mediaharsha

HARSHA MAN MAHARJAN Here is my aricle on alternative book fair published today in Republica The book exhibition of not-for-profit publishers, Alternative Book Fair, ended on Dec 14. Himal Association organized the fair from Dec 10 at Sabhagriha, Kathmandu. Fourteen NGOs participated in the fair. However, they were dissatisfied with the flow of visitors. What went wrong? The organizer and the organizations that participated in it have been forced to think about it. Martin Chautari, the organization I am associated with, also participated in this fair. The ideas I am presenting in this article is the result of my interaction with friends and my observation of five days at the fair. Martin Chautari has been participating in this fair since the first edition, which was organized in 2005.DEFINITION: INTERPRETATIONA friend of mine entered Sabhagriha when he saw a banner of Alternative Book Fair at the front gates. He had assumed that Sajha Prakashan had once again organized a book fair like ...

By Harsha Man Maharjan 2009 is ending very soon. And I am getting mails from Alternative media: Open Democracy, The Center for Media and Democracy, FAIR etc for donation. This is no news. It happens every December. Donation is an alternative economic source of mass media. Usually advertisement is main economic source of media. In his article What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream Noam Chomsky says that mainstream media sells its audiences to advertisers. Michael Albert has written an article titled What Makes Alternative Media Alternative? Here he has focused on alternatives finance apart from others characteristics. Open Democracy, The Center for Media and Democracy, and FAIR are alternative media so they are using alternative source of economy. FAIR watches media biases and censorship. Center for Media and Democracy counters PR and Propaganda in media. In Nepal we can’t say which media is alternative and which is mainstream. For example what is different between so-called community r...

By Harsha Man Maharjan Friends here is the original version of my article published in The kathmandu Post yesterday (5 December 2009) “We have not any school or college for journalism. There is a great lack of books on Journalism in our language though we have published many articles on this subject in different newspapers and magazines”. This is what journalist Shyam Prasad Sharma said about Journalism Education in Nepal. He was speaking in a program organized by International Federation of Journalist in 1962 at Budapest. Journalism Education began in the US in 1890s. One of the countries in Asian region to begin this education is China. JE started in China in 1920s with the help of US scholars. In India it began in late 1930s. After about four decades of this, JE started in Nepal. It was Ratna Rajya Campus which began JE in 1976. It was under Tribhuwan University (TU). This university was established in 1959. So after 17 years of TU’s establishment, RR Campus offered JE course in Ne...

Harsha Man Maharjan 1. Campion College 2. College of Journalism and Mass Communication 3. Kantipur City College 4. Kathmandu University 5. Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) 6. Nepal Press Institute (NPI) 7. Purbanchal University 8. Shepherd College of Media Technology 9. Worldview International Foundation / Nepal (WIF) These are the programs of Journalism Education in Nepal listed in the census of World Journalism Education Council. What a joke: there is no mention of Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus. We know RR Campus is the first to start Journalism education in Nepal in 1976. I can’t believe that WJEC miss it. The website of WJEC says these are the criteria they enlisted the programs: 1. Published lists and academic articles about journalism education in different regions of the world; 2. Lists of programs provided by the regional association partners drawing on their member lists, conference registrations, and regional studies of journalism education; and 3. Published articl...

Watching quotes in journalism is uninteresting job for me. I think this requires patience. And P.Kharel is doing this for Media Adhyan journal 5, a journal published by Martin Chautari. He presented his findings in an interaction program organized by Martin Chautari on 22 October 2009. Kharel found that there is inconsistency in using “” and ‘’. Many of them lack style book. If some have they are not following. What striked a lot during the program is the information there should be direct only if what sources say are important. And anonymous sources should be exception not rule.

By Harsha Man Maharjan We talk big. We have big problems in Nepali media. We know there is cartel among media owners. These owners want to evade trade union in their organizations. What are the remedies? We can’t change these maladies in a day . But small things we can do. This is what I came to know from the program organized by Martin Chautari and Alliance of Social Dialogue (ASD) on 20 August 2009. What are characteristics of reporters, sub-editors, editors etc ? What is news and newsvalue ? There were the questions I needed to tackle at the exam after I joined Journalism and mass communication. I know these are the basic of journalism. Yet working young journalists told that desk never consult them during editing. No doubt reporters go to the field and they know the subject best. But people at desk feel uncomfortable to consult reporters. It is against the basic of journalism. Some young journalists informed that people in desk never give feedback to them. “How can we learn?” they ...

By Harsha Man Maharjan During direct rule of then king Gyanendra, I had heard that film Development Board is preparing a manuscript of film history of Nepal. On 16 August 2009 I met Chetan Karki. He was the author of that manuscript. And the manuscript is still with him. FDB showed no interest on the manuscript. It is about the role of monarchy for development of cinema in Nepal. This issue is always debatable. Now it is fact that then king Mahendra had special interest in arts and creative activities. And he definitely did contribution for development of cinema in Nepal. There is another factor too. D.B.Pariyar made cinema in time of Mahendra’s father Tribhuwan. Few historian thinks that royalist film historians begin Nepali film history from Aama not Satya Harischandra only to praise then king Mahendra. But nobody can deny that Satya Hrischandr was made in India and Aama is the first Nepali cinema made in Nepal. And then king Mahendra wanted to use cinema as propaganda tool. And he d...

Last week I visited Kamana Prakashan to study early issues of Kamana magazine. These are the photos of slogan written on the wall of flats: Do its journalists follow these slogan?

