How traditional media are evolving

 Media researcher Harsha Man Maharjan is associated with Martin Chautari, one of the few social science research organisations in Nepal. Maharjan holds a doctorate degree in media studies from Kyoto University in Japan and has extensively studied Nepal's media industry. Purushottam Poudel of the Post spoke with Maharjan on the theory of media, its applicability in the changed context, the issue of media regulation, digital democracy, old and new media and a host of other issues. The following are excerpts from that interview. 

In the traditional media, the media dependency theory had a dominant role in a country like ours. How do you evaluate the media dependency theory with the emergence of new media? 

We know that the media dependency theory discusses the core and the periphery. It assumes that people on the periphery need to depend on the media at the core. As a media researcher, I cannot state that this theory does not have its influence, but of late, its effect has waned. Many local media outlets are now becoming global in terms of their access in the current scenario. As a result, not only the foreign media, but our media too, can equally influence foreigners with good content.

We can understand the celebration of this theory as media imperialism and its critique from the work of British scholar Jemery Tunstall. In the heyday of this theory, that is in 1977, he published a very important book, titled, The Media Are American.

The title speaks for itself. Simply, it says that the media are American. By this, he means that there was the domination of western media, mainly the American and British, in the world. He mentioned that developing countries could not make their own movies so they imported Hollywood movies. In the case of Nepal, it is interesting to remember that Nepal Television which was started in 1985 with a mission to promote national culture, later imported American teleserials, like Night Rider and Automan. In his book, Suitably Modern: Making Middle-class Culture in Nepal, Mark Liechty mentioned that around 1991, Nepal Television aired six Pakistani serials, four Hindi serials, including seven English serials.

However, the influence of the theory has been declining. In 2008, Jeremy Tunstall revised his thesis and published another book, The Media were American: US Mass Media in Decline. In this book, he has described the increasing role of national media with huge populations. He has highlighted the media from the perspective of nations like China, India, and Brazil. So, the dependency theory was successful up until recently for these causes.

Did the rise of new media weaken the media dependency theory?

Before answering this question, we have to know what is new media. There are scholars who think that the word ‘new media’ is a slippery term. Are the characteristics of new media totally different from old media? What is new about the new media? These are theoretical questions. Scholars have written books on these questions. When we say new media, often the people include online news media and social media. These media are highly interactive. So, the audiences can easily participate in new media as compared to traditional media. Digital content can use multimedia so the boundaries of print, radio and television have ended.

We should look at this question from two perspectives. On the one hand, social media has made people who did not have a say in traditional media, vocal comparatively. They don’t need to depend on traditional media. Activists can fight with international media players. They can criticise their representation in these media. They can try to make them accountable. So, the silenced people can speak. The traffic of information is not one-way as in the past. In fact, information flows in multiple ways. So we can say that the media dependency theory is undoubtedly waning as news sources multiply. Of course, the question of what to call the core and peripheral has arisen as a result of the new media. Social media does have a role to play in society, even though it would be too early to claim that they have a similar impact to that of traditional media in terms of bringing about changes.

However, if we think about the powerful IT companies, it seems as if dependency theory helps us to make sense of the present world where a few companies from western countries dominate. Let us take an example of social media platforms. In 2022, the top five such platforms were Facebook, YouTube, Whatsapp, Instagram, and TikTok. Except for TikTok which is based in China, the rest are based in the US. Our interaction with the world depends on these companies. People are hooked to them due to the powerful algorithms these platforms use. News media in Nepal depend on some of these platforms to distribute content to the audiences. News media companies worry that their brand names would be overshadowed by these social media platforms. Can we call this another kind of dependency?

With the expansion of the internet, new types of media have emerged, putting the need for their regulation up for debate. What’s your take on it?

This can be viewed from two policy debates. One is self-regulation. That means the media industry should make its own rules and ethics, and should not wait for the government to interfere. New media should improve themselves. They should have their own ethical guidelines. To prepare such guidelines, they need to sit together and discuss their problems.

