SAARC Media: Evolution, development

and policy challenges

The concentration of media content into the hands of few global giants, is a grim situation
for the nation-states altogether.
Though SAARC Plan of Action on media envisages evolving guidelines for Satellite
channels but beyond a mere concept paper nothing seems to have been done so far

The concentration of media content into the hands of few global giants, is a grim
situation for the nation-states altogether. We may be making merry over the world
having become a global village in terms of the information flow but the situation
is fraught with dangerous consequences for the cultural authenticity, political
sovereignty and, above all, democratic rights of citizens to have access to diverse
sources of information.

TRENDING NEWS

In fact regulation of the media at the European level took off in 1989 with the
adoption of the European Union (EU) directive, ‘Television without Frontiers’ and
the Council of Europe Convention on trans-border television. Since then new
items have been added to this directive. Media issues have been investigated and
analysed since the end of 1992 as preparation for an EU directive and competition
legislation has been put to the test in the media field. The planning of the
information society of the future, thus as a consequence, has given rise to
numerous Community-level initiatives in the continent, many of which touch upon
the traditional media.

This is happening at a time when the global media predator Rupert Murdoch’s
STAR has made considerable penetration all around globe. And SAARC region is
no exception. The question that comes to one’s mind is what the South Asian
Association of Regional Co-operation has done so far in this regard, since its
inception some 25 years ago.

Evolution and Development of SAARC Media

Precious little was done at regional forum’s level in this regard. The
communication, cultural or media integration of the region took a back seat as the
heads of Government or State were either pre occupied with the massive political
agenda at their tables to decide or were possibly unaware of the potentiality of the
issue. It was not before December 19, 1996 when the Information Ministers of
seven countries sat, for the first time, and deliberated upon the media is sues
confronting the region.

But a decade earlier, the forum decided to start a monthly, half an hour
documentary formatted television programme under the SAARC Audio Visual
Exchange.

SAVE SAARC

The SAARC Audio Visual Exchange (SAVE) is one of the original areas agreed at
the inception of the SAARC. “A south Asian Broadcasting programme covering
both Radio and Television be launched”, read one of the points of the declaration
issued at the conclusion of Second SAARC Summit held at Bangalore from 16 -17
November 1986. Subsequently, the third session of the Council of Ministers held
at New Delhi in 1987, decided the establishment of SAVE committee.

First such SAVE programme was telecast on November, 2, 1987 coinciding with
the Third SAARC Summit held at Kathmandu from 2-4 November, 1987.
Successive SAARC summits lauded the smooth functioning of SAVE programme
as being a useful medium for promoting a South Asian consciousness among the
people in the region. So far, the SAVE Committee has met twenty five times.

The SAVE Committee aims at increasing the awareness of each other among the
peoples of the region through disseminating information on the socio-cultural,
economic and technical aspects of the Member States. The programmes include
joint productions on thematic issues of Environment, Disabled Persons, Youth,
Literacy, Participatory Governance, Safe and Clean Water, and Mountains and
Hills and so on.

The fourth meeting of SAARC Information Ministers held at Islamabad, from 15 -

16 December 2004, commended the SAVE Committee’s performance and directed
it to arrange a simultaneous/auto translation of SAVE programmes into national
languages of member countries and hold the SAARC Radio Quiz by
teleconferencing as a test case. It thanked the Government of Sri Lanka for its
offer to host the First SAARC Feature Film Festival on Television in 2005.
However, the Festival is yet to be realized.

The first meeting of the Heads of National TV, Radio and News Agencies, held in
New Delhi in November 1999, as per the Plan of Action on Media & Information-
1998, reviewed the activities of the SAVE Committee and made recommendations
to improve the quality of SAVE programmes. In their 4th meeting at Colombo, the
Heads of National TV, Radio and News Agencies, discussed the performan ce of
the SAVE Committee, especially its progress on the production of video
documentary on ‘SAARC in the New Millennium’ and the modalities to
institutionalize the SAVE Award. It agreed that the activities of the SAVE
Committee should be realistic and feasible.