The following recommendations are based on the assessment carried out by the members of the International Mission. 5.1 Press freedom violations and safety 1. Police should investigate thoroughly all threats of violence against journalists and media workers, and the public should be made aware of investigations and prosecutions to discourage attacks, and ensure an end to impunity. The International Mission will closely watch progress in the investigations of the pending cases on the attacks on Birendra Sah, Prakash Singh Thakuri, Prakash Shrestha, J.P. Joshi and Uma Singh. The Mission urges all international agencies and governments to raise the issue of state responsibility during their interactions with the government of Nepal. 2. Press freedom monitoring networks should be strengthened across the country and specifically in areas outside of Kathmandu. In this regard, the monitoring system of the FNJ should be maintained and strengthened, including reporting nationally and internation...

By Harsha Man Maharjan Today is the age of 24 hrs news channel. We are viewing news of children kidnapping. So are we watching about the lynching of innocent alleged kidnappers. Why are these incidents increasing? Does it have anything to do with media-boom? I think it has something to do with media too. Not all. I am not saying media is totally responsible of it. They are disseminating news about the killings, kidnappings and looting. This reporting inadvertently creates of the image of insecure Nepal in people’s mind. People are feeling insecure. One thing is sure. Media is doing nothing to decrease the rate of lynching. They are not proactive on the issue. Here I am not resurrecting mass society theory. But we know we are in transitional phase and there is a kind of lawlessness.

By Harsha Man Maharjan Once again we got chance to see an old drama. There is no difference in its plot. Yes, its actors are different. But drama’s ending is same as previous one. Yesterday government reshuffled people bossing government –owned media institutions: Nepal Television, Rastriya Samacharsamiti, Gorkhapatra Corporationa and Film Development Board. The cabinet meeting appointed Kundan Aryal as Executive Chair of Nepal Television, Amar Giri as Chair of Film Development Board, Bal Krishna Chapagain as chair of Rastriya Sambad Samiti, and Vijaya Chalise as Executive Chair & Shambu Shrestha as General Manager of Gorkhapatra Corporation. Last time Ministry of Information and Communication was under CPN (Maoist)’s hand. Now it is the turn of CPN(UML). It is filling these posts with those near to its ideology. Many of them are from Press Chautari. As a student of mass communication and journalism, I have been doing studies on government-owned media in Nepal. I want to find ways ...

By Harsha Man Maharjan Watching Leni’s documentary Triumph of the Will reminded me of Nepalese newsreels and documentaries made before Nepal Television came into existence. In 1970s panchayat government created Royal Nepal Film Corporation to make films. It made few films and thousands of newsreels. These newsreels were mainly about visit, birth, marriage etc of royal family members. Mobile teams had to screen these newsreels in different places far from Kathmandu during royal visits. I have seen none of these newsreels. They are languishing in two rooms of Film Development Board. And it is difficult to see them. But I can say they are technically poor. Nepal lacked trained human resource at that time and there might also be scarcity of technical instruments. Yes, in this context we can’t make technically sound documentaries as Leni did. She had support of Nazi party. All necessary human resources and technical instruments were available at her call. Recently I watched Leni’s Triumph ...

Harsha Man Maharjan There is a huge uproar in Nepal this week. Unthought-of situations unfolded in political situation. I had not thought that the Maoist will resign from government on 4 May 2009. Neither did I hope to see old footage of the Maoist drilling to its carder of 2 January 2008. About 4-5 hrs of PM Prachanda’s resignation Image Channel broadcast clips of a video in which he was addressing his cadres. Many people were shocked to see it. Next day other TV channels also broadcasted the footage. The Maoist even organized a press meet to provide its view on the content of the video. The caretaker PM even informed journalists that he would be happy to provide other videos if media needed. What will the video incident do to Nepal’s peace process? It is difficult to answer. Only future will give that answer. Actually my interest is with leakage of the video. In a program organized by Martin chautari on media practices, Tirtha Koirala, News and Current Affair Chief of Kantipur Televi...

Many friends preparing for the exam of masters II year asked me old questions of exam. I searched my collection and found these three papers. I lost questions of electronic media. Hope this posting will be useful for friends. Tribhuwan University 2064 Master Level II/II Year/ Humanities Journalism and Mass Communication Comparative Press Laws and Media System (JMC 511) Full Marks: 80 Time: 4 hrs. Candidates are required to give their answers in their own words as for as practicable The Figures in the margin indicate full marks Attempt any THREE questions from Group “A” and FOUR from Group “B” Group A 3x16=48 Describe the main features of ASEAN and SAARC media and legal systems with special reference to Nepal. What are the characteristics of conventional and modern theories of press laws? Explain with suitable examples. Which clauses of the press laws of UK have inspired laws of developing coun...

By Harsha Man Maharjan Whenever I have time I like to rummage in huge chunks of books in second hand bookshops. Many of these bookshops sell textbooks. And these books are in demand. But I am always in search of rare books or reports on Nepal. Who knows what is perching in a dark corner of the shop. You may find a gem. This searching is adventurous. Second hand book stalls at pavement on the wall of RNAC building were my sources. Now they have shifted to the back of this building. It is not easy for shop owners. They have to care about rain, wind, and sun. That’s why they hangs long plastics over their stall and put books on plastic so that they can wrap them in time. Yet rain damages their books. And they have to supply damaged pieces to Kawadi. For some book owners this condition has changed. Especially three brothers of Nawaraj and Bharat have opted for rooms to open shops. It is not easy for them. Now they have to pay rent from Rs. 3000 to 5000 per month. But they don’t have to bo...