooperation from government. Officials prefer to release information that reflects favorably on their activities -- and to duck embarrassing questions. The relationship between government and the press is, at bottom, adversarial, and most reporters prefer it that way.

Over the years, reporters have developed ways of getting at the truth. They rummage through records that are unquestionably public, such as the Congressional Record or the minutes of meetings held by public boards. Reporters develop sources in government, officials they trust and who trust them, and who will talk "off the record" about what is really going on. They exploit the "leak," information given to them surreptiously by sometimes disgruntled government employees who want to draw attention to illegal activity. They build stories by interviewing scores of people, none of whom knows the real purpose of the questions posed.

In 1966, the U.S. Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), giving reporters a new way of getting information on government activities. By law, they can demand to see government records -- not just the ones that have traditionally been open to the public, but, with a few exceptions, all that are records generated by government operations.

What kind of records? On the federal level, records such as a study done for the Atomic Energy Commission on cancer rates among 30,000 workers in an atomic weapons facility, federal audits issued two weeks before the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's 1986 Challenger disaster that revealed improper equipment monitoring at the Marshall Space Flight Center, and audits of defense contractors that disclosed federal tax dollars being used for travel and entertainment expenses.

Before the Freedom of Information Act became law, such records would never have been made public. The law favored the government's right to say who could examine and copy its records. In 1789, when the federal government was first established, department heads were given responsibility for keeping and safeguarding records and, by extension, prescribing their uses. In the beginning, officials relied on the common-law practice of opening public records only to those who had an interest in them, commonly called the need-to-know doctrine. State and local governments followed this common-law rule as well.

Over the years, the power of state and local government officials to deny access to records had been whittled down by legislation and court decisions, generating a patchwork of law and regulation that few reporters could master. All too frequently, a reporter found that he or she had no clear-cut right to certain information. On the federal level, Congress made an attempt to liberalize rules of access to federal records in 1946. The Administrative Procedure Act of that year said that matters of official record should be made available to the public, but added that an agency could restrict access to its documents "for good cause found" or "in the public interest." The need-to-know doctrine still lived.

How did this need-to-know principle work in practice? A government official would make a judgment -- yes or no -- on whether someone requesting a particular document or report needed to know what was in it by virtue of his or her position, or job, or what he or she intended to do with the information. And there was no appeal from some official's denial of access to the records.

As a practical matter, this put a reporter -- or a citizen -- at the mercy of some officious clerk. Here is an example from my own experience. In the early 1970s, I was working as a free-lance writer in the northeastern U.S. state of Massachusetts, trying to put together a story on the costs of running state-supported colleges, whose campuses are scattered throughout the state. I had a hunch that some colleges were receiving a disproportionate share of the budget at the expense of other schools -- a theory that, if true, would have made a good story. I wanted to compare each college's expenditures to determine if any campus was favored.

I appeared at the one place that had these figures in a central file -- the state board of higher education in Boston. "I'd like to see the college budgets for last year," I politely said to each of the several people I was shunted to. Invariably I was asked two questions: "Whom do you represent?" and "Why do you want this information?"

I replied, truthfully, that I represented myself, and what I wanted the information for depended on what I found -- answers that no one found satisfactory. Finally, the assistant to the deputy chancellor for education in the state suggested that I write a request to the chancellor himself, and he would consider it in due time. The classic brush-off.

I had gotten this kind of response before and had learned to keep my temper in check. Whom I represented and what I was going to do with the information had no bearing whatsoever on my request. A new Massachusetts law had given me -- in fact, any person -- the right to examine and copy any document generated by the state government in going about its business (with certain understandable exceptions, such as law enforcement records).

I wrote a letter to the chancellor, citing the law, and asked to be shown these documents two weeks hence. On the appointed date, a clerk ushered me into the board room and gave me the documents I wanted to examine, no questions asked. It was, I believe, the first brush of a rather obscure state agency with the Massachusetts open-records law. No longer was a person in Massachusetts required to establish a need to know what was in records. He or she had the right to know.