In terms of legislation, our constitution ensures complete press freedom. The legal documents are important: Electronic Transaction Act (ETA), 2006 and Online News Operation Directive. Though the ETA was made to govern electronic transactions, it contains article 47 which restricts freedom of expression, online. In fact, as my research shows, this article appeared in an ordinance brought out by the royal regime and it was not changed when this Act was passed in 2006. Governments have misused this Act to breach press freedom. The directive is based on a non-media-related Act, the Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 (2008). This makes it mandatory for online news media to register at the Department of Information. The question of whether new media should be registered is currently being discussed within the country. There are some nations where media organisations, mainly newspapers, can operate unregistered. So, the government needs to prepare different laws related to online media in consultation with the industry.

There are discussions on the need to regulate new media as Nepal’s traditional media are under the purview of law. Meanwhile, the idea of digital democracy has come up. How do these schools of thought relate?

Digital democracy is a contradictory idea in itself. For instance, Balen Shah, the mayor of Kathmandu, declared that he would stream a municipal meeting live on social media. Is that a digital democracy?

Making powerful people more accountable through digital media could be a part of digital democracy. In this situation, anyone can respectfully pose a question to a person in authority. Here we should not forget these questions: Who wants to speak in a digital democracy and why they want to speak or who does not want to speak and why they do not want to speak are other issues that need to be addressed.

One shouldn't be permitted to express himself in whatever way he wants in the name of digital democracy. The frequency of hate speech has also grown recently. Digital democracy must therefore also be balanced. Hence, it is important to keep an eye on all forms of media, whether they are new or old.

Basically, from the new forms of media, populism in politics has become prevalent. Leaders try to draw followers to themselves by using emotion, rather than logic. Instead of making us mature, the growing media has made people immature. We have a rising propensity to scold the one we do not like rather than have a debate on the subject. There is a notion of digital democracy where people should have the ability to express their opinions. Yet, it should also adopt regulatory measures for balance.

So are you suggesting that with the rise of the new form of media, populism in politics has increased?

Certainly, the rise of new media has contributed to an increase in populism in politics. Before, political party leaders had to use traditional media to express their views. But as new media becomes more significant, leaders no longer seem to require traditional media as much as they did in the past.

In traditional media, before the news gets published, there is a rigorous editing procedure. Hence, it may not be published if what someone is trying to express is not true. However, the new media, which is in direct control of the leaders and their views, will have a lesser chance of gatekeeping. Furthermore, it has made it simpler for them to resort to populism.

Of late, there are many questions before the traditional media. Are they fair?

Being a media researcher, I am also aware of the problems within our traditional media. There are questions about our traditional media. I don't believe all of the accusations are real but some may be. However, we have only looked at the work of the media in black and white. We should have a nuanced understanding of how the media works.

Mass media were the sole channels of communication with a large audience until recently. Now, new media have been more effective at reaching the general public. And when mass media have an online presence, should they still be called traditional media?

The term ‘new media’ raises the question, "What exactly is new media?" Theoretically, whichever media emerges, at the very beginning, it becomes a new media.

We need to keep in mind a few factors when we discuss new media. Interactivity is higher in new media. Traditional media do not allow for the type of interaction that the new media does. Because of the new media's effect, traditional media now also distributes their material through them.

Although new media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok are all effective communication tools, they also have drawbacks. The fact that new media content must be delivered promptly makes it challenging to confirm its veracity.

It can also be seen from an alternative angle. Traditional media no longer use just a traditional medium. Many FMs now broadcast their shows live on Facebook, if FM is still considered a conventional media. Because of this, it is now challenging for us to differentiate between traditional media and new media. Currently, there are no boundaries for the media. The conventional media still plays an important role. They can practise journalism which new forms of media cannot do due to financial burdens like long-form investigative reporting.

How do you find the changing media landscape and its future?

