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 articles by individual scholars writing about different regions of the world and by keyword searches conducted by team members of online Web sources, including individual program Web sites.
That means they have never crossed upon the article on Journalism Education in Nepal which mentioned that RR Campus is the first college to start this. I know there is no such article. I think article of JE in Nepal is incomplete if it doesn’t mention RR college.
Links
http://wjec.ou.edu/censusoverview.html
http://wjec.ou.edu/programlist.php
19 November 2009
28 October 2009
Watching quotes and news sources
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.
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.
24 August 2009
Basics Elements of Journalism is lacking
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 questioned. There question is genuine. But these basic of journalism is absent in Nepalese print media.
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 questioned. There question is genuine. But these basic of journalism is absent in Nepalese print media.
18 August 2009
Manuscript for Film Development Paid but Not Published. .
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 did it. To propagate Aama he organized mobile team to show this film in different places of Nepal.
Chetan Karki is searching publisher for the manuscript. He knows FDB folk would deny his argument. But why are we afraid to give the devil his due?
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 did it. To propagate Aama he organized mobile team to show this film in different places of Nepal.
Chetan Karki is searching publisher for the manuscript. He knows FDB folk would deny his argument. But why are we afraid to give the devil his due?
26 July 2009
Photos of kamana Prakashan
14 July 2009
Recommendations of International Media Mission in Nepal on Feb 2009
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 internationally on information
gathered, and a central database on press freedom violations should be
established and maintained.
3. Safety training should be provided through existing training organizations
and relevant international organizations. Such training should be
country-specific and accessible to all journalists and media workers in the
districts.
4. Media houses should provide basic safety equipment to journalists when
needed.
5. Life and health insurance should be provided to journalists, photographers,
camerapersons and media workers, and for their equipment.
6. Support mechanisms to assist threatened journalists and their families
should be strengthened and institutionalised.
7. Safe houses, hotlines, reactive missions and other safety related activities
should be strengthened/ undertaken as needed.
8. Local authorities, judiciary and police should be trained on press freedoms
and freedom on information issues.
9. Linkages between human rights defenders, peace-process mediators, FNJ
and other national media bodies should be strengthened.
10. Political parties should develop positions and concrete measures in support
of media safety and clearly communicate these to their membership
and the public.
11. No journalist should be sacked simply on the basis of his or her political
perspective as long as it does not reflect in the content of his/her work.
5.2 Uma Singh’s murder and pending
investigations
1. The International Media Mission recommends that the government invite
competent external parties such as the OHCHR, FNJ, and other NGOs to
assist the police in carrying out speedy, impartial, thorough and transparent
investigations of all threats, kidnappings, disappearances and murder
of journalists and media workers.
2. That the government demonstrate clearly its commitment to press freedom
and freedom of expression through involvement in the investigations
and by working for the establishment of a committee or sub-committee
within Parliament to study all credible cases in which journalists or media
workers have been threatened, kidnapped, disappeared or murdered.
3. That it cooperate with civil society and competent institutions to reach an
accord on how to provide security to journalists and other media workers,
with special attention to the security of women journalists.
5.3 Impunity and investigations into
the attacks of journalists
1. The International Media Mission urges the UN OHCHR to investigate the murder
of Uma Singh as circumstantial evidence suggests she may have been
killed for her role as journalist (a human rights defender) and not over a pending
property dispute as Nepali authorities have been presenting the case.
2. The state is responsible for investigating all the pending cases of murder
and disappearance of journalists. Only thorough investigations and punishing
those guilty can the state put a stop to attack on the media and
journalists.
3. The growing impunity for those responsible for attacking journalists must
stop immediately. This can be attained by thoroughly investigating and
punishing those responsible for attacks on Birendra Sah, Prakash Singh
Thakuri, Prakash Shrestha, J.P. Joshi and Uma Singh. The Mission also
recommends that the government initiate investigations and actions
against the murderers of Dekendra Thapa.
4. The mission also demands impartial investigations into the murders of all
journalists killed before 2006 and punishing those who were responsible.
5. The attacks on journalists and media companies must end immediately.
Violence against journalists and the media cannot be justified for any reason
in a law-abiding society. Ending violence against the media would
be Nepal’s first step towards democratisation because there can be no
democracy without a free media and vice-versa.
5.4 Media policy and legal reform
1. An inclusive consultative process with the media community, civil society
and other stakeholders should be undertaken to ensure broad and inclusive
discussion on media policy reform and to identify action areas.
2. The new constitution should ensure press freedom and freedom of expression,
and guarantee the independence of media regulatory bodies.
3. Authorities should consider the provision of a regular grant from the state
to the media, either directly in terms of finances or indirectly through tax
relief in accordance with the spirit of the UNESCO ‘Florence Treaty’ – the
Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials;
any such system of support, however, should be based on equitable,
objective criteria applied in a non-discriminatory fashion.
4. The Ministry of Information and Communication should either close or
privatise all state-run media, or turn them into public service media.
5. Support should be provided to national and local authorities to train public
officials on the implementation of new media legislation.