Today, all states have right-to-know statutes. They include three essential elements: presumption of a public right of access to government records, placing the burden of proof on government officials who want to withhold information; enforceability of this public right in court; and statutory exemptions to disclosure of certain information, such as tax returns.

The preamble of the right-to-know law in the state of California catches the democratic spirit that underlies such legislation: "In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.

"The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."

The right-to-know laws enacted by state legislatures invariably were accompanied by another kind of law that made the job of monitoring government activities much easier -- the open-meetings law. Such a law requires that any government agency run by a board must give public notice on when and where it meets, must open the session to the public, and must conduct no public business (with certain exceptions) outside this session. The state board of higher education in Massachusetts, for example, a group appointed by the governor to coordinate state higher education, was compelled by the Massachusetts open-meetings law to do its business in public.

The open-records and open-meetings laws have made an amazing difference in how reporters and state government officials operate, says an editor on the Arkansas Gazette: "The attitude has changed -- not only of reporters but of public officials. School boards that have never been covered now provide not only notice of their meetings but a desk and chair for the press. Small towns as well as large ones are opening their meetings to the press, some of them before being asked. Many reporters have reproduced copies of the laws and carry them around with them in their billfolds. They are much more militant than before. When the Alcoholic Beverage Board left the state capitol and tried to hide in a member's private office downtown to conduct business, the press marched into the office and demanded to be admitted. Just last week the state real estate commission and the private real estate board tried to hold a closed joint meeting on the guise that the state board was merely a guest of the private group, but the reporters put the pressure on and were admitted."

The federal government was not immune to this nationwide movement to open up government records and meetings. Prodded by newspapers and by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Congress held several committee hearings on the subject over an 11-year span. Not one administrative official testified in favor of proposed right-to-know legislation, seeing it as a threat to executive prerogative.

Nonetheless, Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act in July 1966. It applied the right-to-know principle to federal records. President Lyndon Johnson was said to have signed the legislation reluctantly. Eight years later, the act was amended to make it more effective. That same year, another statute, the Privacy Act of 1974, was enacted, giving individuals the right to access information contained in their own federal records. And in 1976, the Congress passed, and President Gerald Ford signed into law, the Sunshine Act, the federal equivalent of state open-meetings laws.

The FOIA established that "any person" has a right, enforceable in court, to access records of executive branch agencies of the federal government. It does not apply to records maintained by the U.S. Congress, the federal court system, or the president's executive staff in the White House. Other, more restrictive rules govern the accessibility of such records.

To get information from the federal government under the FOIA, any person -- a reporter, citizen, even a foreign national -- files a request in writing describing the information he or she wants and addresses it to the FOIA officer in the agency that has the records. One can ask to inspect the records or to receive copies. The agency may charge reasonable search and copy fees. The agency has 10 days in which to provide the records sought or to state the exemption in the FOIA that allows it to refuse.

Information that falls within certain categories is generally withheld; these restricted categories are national security, trade secrets and confidential commercial information, internal agency memorandums, records that invade a person's right to privacy, law enforcement investigations, and information specifically exempted by prior law (for example, information contained in tax returns). If a request is denied, one may appeal the decision first to the agency for another review, and finally to a federal court. The government bears the burden of proof thatthe information requested is indeed exempt.

Over the history of the FOIA, however, many government officials have construed the act as narrowly as possible, forcing requesters to go to court for clarification. Numerous court cases have been filed over what constitutes a reasonable fee for search and copying expenses. In 1990, a reporter from the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado, was told by the U.S. Department of Energy that her newspaper must pay $1 million in search and copy costs to obtain the travel records of the former Secretary of Energy. Often an agency, citing the volume of FOIA requests, fails to meet the 10-day response deadline, and the courts have been reluctant to insist on compliance.

In addition to procedural roadblocks, innumerable cases have been adjudicated over substantive issues. What, in fact, constitutes a public record? How does the Privacy Act of 1974 impinge on the Freedom of Information Act? Which prevails -- the president's security classification system, by which certain documents are marked "secret" or "top secret," or the FOIA? Such questions have generated a cottage industry on FOIA case law. Each year, the U.S. Justice Department publishes a case list for what must now be an army of FOIA attorneys. The most recent list contains 371 pages of citations, plus a 260-page annotated guide to the FOIA's legal history.