It was once believed that print media in South Asia, including Nepal, had no impact on the internet. A few owners of Nepali print media had predicted in 2018-2019 that print and online media will co-exist for another 30 years. Covid-19 made all those claims wrong.

The urge to read newspapers appears to be declining. Because of this, print media owners have begun to declare their intention to become public companies. I am also waiting to see how the future unfolds for the Nepali media industry. Traditional media may, however, alter them over time, since that’s already a work in progress.

Purushottam Poudel is a reporter covering national politics for The Kathmandu Post.

Source: 
https://kathmandupost.com/interviews/2023/02/19/how-traditional-media-are-evolving

आचारसंहिताविपरीत चुनावमा सामाजिक सञ्जालको दुरुपयोग, भ्रममा सर्वसाधारण

कामना गौतम | मंगलबार, वैशाख २०, २०७९

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अहिले स्थानीय चुनावको सरगर्मी बढ्दो छ । स्थानीय तहमा उम्मेदवारी दिएकाहरू जनताको माझमा गएर वाचा गर्न व्यस्त छन् । दलहरूले चुनावी घोषणापत्र सार्वजनिक गरेका छन् ।

कतिपय उम्मेदवारहरू भने सामाजिक सञ्जालमा निर्वाचन आयोगले तोकेको आचारसंहिताभन्दा अघि बढेर एक–अर्का उम्मेदवारलाई आरोप–प्रत्यारोप गरिरहेका छन् ।

निर्वाचन आचारसंहिता, ०७८ को परिच्छेद ४ को ‘राजनीतिक दल, उम्मेदवार तथा दलको भ्रातृ संगठनले पालना गर्नुपर्ने आचरण’ को दफा १२ को ‘क’ बुँदामा ‘जुलुस, आमसभा, कोँणसभा, बैठक एवम् भेला गर्दा सभ्य र अनुशासित तरिकाले गर्नुपर्ने र कसैको घरको आसपासमा गई निज वा निजको परिवारको सदस्यको सम्बन्धमा विरोध वा प्रदर्शन गर्न नहुने,’ उल्लेख छ । तर, कतिपय उम्मेदवारले यो आचारसंहिता पालना गरेका छैनन् ।

सोही परिच्छेदको ‘ण’ बुँदामा ‘अनलाइन वेब पेज, टीभी स्क्रोलिङ, सपिङ मलमा डिस्प्ले, कल सेन्टर सञ्चालन, बैंकका एटीएम काउन्टरमा सन्देश वा सडक नाटक आदि माध्यमबाट दलको वा उम्मेदरको बारेमा कुनै प्रचारप्रसार गर्न वा गराउन नहुने,’ उल्लेख छ । यो बुँदालाई पनि उम्मेदवारहरूले पालना गरिरहेका छैनन् । कतिपय उम्मेदवारले आफ्नै अनलाइन वेब पेज, फेसबुक पेज बनाएर आफ्नो र आफ्नो दलको प्रचार–प्रसार गरिरहेका छन् ।

तर, सामाजिक सजालमा केही उम्मेदवारहरू अर्को उम्मेदवारलाई गाली गर्न नकारात्मक टिप्पणी गर्न लागिरहेका देखिन्छन् । काठमाडौं महानगरपालिकामा मेयरको उम्मेदवारी दिएकी सिर्जना सिंहलाई, ‘कांग्रेस नेता प्रकाशमान सिंहकी पत्नी भएकै भरमा मेयरको टिकट पाइन्,’ भन्ने आरोप यतिबेला सामाजिक सञ्जालमा देखिन्छ ।

तर, सिंहले आफू गोरखामा विद्यार्थी छँदा नै राजनीति सुरु गरिसकेको त्यसपछि कांग्रेसको महिला संगठनको विभिन्न जिम्मेवारी लिएर काम गरिसकेको भन्दै उक्त आरोपको खण्डन गरिरहेकी छन् । सिंहमाथि लागेको आरोपको तुलनामा उनले दिएको खण्डन कममात्रामा सुनिएको छ ।