6. Public awareness should be developed regarding the new media and right
to information legislation and voluntary media accountability systems
and capacity building should be provided to the media community and
civil society to monitor implementation of the new laws.
7. The participation of experts should be ensured in all activities relating to
media law and policy reform; despite many of the positive steps Nepal has
made, standards still fall short of international standards.
8. The distribution of public advertisement should be allocated through a
fair and transparent mechanism to both print and broadcasting media.
9. The FNJ legal desk should be strengthened for responding to protection
needs of journalists and media workers. The legal desk will assist in ensuring
enforcement of laws related to the media.
5.5 Broadcast media
1. State radio and TV should be placed under the governance of an adequately
financed independent body, the membership of which should reflect
the diversity of Nepali society.
2. The mandate of public service broadcasters should be to serve the needs
of all groups in society, especially those not being adequately served by
commercial and community broadcasters.
3. The licensing process should be designed to promote diversity in the
broadcasting sector.
4. Frequencies are a public resource and political parties should not control
broadcasting stations. A study should be carried out to assess the ownership
of broadcasting stations.
5. All regulation of broadcasting should be undertaken by an independent
regulatory body.
6. Support should be made available for existing broadcast media, particularly
in the districts, for addressing infrastructure problems and working
towards financial sustainability in the post-donor environment.
5.6 Print media
1. Taxes on newsprint and replacement parts should be lowered and postal
rates reduced.
2. Registration requirements for print media should be removed.
3. Rules on cross-ownership and concentration of ownership should be set.
4. The Audit Bureau of Circulation should be established and supported to
undertake its duties.
5.7 Unions and associations
1. Trade unions should negotiate (not resort to violence) for fair and reasonable
working conditions and employers should seek to implement the
amended Working Journalists Act. Media employers should implement
fair and decent working conditions, which also reflect equal access to recruitment,
work opportunities and promotion for all groups.
2. Support should be provided for strengthening associations, unions and
media organizations at the national and district levels, including for the
secretariats and performance of core-functions (with specific reference to
the FNJ).
3. Gender awareness and mainstreaming should be promoted among media
associations and institutions. Media employers should ensure that
women and members of minority groups are provided equal opportunities
for employment, pay, professional assignments and promotion.
4. The minimum wages and other recommendations made by the committee
for fixing minimum wage should be implemented and should gradually
be extended to all media, irrespective of type and size of investment.
5.8 District media
1. Assistance should be provided for improving communications for media
workers and district media outlets (including telephone, internet, etc.)
2. Assistance should be provided for the training of journalists from marginalized
groups to ensure that they receive the same professional development
opportunities as other journalists, and that they can be properly
represented in the national media.
3. Access to longer-term training opportunities should be provided in basic
journalism skills, as well as specialized areas such as graphic design and
business management.
4. Training of Trainers (TOT) should be undertaken for building a team of
district-based media trainers.
5. Access to modern equipment, including offset printing presses and field
reporting equipment, should be made available through appropriate
mechanisms.
6. Options to facilitate improved circulation of the print media should be
provided.
Source: http://www.i-m-s.dk/files/publications/1453%20Nepal.web.pdf
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 internationally on information
gathered, and a central database on press freedom violations should be
established and maintained.
3. Safety training should be provided through existing training organizations
and relevant international organizations. Such training should be
country-specific and accessible to all journalists and media workers in the
districts.
4. Media houses should provide basic safety equipment to journalists when
needed.
5. Life and health insurance should be provided to journalists, photographers,
camerapersons and media workers, and for their equipment.
6. Support mechanisms to assist threatened journalists and their families
should be strengthened and institutionalised.
7. Safe houses, hotlines, reactive missions and other safety related activities
should be strengthened/ undertaken as needed.
8. Local authorities, judiciary and police should be trained on press freedoms
and freedom on information issues.
9. Linkages between human rights defenders, peace-process mediators, FNJ
and other national media bodies should be strengthened.
10. Political parties should develop positions and concrete measures in support
of media safety and clearly communicate these to their membership
and the public.
11. No journalist should be sacked simply on the basis of his or her political
perspective as long as it does not reflect in the content of his/her work.
5.2 Uma Singh’s murder and pending
investigations
1. The International Media Mission recommends that the government invite
competent external parties such as the OHCHR, FNJ, and other NGOs to
assist the police in carrying out speedy, impartial, thorough and transparent
investigations of all threats, kidnappings, disappearances and murder
of journalists and media workers.
2. That the government demonstrate clearly its commitment to press freedom
and freedom of expression through involvement in the investigations
and by working for the establishment of a committee or sub-committee
within Parliament to study all credible cases in which journalists or media
workers have been threatened, kidnapped, disappeared or murdered.
3. That it cooperate with civil society and competent institutions to reach an
accord on how to provide security to journalists and other media workers,
with special attention to the security of women journalists.
5.3 Impunity and investigations into
the attacks of journalists
1. The International Media Mission urges the UN OHCHR to investigate the murder
of Uma Singh as circumstantial evidence suggests she may have been
killed for her role as journalist (a human rights defender) and not over a pending
property dispute as Nepali authorities have been presenting the case.