The upshot is that many journalists avoid using FOIA procedures. Says an investigative reporter at the Fresno (California) Bee: "Generally, I avoid FOIA at all costs. I don't have a lifetime to wait on the information coming through FOIA."

Any reporter who believes his or her FOIA request is not being handled properly can seek help from the Freedom of Information Service Center in Washington. It is a project of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to monitor government's compliance with the FOIA and educate reporters in FOIA procedures. The press associations in each state also monitor how well state and local governments are complying with local open-records and open-meetings laws.

"People don't use FOIA as often as they should, because they believe it is too cumbersome and time-consuming," says Rebecca Daugherty, director of the center. "And it's a shame. There are terrific stories being produced from use of FOIA. And we know there are many other stories waiting to be written."

One such story was published in 1989 by the Constitution, the leading newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia. It suspected that local banks were not lending an equitable amount of money to blacks to buy homes in black neighborhoods -- a form of discrimination prohibited by federal law. But how to prove it? Asking bank officials would have produced a noncommittal but politic answer, something like "I am sure our bank's lending policies conform to the law." And, indeed, their records may not have been organized to provide a ready answer even if bank officials volunteered to research the question.

But there was one untapped source. Under federal law, banks are required to report each home loan to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Here was a federal record of bank home loan lending practices in Atlanta, accessible under FOIA rules.

The Constitution filed a FOIA request for the data and received seven computer tapes listing 109,000 real estate loans made in Atlanta over the prior six years. The newspaper then arranged for a computer center to match the data with census tracts, which give the racial composition of inhabitants. The findings startled Atlanta, which prided itself on its race relations: Whites received more than five times as many home loans from Atlanta's banks as blacks of the same income.

"The numbers you have are damning," said the chairperson of a leading Atlanta bank. "Those numbers are mind-boggling. Atlanta bankers are discriminating against the central city, but it's not a willful thing."

After months of "uninhibited, robust, and wide-open" public debate, Atlanta banks revised their lending practices and committed millions of dollars to home mortgages in black areas. And the Constitution won a Pulitzer Prize, one of America's highest journalistic awards, for making imaginative use of the right-to-know law.

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Richard A. Bumstead is a Washington-based writer with the U.S. Information Agency.

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Original Source of this Article

Principles of Journalism

2008-04-29T22:51:00.000+05:30

In 1997, an organization then administered by PEJ, the Committee of Concerned Journalists, began a national conversation among citizens and news people to identify and clarify the principles that underlie journalism. After four years of research, including 20 public forums around the country, a reading of journalism history, a national survey of journalists, and more, the group released a Statement of Shared Purpose that identified nine principles. These became the basis for The Elements of Journalism, the book by PEJ Director Tom Rosenstiel and CCJ Chairman and PEJ Senior Counselor Bill Kovach. Here are those principles, as outlined in the original Statement of Shared Purpose.

A Statement of Purpose
After extended examination by journalists themselves of the character of journalism at the end of the twentieth century, we offer this common understanding of what defines our work. The central purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with accurate and reliable information they need to function in a free society.

This encompasses myriad roles--helping define community, creating common language and common knowledge, identifying a community's goals, heros and villains, and pushing people beyond complacency. This purpose also involves other requirements, such as being entertaining, serving as watchdog and offering voice to the voiceless.

Over time journalists have developed nine core principles to meet the task. They comprise what might be described as the theory of journalism:

1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth
Democracy depends on citizens having reliable, accurate facts put in a meaningful context. Journalism does not pursue truth in an absolute or philosophical sense, but it can--and must--pursue it in a practical sense. This "journalistic truth" is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, valid for now, subject to further investigation. Journalists should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can make their own assessment of the information. Even in a world of expanding voices, accuracy is the foundation upon which everything else is built--context, interpretation, comment, criticism, analysis and debate. The truth, over time, emerges from this forum. As citizens encounter an ever greater flow of data, they have more need--not less--for identifiable sources dedicated to verifying that information and putting it in context.

