Worthy Initiative in Media Research

Yuba Nath Lamsal

Martin Chautari, a media research institute, has come tip with it new publication called "Media Aadhvan" (vledia Research). '['his is the fifth annual journal of the organization which has collie in the form of a book. This is fifty eighth publication of the organization's series of published books so far. The book has focused entirely on media related issues, host of :which are relevant and important.

The book is voluminous covering diverse issues on crass Media and journalism. The work is a compilation of research based articles and commentaries on media issues written by various authors having their own reputation in the field of media in Nepal. Devraj Humagain, Sekhar Parajuli and Pratyoush Onta are the editors who have labored hard to bring this publication into the present shape.

Based on the nature and contents of the chapters. the book has been divided into five sections. Category One contains research based articles commissioned by the publisher. Category Two has taken the documents and articles presented in the media related seminar, Category Three comprises commentaries on media issues, Category Four contains memoirs and Category Fifth is the book reviews section.

In Category One, Krishna Adhikari, P Kharel, HarikalaAdhikari and Shiva Regmi have dwelt on various issues pertaining to media and media practices in Nepal. These articles range from internal conflict within the media houses, trend in the use of quotes, language and theme in the editorials of  the Nepali media to history of Nepal's department of information.

Of these articles, P Kharel has labored much to investigate the trend and practices of the use of quotes and sources in Nepali media, which is well researched with the application of due methodology. It has given a clear picture as to how media outlets use quotes and sources. Sources and quotes are the lifeline of the news but there are many lapses in Nepali media so far as their use is concerned. According to Kharel, the proper use of quotes and sources is better in dailies. But the weeklies still do not use and reveal sources clearly. They use either fake or anonymous Sources or do not use the sources at all. T'his is against the universally accepted norms of journalism.

The other analytical articles are Harikala Adhikari's 'Editorial Writing: Use and Deviation' and Krishna Adhikari's "Conflict in the Publishing Houses and Rights of the Workers'. Krishna Adhikari has dealt with the conflict and confrontation within the publishing houses and the issue concerning the right and facilities of the employees work n hi the publishing industries. This has given a clear picture and perspective with the history of Nepal's publishing business and its growth along with the condition and situation of the employces, their rights and laws governing their interests.

Harikala Adhikari has done some research in her articles regarding the language and substance in the editorial contents of the Nepali newspapers. This is informative and analytical. Similarly Shiva Regnti's article on the history on Information Department of Nepal is also informative which is useful r those who are interested in the media history of Nepal.

The other part contains the articles on various issues written by various writers like CK Lal, Indradhoj Chhetri. Harsaman Maharjan, Anubhav Ajit and Arun Panthi. In this section, Indradhoj Chhetri has dealt with the money politics in the business news of broadsheet dailies. This article is well researched and has tried to reach into inner depths of the trend of business news. As the competition grows and revenue shrinks, the media houses are adopting new approaches and technique to attract advertisers even crossing journalism's basic ethics. As a result, the demarcation between the advertisement and news is getting thinner. Although this has been a global trend in the present financial crisis, this is more glaring in Nepal's newspapers which can be called a questfor survival. Other articles in the section are also worth reading that give knowledge on different issues and subjects.

In the section of commentaries, Dipak Jung Hamal has thoroughly dwelt on Civic Journalism in Televisions in Nepal. Hamal has tried to present the global trend of citizen journalism and its practice in Nepali televisions. The citizen journalism is a concept of ensuring people's participation in the media and information dissemination, winch is different from the present consumererist journalism. The article is in formative. Rabindra Mishra's write up on public interest, use, and journalism is also worth reading which gives a new insight on how media are used for public good.

In the section of memoirs, Khagendra Shangraula and Syamdas Vaisnav have done their best to tell the readers how they felt about media. Shangraula has dealt with his own experiences as a columnist whereas Syamdas Vaisnav's write up helps us understand the insight of Radio Nepal.

In the book review section. different authors have reviewed different books on different media issues, which are informative. On the whole, the book is informative and useful for all in general and those keen to know more about Nepal's media in particular.

The Rising Nepal, 7 Aug 2010