However, this exercise has remained limited to a monthly half an hour programme
being telecast by the state run television of each member state in an alphabetic
order. Secondly, the program could not keep pace with the changing media
scenario in the world and evolution of cable and satellite television in the South
Asian region in a big way. As a result, with time, the SAVE programme seems to
have lost the steam.

SAARC Information Ministers Meet

Recognizing the importance and need of high level interaction in media among the
member states, the Council of Ministers at its 17th Session held at New Delhi
from 19-20 December 1996, decided the convening of a meeting of SAARC
Information Ministers, to deliberate upon the information and media related
matters among the member countries. In pursuance of it, the SAARC Information
Ministers met first time in Dhaka from April 25-26, 1998 and adopted a
Comprehensive Strategy for Cooperation in the field of Media and Information
among the members.

The Information Ministers agreed to implement 18 points-SAARC Plan of Action

on Media and Information to promote cooperation. This includes ensuring free
flow of information, newspapers, periodicals, books and other publications,
reducing postal and telecommunication rates for media transmission and
information materials, increasing cooperation amongst news agencies of SAARC
countries, facilitating easier travel for media persons within the region, working
towards evolution of a SAARC recognized Regional Media Forum, holding an
annual conference of editors and working journalists from SAARC countries,
creating a web page for exchange of news amongst news agencies of SAARC
countries.

The Tenth SAARC Summit at Colombo held from July 29 to 31, 1998 approved
the Plan of Action on Media and Information. In order to promote deeper
understanding on common regional issues and to project a more balanced view of
developments in the region, the summit called for concerted endeavours for the
promotion of practical programmes among the Member States in the field of
information and media.
The 2nd Meeting of the SAARC Information Ministers held at Islamabad, in 2002
reviewed the status of implementation of the Plan of Action and proposed to
evolve a SAARC recognized Regional Media Forum; develop model guidelines on
transnational satellite broadcasting in the region; establish a SAARC Information
Centre; and project and strengthen the South Asian identity beyond the region.

In order to boost cooperation in information sector, the Information Ministers at

their Third Meeting (New Delhi, November 2003) decided to initiate weekly
SAARC Radio News programmes and monthly SAARC Television News
programmes, ‘SAARC Radio Bulletin’ and ‘SAARC TV Bulletin’, respectively, at
all national channels of member countries.

At their Fourth Meeting (Islamabad, 15-16 December 2004), the SAARC

Information Ministers agreed to establish SAARC Information Centre in
Kathmandu, which was later endorsed by the Twelfth Summit (Islamabad, 4-6
January 2002). The Centre will maintain a data-base for the SAARC region
covering economic, social, media including establishment of a library of various
programmes on core areas of cooperation and make the same available to the
Member States through the internet, meeting decided. It also welcomed the
decision of the SAARC Council of Ministers to grant a status of the SAARC
Recognized Body to the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA).

Taking into account the new challenges emerging in the knowledge based
industries due to rapid developments in the technology; the Fourth Meeting also
reviewed the Plan of Action and adopted the Revised Plan of Action on
Information and Media.

Revised Action Plan on Information & Media

This revised Plan of Action is basically a conceptual plan to promote information

and media for achieving SAARC goals, devise mechanism for utilizing the
potential of information and knowledge for development purposes, and addr ess
new challenges including digital divide in the Member Countries.

The Plan of Action on Information and Media, incorporating therein some on -

going activities from the earlier Plan of Action is reproduced below:

Ensure free flow of information, newspapers, periodicals, books and other

publications.
Request concerned authorities to reduce postal and telecommunication rates for
media transmission and information materials.

Hold annual meetings of heads of national radio, TV and news agencies of

SAARC member countries

Evolve model guidelines on transnational satellite broadcasting in the region.

Cooperation in exchange of information between national news agencies of

member countries may be encouraged.

Recommendations of the Third Meeting of the SAARC Information Ministers

with regard to relaxation of the visa regime for accredited journalists be
implemented on the basis of reciprocity.

Organize teleconferencing for SAVE and other SAARC activities and publicity.

Special programmes for forthcoming SAARC designated Years be developed by

TV and Radio organizations as well as by print media.

Establish a Digital Technology Forum.