यस्तै कांग्रेस नेता गगन थापालाई बाख्रा पालनका लागि सरकारबाट अनुदान लिएको रकम दुरुपयोग गरेको आरोप लाग्ने गरेको छ । चुनावको मुखमा सामाजिक सञ्जालमा थापालाई यही पैसा दुरुपयोग गरेको आरोप लगाउने गरेको भेटिन्छ । थापाले भने आफूले बाख्रा पालनका लागि राज्यकोषबाट कुनै रकम नलिएको बरु आफ्नै गोजीको पैसाले नुवाकोटमा बाख्रा पालन गरेको भनेर खण्डन गर्दै आएका छन् । थापामाथि लागेको आरोपअघि उनले दिएको खण्डनको आवाज सानो सुनिन्छ ।

काठमाडौं महानगरमा एमालेबाट मेयरका उम्मेदवार बनेका केशव स्थापितमाथि महिला हिंसाको आरोप छ । यसबारे स्थापितले आफूले महिला हिंसा नगरेको भन्ने आवाज तीव्र सुनिएको छ । तर आफूमाथि स्थापितले हिंसा गरेको भन्दै बाल्दै आएकी रस्मिला प्रजापतिको आवाज सामाजिक सञ्जालमा कमै भेटिन्छ ।

भ्रममा सर्वसाधारण

नेपालका सबै जिल्लामा इन्टरनेटको पहुँच पुगिसकेको छ । हिमाली जिल्ला हुम्ला–जुम्ला–ताप्लेजुङ हुन् या पहाडी जिल्ला डडेल्धुरा या इलाम नै किन नहोस् । चाहे तराई मधेसका जिल्ला हुन् । सबै जिल्लाका बासिन्दाका हातहातमा यतिबेला स्मार्ट फोन छ ।

सामाजिक सञ्जाल फेसबुक, ट्विटर, टिकटकजस्ता माध्यममा उम्मेदवारहरूले अन्टसन्ट बोलेको, अर्का उम्मेदवारलाई गाली गरेकोजस्ता नकारात्मक भिडियो, संवादहरू एकैछिनमा ‘भाइरल’ हुन्छ ।

‘सामाजिक सञ्जालमा नकारात्मक कुराहरू छिटो फैलिन्छन्’

सामाजिक सञ्जालमा सकारात्मक र ज्ञानबर्द्धक कुराहरू भन्दा अर्काको निन्दा, आलोचना र अर्कालाई गालीगलौज गरेका कुराहरू छिट्टै ‘भाइरल’ हुने सामाजिक सञ्जालका अनुसन्धाताहरूको बुझाइ छ ।

‘सोसियल मिडियामा चल्ने भनेकै एल्गोरिज्म हो । यो भनेको विशेषगरी फेसबुकको केसम अहिले के बहस भइरहेको छ भने– फेसबुकले नेगेटिभ कुराहरूलाई धेरै प्रोमोट गरेको देखिन्छ । नेगेटिभ कुराचाहिँ धेरै अडियन्सले रुचाएको देखिन्छ,’ सामाजिक सञ्जाल अनुसन्धाता हर्षमान महर्जन भन्छन्, ‘फेसबुकजस्ता सामाजिक सञ्जालका लगानीकर्ताले समाजमा राम्रो कुराको प्रोमोट गर्नभन्दा पनि कसरी अडियन्सहरूलाई टिकाइराख्ने र त्यहाँ भएका विज्ञापन कसरी धेरै अडियन्सकहाँ पुर्‍याउने र कसरी धेरै पैसा कमाउने भन्नेमा बढी जोड गरेका  देखिन्छ ।’