2. The state is responsible for investigating all the pending cases of murder
and disappearance of journalists. Only thorough investigations and punishing
those guilty can the state put a stop to attack on the media and
journalists.
3. The growing impunity for those responsible for attacking journalists must
stop immediately. This can be attained by thoroughly investigating and
punishing those responsible for attacks on Birendra Sah, Prakash Singh
Thakuri, Prakash Shrestha, J.P. Joshi and Uma Singh. The Mission also
recommends that the government initiate investigations and actions
against the murderers of Dekendra Thapa.
4. The mission also demands impartial investigations into the murders of all
journalists killed before 2006 and punishing those who were responsible.
5. The attacks on journalists and media companies must end immediately.
Violence against journalists and the media cannot be justified for any reason
in a law-abiding society. Ending violence against the media would
be Nepal’s first step towards democratisation because there can be no
democracy without a free media and vice-versa.
5.4 Media policy and legal reform
1. An inclusive consultative process with the media community, civil society
and other stakeholders should be undertaken to ensure broad and inclusive
discussion on media policy reform and to identify action areas.
2. The new constitution should ensure press freedom and freedom of expression,
and guarantee the independence of media regulatory bodies.
3. Authorities should consider the provision of a regular grant from the state
to the media, either directly in terms of finances or indirectly through tax
relief in accordance with the spirit of the UNESCO ‘Florence Treaty’ – the
Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials;
any such system of support, however, should be based on equitable,
objective criteria applied in a non-discriminatory fashion.
4. The Ministry of Information and Communication should either close or
privatise all state-run media, or turn them into public service media.
5. Support should be provided to national and local authorities to train public
officials on the implementation of new media legislation.
6. Public awareness should be developed regarding the new media and right
to information legislation and voluntary media accountability systems
and capacity building should be provided to the media community and
civil society to monitor implementation of the new laws.
7. The participation of experts should be ensured in all activities relating to
media law and policy reform; despite many of the positive steps Nepal has
made, standards still fall short of international standards.
8. The distribution of public advertisement should be allocated through a
fair and transparent mechanism to both print and broadcasting media.
9. The FNJ legal desk should be strengthened for responding to protection
needs of journalists and media workers. The legal desk will assist in ensuring
enforcement of laws related to the media.
5.5 Broadcast media
1. State radio and TV should be placed under the governance of an adequately
financed independent body, the membership of which should reflect
the diversity of Nepali society.
2. The mandate of public service broadcasters should be to serve the needs
of all groups in society, especially those not being adequately served by
commercial and community broadcasters.
3. The licensing process should be designed to promote diversity in the
broadcasting sector.
4. Frequencies are a public resource and political parties should not control
broadcasting stations. A study should be carried out to assess the ownership
of broadcasting stations.
5. All regulation of broadcasting should be undertaken by an independent
regulatory body.
6. Support should be made available for existing broadcast media, particularly
in the districts, for addressing infrastructure problems and working
towards financial sustainability in the post-donor environment.
5.6 Print media
1. Taxes on newsprint and replacement parts should be lowered and postal
rates reduced.
2. Registration requirements for print media should be removed.
3. Rules on cross-ownership and concentration of ownership should be set.
4. The Audit Bureau of Circulation should be established and supported to
undertake its duties.
5.7 Unions and associations
1. Trade unions should negotiate (not resort to violence) for fair and reasonable
working conditions and employers should seek to implement the
amended Working Journalists Act. Media employers should implement
fair and decent working conditions, which also reflect equal access to recruitment,
work opportunities and promotion for all groups.
2. Support should be provided for strengthening associations, unions and
media organizations at the national and district levels, including for the
secretariats and performance of core-functions (with specific reference to
the FNJ).
3. Gender awareness and mainstreaming should be promoted among media
associations and institutions. Media employers should ensure that
women and members of minority groups are provided equal opportunities
for employment, pay, professional assignments and promotion.
4. The minimum wages and other recommendations made by the committee
for fixing minimum wage should be implemented and should gradually
be extended to all media, irrespective of type and size of investment.
5.8 District media
1. Assistance should be provided for improving communications for media
workers and district media outlets (including telephone, internet, etc.)
2. Assistance should be provided for the training of journalists from marginalized
groups to ensure that they receive the same professional development
opportunities as other journalists, and that they can be properly
represented in the national media.
3. Access to longer-term training opportunities should be provided in basic
journalism skills, as well as specialized areas such as graphic design and
business management.
4. Training of Trainers (TOT) should be undertaken for building a team of
district-based media trainers.
5. Access to modern equipment, including offset printing presses and field
reporting equipment, should be made available through appropriate
mechanisms.
6. Options to facilitate improved circulation of the print media should be
provided.
Source: http://www.i-m-s.dk/files/publications/1453%20Nepal.web.pdf
10 July 2009
Insecure Public, Lynching and Nepali Media
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.
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.
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