Tidbits from Southasian region

It is always tremendously sad to report on the killing of journalists, and here Chhetria Patrakar has to refer to the murder of Zakia Zaki on 5 June. Zazi (see pic) headed the private radio station Sada-e-Sulh (Peace Radio) in Afghanistan's northern province of Pawan. Her murder – by seven bullets fired point-blank – was seen as a warning for women not to work in the media. Hundreds of women have joined the profession since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Zaki, described by the Afghan Independent Journalists Association as "independent and courageous", had previously received death threats, and had faced down demands for Sada-e-Sulh to be taken off the air. Another woman journalist was also murdered in Afghanistan during the last month. Shakiba Sanga Amaj (see pic), a 22-year-old television presenter with the Pashtu channel Shamshad TV, was killed on 31 May. Amaj's death might have had something to do with a marriage-related family matter, but the loss of a professional reporter and presenter will be felt dearly by the fledgling Afghan media.
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We all liked to believe that Gen Musharraf was a libertarian when it came to the media, for the way in which he allowed journalists free reign all these years. Well, it turns out that that was only because he was confident about his hold on the polity, the lack of opposition from exiled leaders Nawaz and Benazir, and the Western support that propped him up, especially after 9/11. Also, because he knew that the English-language press represented no political challenge, the general was willing to indulge it in its independence. But with the unravelling of his control, the anti-media nature of the Musharraf regime is becoming clear.

During May, the transmission of three leading private television channels was blocked, in an attempt to contain the controversy surrounding the general's suspension of the chief justice. What scares Gen Musharraf, of course, is that these channels – ARY, Aaj and GEO – air in Urdu, and thus have the power to rouse mass sentiment. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has denied harassing the stations, claiming that cable operators had themselves begun censoring their own broadcasts. Well, we know otherwise. Following political opposition and vigorous protests by journalist organisations, the Pakistani government was forced to suspend implementation of an ordinance that would have increased PEMRA's powers. The authorities have instead announced the creation of a six-member committee to review the controversial ordinance, and to submit a report to the prime minister. But things will probably get worse for the media in Pakistan before they get better.
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Over in India, the central government is at least is a little circumspect when it comes to directing the press. And so, when the authorities decided that their journalists were getting out of hand in its coverage of the conflict between the Meena and Gujjar communities in Rajasthan (see accompanying story), Information Minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi (see pic) called in the television channels and asked them to show restraint. NDTV executive director Dibang indicated that the authorities even suggested that the names of the two communities not be used in newscasts. Responding to reports that he had issued veiled threats to the media, the minister said: "I am not advising or dictating. I have no right to dictate." Meanwhile, Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN-IBN stated that the minister had "made an appeal for self-regulation, which is fine."
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It has now come time for the Pakistani regime to be worried about a Sindhi magazine published in India with a circulation of 1000, of which perhaps a score or two arrive in Karachi. Ghanshyam Das G Hotumatani is a Pakistani who emigrated to New Delhi in 1995, where he started the monthly Sindhun Yo Sansar – the 'World of Sindhis'. It is a one-man operation, and copies are mailed to readers, especially journalists, in Sindh. The Sindh Home Department has now ordered a ban on the publication and the confiscation of all copies on the market. The allegation is of provocative articles against the state of Pakistan. Meanwhile, the province's Home Secretary, Ghulam Muhammad Mohatarem, told the Daily Times of Lahore: "I don't remember exactly why we have banned the magazine, as I am out of my office and the related file of this issue is lying in my office." We await the honourable secretary's visit to his office, and hope that he locates the file.
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In case you missed it, Aung San Suu Kyi turned 62 on 19 June 2007. Here's a nice painting by artist Andrea Harris.
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The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has come out with a report on newspaper sales globally and in Southasia, which allows us to see just how fast the Indian press is growing. Whereas 97 million Americans read the news in print, every day in India 150 million people (and counting) pick up the paper. In terms of numbers of copies sold, the world's five largest newspaper markets are: China (99 million copies sold daily), India (89 million), Japan (69 million), the US (52 million) and Germany (21 million). Sales of Hindi dailies in India make up 34 million, while English papers sell around 11 million copies. Indian newspaper sales increased 13 percent in 2006, and 54 percent over the past five years. Newspaper advertising revenues in India increased 23 percent over one year, and 85 percent over the last five. All of which makes you wonder: Why are we doing whatever it is we are doing, instead of investing in Indian media, and becoming subcontinental media moguls?
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Rakesh Sharma is the maker of the widely hailed documentary on the 2002 Gujarat carnage, Final Solution. May 2005 found him filming on the sidewalks of New York City with a handheld video camera – having taken neither the official filming permit nor the one-million-dollar insurance coverage needed. After Sharma was detained by the New York authorities, he decided to sue, claiming that the need for a permit was an impediment to free speech. For his pains, Sharma has forced through a rewriting of the rules in NYC: filmmakers and photographers using handheld equipment will henceforth need neither city permits nor insurance coverage. It is said that the New York Police Department has agreed to pay the filmmaker "an unspecified sum" as part of the settlement. CP would guess the sum would be enough to fund several more Sharma documentaries (with handheld camera) in the days to come.
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On 20 June, Sri Lankans who tried to log on to Tamilnet, a Tamil news website, were frustrated by their inability to do so. It later turned out that the government had ordered all major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Sri Lanka to block the website. Hosted overseas, Tamilnet became one of the most well known news websites under editor Darmaratnam Sivaram, until his murder in April 2005. Well, Chhetria Patrakar is aware of Tamilnet's pro-LTTE leanings, but is always appreciative of its analyses, insights and reports on Tamil issues – almost missing from mainstream Sinhala and English-language media. Surely, banning Tamilnet is not how to promote debate and discussion.
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In an article published in the Business Standard in early June, journalist Shuchi Bansal took a wide-ranging look at the use of tabloid-like material on Hindi news channels. It seems that the new station India TV's use of sensational news items (including an odd preponderance of stories on sex, snakes and ghosts) has led to a massive ratings rise over the past few months. Though it may have rival companies indignant, Bansal says that media veterans blame Star News for starting the trend of "blowing up the inconsequential" back in 2005, during a week of ratings wars in which Aaj Tak responded in kind.

Bansal notes that at least eight major Hindi news channels compete for an advertising pie worth INR 5.5 billion. But competition for ratings does not entirely explain the steamy or trivial nature of a significant amount of Hindi news content. Bansal's sources observe that news of this sort would not sell in Kerala, Bengal, Andhra Pradesh or the Northeast.

Some observers point out that the "race for the frivolous" can only be a shortcut for many Hindi networks and that, as these organisations re-evaluate their strategies, the market will be segmented between channels showing hard and soft news. Indeed, Chhetria Patrakar certainly hopes the best for Hindi television's non-tabloid news practitioners; India's Hindi-speakers deserve better, regardless of what ratings may show today.

~ Chhetria Patrakar