विशेषगरी फेसबुकले अर्काको निन्दा गरेको, सामाजिक विभेद देखाएको पोस्टलाई प्राथमिकता दियो भनेर अहिले संसारभरि नै बहस भइरहेको महर्जन बताउँछन् । साक्षरता दर कम भएको नेपालजस्तो मुलुकका सामाजिक सञ्जाल प्रयोगकर्ता यस्ता गालीगलौजजन्य सामाग्रीबाट बढी पीडित हुने गरेको उनको भनाइ छ ।

समाजिक सञ्जालमा एकले अर्कालाई लगाएको आरोप भोलिका दिनमा सत्य पृष्टि नभएको खण्डमा त्यसले पार्ने असरबाट पीडितमा परेको असरको क्षति कसरी पूर्ति हुन्छ त ? महर्जन भन्छन्, ‘त्यस्तो असरको क्षतिपूर्ति हुन गाह्रो हुन्छ । आरोप लगाएको व्यक्तिले भोलिपल्ट आएको सत्यकुरा उसले नहेर्न या थाहा नपाउन पनि सक्छ ।

सबै जनताको पोस्ट हेर्न सक्दैनौँ: प्रेस काउन्सिल

अहिले चुनाव आउन लागेको समय भएकाले आफूनिकटका उम्मेदवारको पक्षपोषणमा धेरै व्यक्तिले सामाजिक सञ्जालको दुरुपयोग गरिरहेको देखिन्छ । सञ्चार जगतको निगरानी गर्ने प्रेस काउन्सिलले पत्रकारिता क्षेत्रबाहेक सामाजिक सञ्जाल सञ्चालनलाई नियन्त्रण गर्नु आफ्नो क्षेत्राधिकारभित्र नपर्ने बताउँदै आएको छ ।

‘काउन्सिलले पत्रिका, अनलाइन, टेलिभिजन, एफएमजस्ता मिडियाको निगरानी गरिरहेको छ । सामाजिक सञ्जाल प्रयोगकर्ताले गरेको पोस्टमा काउन्सिलले निगरानी गर्नु अभिव्यक्ति स्वतन्त्रता हनन् भएको ठहर्न सक्छ । त्यसैले काउन्सिलले व्यक्तिगत तहमा उत्रेर सामाजिक सञ्जालको निगरानी नगरेको हो,’ काउन्सिलका वरिष्ठ प्रशासकीय अधिकृत तथा सूचना अधिकारी दीपक खनालले शिलापत्रसँग भने, ‘निर्वाचनको समयमा सामाजिक सञ्जाल प्रयोगकर्ताले जथाभावी लेख्ने कुरालाई ध्यान दिएर निर्वाचन आयोगसँग मिलेर हामीले काम गरिरहेका छौँ । पत्रकार र मिडियाबाहेकले जथाभावी लेखे उनीहरूलाई निर्वाचन आयोगले कारबाही गर्छ ।’

आयोगले आचारसंहिता जारी गरेयता (चैत २५) देखि वैशाख १६ गतेसम्म २ सय ७ जना पत्रकारलाई काउन्सिलले विज्ञप्ति जारी गरेर निर्वाचन आचारसंहिता पालना गर्न सचेत गराएको खनालले जानकारी दिए ।

प्रकाशित मिति: मंगलबार, वैशाख २०, २०७९  २०:३४

https://shilapatra.com/detail/83895

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Expanding Digital Spaces for Deliberations

By Harsha Man Maharjan 

The debate regarding singer Durgesh Thapa’s new song, “Bicha Bichama -4 (Khyassa Putali)”, released on Youtube on 23 July 2021 on the occasion of Teej show that a group of people are not happy with the use of the words, “Khyassa Putali”. Just a day earlier, the National Folk and Duet Song Academy Nepal had requested the singer to change these two “objectionable” words and after the singer did not follow their request, it has been reported that this organization is planning to boycott the singer and the song. This situation has created the debate regarding the shrinking of digital spaces in Nepal. Let us see the other two cases in brief.