Produce video documentaries on “SAARC in the New Millennium” in a phased

manner with translation into national languages of member countries for viewing
in SAARC countries.

The year 2007 may be observed as the SAARC Media Year.

The SAARC Information Ministers held their Fifth meeting in Kathmandu from
29-30 August 2005. They discussed on the establishment of a regulatory
framework to balance functioning between the private channels and the public
service broadcasters in SAARC countries. The Meeting reviewed the status of
implementation of SAARC News Programmes for TV and Radio. It advised the
SAVE Committee for holding of more SAARC activities through
teleconferencing.

The Meeting deliberated on the concept paper on model guidelines on

transnational satellite broadcasting in the region. It decided that the issue of
transnational satellite Radio broadcasting should also be covered under the same
subject.
At the Meeting, functioning of the Heads of National media organizations was
reviewed and recommended for including the heads of National News Agencies in
its next Meeting.

Policy Challenges to SAARC Media

Despite the theoretical pronouncements in the form of biennial conferences of

Information Ministers of SAARC countries and the enactment of Plan of Action
on Media & Information, almost nothing has been done at the regional forum’s
level to meet the policy challenges, though every member state has been grappling
with these issues, individually.

There is a huge influx of foreign content and channels putting the cultural ethos of
the South Asian region to tizzy. Also

Media Policy

With invasion of skies all around by global satellite television companies,

regulation of the media industry has become both a need and a compulsion for the
governments, hence devising policies and enacting laws for the purpose. European
Union, as discussed earlier, has done it as early as 1990s in the form of a common
EU Directive on Television. In the SAARC region, every country is faced with
this problem. In the absence of relevant laws, private broadcasters and foreign
channels have been having a free run in the region. The issues confronting the
South Asian states include foreign investment in media, uplinking and
downlinking of satellite channels, management control, advertisement code etc.
Though SAARC Plan of Action on media envisages evolving guidelines for
Satellite channels but beyond a mere concept paper nothing seems to have been
done so far.

If we have a common SAARC policy on issues like energy, trade etc, why we
can’t have a SAARC Policy on media regulation on the lines of European Union.
There is an urgent need of a convergent and unified approach towards this media
aggression on the lines of European Union. Though individual efforts among the
media houses in the region are underway, but a Governmental initiative in this
regard is all the more needed. 2010, in this regard, opened on a positive note.
Pakistan’s reputed newspaper, Jang, collaborated with The Times of India for
Aman Ki Asha, a series of write ups on co operation and friendship between the
two countries. Similarly, India’s ace television company, NDTV has tied up with
Beximco Group of Bangladesh for starting a television channel in Dhaka. These
initiatives need to be given a further push.

National Broadcasters losing audience

National broadcasters in a majority of South Asian countries are losing audience

at a fast pace to either private media companies or satellite television companies
from outside the region like STAR. Some smaller countries like Maldives or
Bhutan fear the media from big countries like India.

Many reasons can be assigned to this. Many media analysts believe continued
suppressive control of the Governments over the state run broadcasters led to their
losing creativity and editorial choice. This coupled with the growth of private
broadcasters and coming of satellite television to the region, led to people running
away from the state run broadcasters thus leaving them to grapple for survival.

Press Freedom

Freedom of Media to operate independent of any pressures from the state or non
state actors has come to emerge as an important issue among the South Asian
countries. Every nation state has been facing an internal crisis of one nature or
other and many of the region’s countries’ democracy plays hide and seek. So the
consequent curbs on media. The countries are yet to devise a common broadly
accepted code in line with International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In Nepal every newspaper supports one or the other political party. So no

newspaper can that way be considered independent. Similarly, Sri Lanka is y et to
have a better definition of freedom of expression or a new Press Council Act. The
6th amendment still impinges on freedom of expression. Maldives is still rated as
“not free” and Bangladesh “partly free” in terms of media freedom as stringent
laws exist in these countries that regulate the media.

These issues need to be discussed at the highest level in SAARC and evolution of
consensus based solutions sought. This is the high time for the SAARC leadership
to evolve a consensus among the member states on the above issues before the
multinational giants come to dictate the rules as they have done elsewhere in the
world.