2. Its first loyalty is to citizens
While news organizations answer to many constituencies, including advertisers and shareholders, the journalists in those organizations must maintain allegiance to citizens and the larger public interest above any other if they are to provide the news without fear or favor. This commitment to citizens first is the basis of a news organization's credibility, the implied covenant that tells the audience the coverage is not slanted for friends or advertisers. Commitment to citizens also means journalism should present a representative picture of all constituent groups in society. Ignoring certain citizens has the effect of disenfranchising them. The theory underlying the modern news industry has been the belief that credibility builds a broad and loyal audience, and that economic success follows in turn. In that regard, the business people in a news organization also must nurture--not exploit--their allegiance to the audience ahead of other considerations.

3. Its essence is a discipline of verification
Journalists rely on a professional discipline for verifying information. When the concept of objectivity originally evolved, it did not imply that journalists are free of bias. It called, rather, for a consistent method of testing information--a transparent approach to evidence--precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not undermine the accuracy of their work. The method is objective, not the journalist. Seeking out multiple witnesses, disclosing as much as possible about sources, or asking various sides for comment, all signal such standards. This discipline of verification is what separates journalism from other modes of communication, such as propaganda, fiction or entertainment. But the need for professional method is not always fully recognized or refined. While journalism has developed various techniques for determining facts, for instance, it has done less to develop a system for testing the reliability of journalistic interpretation.

4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
Independence is an underlying requirement of journalism, a cornerstone of its reliability. Independence of spirit and mind, rather than neutrality, is the principle journalists must keep in focus. While editorialists and commentators are not neutral, the source of their credibility is still their accuracy, intellectual fairness and ability to inform--not their devotion to a certain group or outcome. In our independence, however, we must avoid any tendency to stray into arrogance, elitism, isolation or nihilism.

5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power
Journalism has an unusual capacity to serve as watchdog over those whose power and position most affect citizens. The Founders recognized this to be a rampart against despotism when they ensured an independent press; courts have affirmed it; citizens rely on it. As journalists, we have an obligation to protect this watchdog freedom by not demeaning it in frivolous use or exploiting it for commercial gain.

6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
The news media are the common carriers of public discussion, and this responsibility forms a basis for our special privileges. This discussion serves society best when it is informed by facts rather than prejudice and supposition. It also should strive to fairly represent the varied viewpoints and interests in society, and to place them in context rather than highlight only the conflicting fringes of debate. Accuracy and truthfulness require that as framers of the public discussion we not neglect the points of common ground where problem solving occurs.

7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant

Journalism is storytelling with a purpose. It should do more than gather an audience or catalogue the important. For its own survival, it must balance what readers know they want with what they cannot anticipate but need. In short, it must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant. The effectiveness of a piece of journalism is measured both by how much a work engages its audience and enlightens it. This means journalists must continually ask what information has most value to citizens and in what form. While journalism should reach beyond such topics as government and public safety, a journalism overwhelmed by trivia and false significance ultimately engenders a trivial society.

8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
Keeping news in proportion and not leaving important things out are also cornerstones of truthfulness. Journalism is a form of cartography: it creates a map for citizens to navigate society. Inflating events for sensation, neglecting others, stereotyping or being disproportionately negative all make a less reliable map. The map also should include news of all our communities, not just those with attractive demographics. This is best achieved by newsrooms with a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. The map is only an analogy; proportion and comprehensiveness are subjective, yet their elusiveness does not lessen their significance.

9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience
Every journalist must have a personal sense of ethics and responsibility--a moral compass. Each of us must be willing, if fairness and accuracy require, to voice differences with our colleagues, whether in the newsroom or the executive suite. News organizations do well to nurture this independence by encouraging individuals to speak their minds. This stimulates the intellectual diversity necessary to understand and accurately cover an increasingly diverse society. It is this diversity of minds and voices, not just numbers, that matters.

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