Shrinking Digital Spaces

This first case is related to “national security”. A video was made public on the Youtube channel with the title “Deshdrohi” on August 18, 2020. The lyrics of the video criticizes Brahmins and Chhetris and it contains visuals of burning the national flag .On social media, many audiences called the video “racist” and “antinationalist” and demanded that the video and its team be booked according to the law. By August 18, 2020 its camera person was arrested and the police started to look for other members including the singer, Gyalzen Dorje Tamang, who surrendered before the police on 19 August, 2020. The singer remained in the jail for six months under the charges of offence against the state according to the article 49 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 and was released on bail after paying NRs. 1,00,000 on February 15, 2021. In an interview he mentioned that the national flag was adapted from India and the flag did not reflect the ethos of secularism.

This second case is about “obscenity”. In March 2019, the police arrested the owner of Youtube channel, Masti Talk Time, its host, and a model on the charge of cybercrime under Electronic Transaction Act, 2008. According to a report, the owner conducted interviews with singers and models asking them personal questions, and some videos were deleted after people complained about the content on the channel. Interviews with the model related to her sexual experiences were very popular on the channel. These three people were arrested after receiving complaints from general people.

No doubt, these two cases do not allow us to generalize the situation of rights in the digital space. There are other important cases related to free speech such as Pranesh Guatam on film review, Bhim Upadhyaya on criticism of then PM K.P. Oli, Dipak Pathak on the criticism of leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Mohammad Abdul Rahman on writing comments on security. Yet two cases discussed above show that the digital spaces are shrinking in Nepal using vague ideas like “national security” and “obscenity”.

Possibility of expanding

The one way to expand the digital space in Nepal is to have laws that encourage more debate and discussion. For this, the draconian laws can be amended. Journalists and activists have criticized the vague provisions of the Electronic Transaction Act, 2008 and the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 and requested the government to amend these laws. The government too has already aimed to scrap the Electronic Transaction Act(ETA) by introducing the Information Technology Bill. However this bill also contains more draconian provisions than what ETA has. Many activists and scholars have already requested the government to amend both laws.

Another way is to interpret the restrictions broadly by courts. These restrictions seem to emanate from the Constitution of Nepal, 2015. Though the existing constitution guarantees freedom of expression in article 17 (2) a, there are few important “reasonable restrictions”. The reasonable restrictions can be divided into eight broader categories: national integrity, harmonious relationship among people (religious groups, castes), caste-based discrimination, disrespect of labor, defamation, contempt of court, incitement to an offence, and acts against public decency and morality. These limitations set the boundaries of the freedom of information of citizens as often the laws that made provisions for rights and responsibilities in contrary to the constitution can be challenged in courts.

Activists and scholars have argued that these terms are vague. In a review of the provisions of the constitution, researchers have raised that these restrictions don’t follow the principles of international human rights, especially those discussed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Nepal is a signatory. Article 19 of this covenant allows the violation of freedom of expression in some cases such as the rights or reputations of others; and the protection of national security or public order. However, the covenant clearly mentions that these rights can be violated only according to law and only when it is absolutely necessary. Yet it is difficult to maintain a balance between rights and restrictions. As argued by the constitutional law expert Bipin Adhikari, reasonable restrictions mentioned in the constitution do not guide the state in its interpretations as even courts can have multiple interpretations. One way is to follow the principle of proportionality when the courts interpret these reasonable restrictions. The principle of proportionality will obligate a public authority to show that the restriction is strictly necessary.

These should be more public deliberations on the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, reasonable restrictions mentioned in the constitution and other provisions of national policy documents. Such deliberation could help expand the digital space in Nepal.

Originally published at https://harsha-maharjan.medium.com/expanding-digital-spaces-for-deliberations-79e57df62e70 

Digital Media in Social Science Curricula in Nepal

By Harsha Man Maharjan 

 

Digital technologies have become pervasive and ubiquitous. Traditional news media organisations have moved to websites and apps, with people accessing news contents in digital forms. Social media platforms have become important to express thoughts and exhibit identities. IT companies and even news media organisations are collecting, storing and analysing users’ data. These organisations are using these digital footprints to innovate. Due to the pandemic, the use of digital platforms like Zoom has increased for interaction and education. The pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of societies. Scholars are discussing the issues related to domination, identity, representation and differences in the digital sphere.

 

The disciplines under social science and humanities should be helpful to make sense of this digitalisation. These disciplines need to make students aware of these socio-technological changes. They have to encourage students to advance new knowledge related to this new field through discourse and research.

 

Curricula

Are the curricula prepared by universities in Nepal imparting adequate knowledge to students about the digital world? To understand this, we can look at curricula of some disciplines such as Journalism, Sociology and Anthropology.

 

We assume that the discipline focused on media such as Journalism and Mass Communication, which Tribhuvan University offers or Mass Communication and Journalism that Purbanchal University offers is giving priority to digital media. However, the curricula show that these universities have put more emphasis on digital journalism.

 

The curriculum of MA on Journalism and Mass Communication focuses on social media and online journalism. Though the curriculum contains 20 papers, only one is related to social media and online journalism. This paper aims to “enable students to have extensive understanding of the opportunities and use of social media”, “enable students to analyse online communication and journalism”, and “enable students on new media research”. Its syllabus contains these ten units: Digitalisation of News Media”, “Principles and Practices of New Media”, “Social Media and Communication”, “Online Journalism and Traditional Media”, “Technical Writing Techniques” and “Globalisation and Local content". This paper indicates that the increasing use of social media and online journalism has been considered while preparing this curriculum. However, it also clearly shows that the curriculum contains three aspects of digital media — online journalism, social media, and online research — that could have been divided into three papers. Besides this paper, some aspects of digital media have been incorporated in other papers such as “Introduction to Mass Communication Theory”, “History and Growth of Mass Media” and “Media Law”.

 

The TU curricula for MPhil and PhD have not given importance to digital media in comparison to the MA level. It is interesting that the course does not contain a paper directly related to digital media and neither does the PhD course contain any special paper on digital media. 

 

The MA curriculum offered by Pubanchal University too prioritises online journalism that contains five papers — “Fundamentals of Information System”; “Advanced Concepts in Electronic Publication”, “Multimedia applications”, and “Cyber publishing.” They clearly show that the curriculum intends to impart technical aspects of digital media/journalism. Besides, a few papers such as “Mass Communication: Theories and Practices”, “Print Journalism”, “Public Journalism: Theory and Practices” talk about some aspects of digital media.

This lack of attention given to digital media in general in the above curricula give room for having the issues related to digital media in other disciplines. Yet, the curricula of Sociology and Anthropology that TU offers have paid less attention to digital media. 

 

Though there is no paper focused on media, the curriculum of Sociology in MA does include a few materials on media. Particularly, students have to read the “ Prologue: the Net and the Self “of Manual Castell’s book The Rise of Network Society under the paper, “Practice of Social Change and Development in Asia”. It is interesting that the curriculum contains papers on gender, disability/aging, disaster, education, tourism, not on media. Likewise, the curricula of MPhil and PhD do not include books and articles on digital media. 

 

Even Anthropology does not contain a paper directly related to media or digital media. It does contain the paper on “Visual Anthropology”, which may contain more materials on media, but its syllabus is being developed. Like the curriculum of Sociology, it contains a few materials related to media under papers like “Anthropology of Disaster and Resilience”, “Anthropology and Globalisation”, “Contemporary Theories in Anthropology”. Both MPhil and PhD curricula don’t have a paper on digital media.

 

Revision

To help students understand the digitalisation of societies, the courses under social science and humanities have to include papers focused on digital media. This can be done while revising the courses. Journalism courses can also have papers on digital media in general. The curricula of Sociology and Anthropology too need to have papers on media — if not — on digital media. These syllabuses should include materials that discuss the different aspects of digital media, society and culture.

Governing YouTubers in Nepal

By Harsha Man Maharjan 

The evidence shows YouTube could be a menace, when it is left unchecked — audience being uncritical, YouTuber being avarice — and there are concerns that some mechanisms to govern YouTubers are needed. YouTube has become a platform not only to help those in need, but also to spread malice, hatred, rumours, and earn revenue easily. While discussing the governing mechanisms, we should focus on the role of different actors — state, YouTubers and audiences — and create a balance between rights and responsibilities.

Role of state

The mechanism the state uses is legal provisions to govern YouTubers, but these provisions have come under criticism as often freedom of expression is curtailed when these laws are used. Let us see two cases, in which the charges were made under the Electronic Transaction Act, 2008.

One, in March 2019, police arrested a model, the owner of YouTube channel, Masti Talk Time produced by Fulchoki Media and its host in charge of promoting obscenity in the society. This channel had uploaded interviews with struggling actors/models about their personal and sexual lives. The model had shared her experience of working as a sex worker in the interview. When the news about this arrest was uploaded on YouTube, many people left comments thanking the police for this “commendable” job, but few people claimed that the model had rights to do and speak as she wanted.

Two, on June 7, 2019, comedian Pranesh Gautam was arrested on the charge of cybercrime when his video reviewing Nepali movie Bir Bikram 2 was uploaded in the YouTube channel of meme Nepal. While the director of the movie and its crew claimed that his review was intended to defame the film industry by using racist and sexist remarks, his supporters termed the arrest as the violation of his freedom of expression. People also criticized the review for using foul words and urged to be more responsible. Pranesh remained in custody for more than a week.

But the use of this Act to regulate the activities in cyberspace is problematic. Often article 47 of this Act is invoked that prohibits people from publishing materials against law, public morality, decency and communal harmony. This Act was formulated to govern electronic transactions and the IT sector, then to regulate freedom of expression. As people demanded that this law should be revised or annulled, the government has brought out the Information Technology Bill, 2075 BS, which also came under huge criticism from journalists, activists and civil society for its provisions curtailing freedom of expression. This bill is still in consideration in the parliament.

Roles of YouTubers and audiences

Both YouTubers and audiences can contribute to governance. The mechanism YouTubers can have is self-regulation. If YouTubers themselves follow the community guidelines related to issues such as sensitive content, and violent or dangerous content, it will be better for them. The guideline under “violent and gory content” clearly mentions that sexual content should be uploaded under ‘age-restricted content’. So, merely having a disclaimer in Masti Talk Time was not enough, it should have kept many of its videos under this category. There are many Nepali videos on YouTube which should have been put under this category. YouTubers are also uploading videos that have violent and gory content, blurring the image or putting them under ‘age-restricted content’ category, though the community guidelines don’t allow it. So, when YouTubers demand that their rights be assured, they also need to be responsible. Following these guidelines is one way to make them more responsible.

The mechanism audiences can have is voicing to safeguard the rights and to remind about the responsibilities of YouTubers. For this, they should be literate about the platform. Being literate is to know what can be or can’t be posted on YouTube and how it earns money. It is to know that YouTube is “addictive” as it uses artificial intelligence to analyse users’ behaviour and serve the content according to their preferences. It is also to be aware that many YouTubers want the audience’s attention so they often promote rumors and fake news with misleading and sensational headlines to earn revenue. They should be aware of the community guidelines and report if they are violated by YouTubers or leave comments on the videos and request YouTubers to follow these guidelines. They can voice when YouTubers’ rights are curtailed.

Way ahead

Among the mechanisms of governing YouTubers, regulation by state has often drawn criticism. So, while using such regulations, the state machinery has to restrain from using them recklessly. YouTubers also need to be self-regulated, if they want respect from the audience. Audiences’ voice is needed to make YouTubers more responsible.

Originally published in The Rising Nepal; published here with slight revision and additional links.