Sumegha
Your experience, and the earlier observations made by Sajan, are
disturbing. And I hope they are disturbing enough for all of those in
the CR movement to commit ourselves to understanding this phenomenon and
take steps to fight it.
It is not difficult to 'understand' this phenomenon if we realize that
most of those who speak of setting up 'community' telecentres openly
profess somewhat similar plans and expectations, as the person you met
did. While in the CR movement one is still a bit on the defensive to
take such a stand, it is considered quite respectable in the telecentre
movement (speaking in general terms and not about all telecentre
initiatives; our own organization supports community telecentres). This
is the new 'sustainability' mantra as the primary yardstick of any ICT
project. Basically what is meant to be said is that 'development should
pay for itself' and governmental transfers or other kind of public
funding may really not be required. Such practices have done precious
little for communities, or for that matter for 'telecentres', but they
have certainly been quite successful in entrenching a new ideology of
business models and marketisation of development. What you see is simply
an open expression of it.
While one can understand the motivation and the strength of the dominant
forces driving such an ideology, there also has been the problem that
traditional development actors often acquiesce in treating new ICTs
in a 'different' way. I never have been able to understand what is
about the new ICTs - computers, Internet etc - that lends them to be
seen primarily from a 'market' rather than a 'community' angle, as
community radio is seen. Is there anything essential and specific to new
ICTs vis a vis the old ones which is responsible for this. I don't think
so. If anything, new ICTs because of their collaborative possibilities
may be even better candidates for collective and community-based
appropriation. However dominant forces, seeking an early advantage, have
entrenched a solid ideology around the new ICTs, and traditional
development actors who were either too busy figuring out ways to meet
the so many developmental challenges, or took a simplistic attitude to
new ICTs as just harbingers of neoliberal globalization, have largely
failed to provide any alternative, pro-development, conceptions.
(Apologies for such generalizations which may be unfair to some/ many.)
I keep hoping that the community orientation of the CR movement could
be used to communitize telecentre movement or ICTD, but the reverse
looks like happening. The way forward from a CR perspective therefore
may be to get more pro-active, and get on the offensive - challenge the
dominant trappings and ideologies of telecentre practice and ICTD
theory, to stop the damage that it seems to be causing to the CR movement.
Meanwhile, I must clarify that I have nothing against markets - which
are one of the principal institutions of our social organizing, nor
against sustainability - a concept used since long in development
practice, but in a much broader sense. The fact that I must immediately
make such clarifications, or else risk being misunderstood or labeled
regressive (if not something worse), speaks volumes about the dominance
of a certain ideology. Apparently, one can use terms like business
models and revenue streams in ICTD without any corresponding
clarifications at all. Thats all, Sumegha, the person you met did.
Parminder
sumegha agarwal wrote:
Off late I was approached by one CR station owner to take up the role
of PD with the station. This person rued about investment of few lakhs
in setting up the station. This person's main concern was to recover
the money invested ASAP. Idea was that I should not only earn my
salary and also deliver lots of profit. That too with hardly having
any program content worth broadcast available. Further discussions
were held whereby partnership was offered and I was also asked for a
marketing plan with clear timeline re: recovering revenue through
advertisment. I too spent lot of time explaining the vision and scope
of CR to this person. No doubt our discussions led to nowhere.
tx
sumegha
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:44:46 -0800
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [cr-india] when cash registers ring for community radio
This story is obviously the work of a highly imaginative desk editor
-- especially the headline - because nothing much in the story seems
to suggest that the Jamia station is going to rake in anything close
to big bucks, what with Rs 50 for a 10 second ad. If they can raise
enough to pay reasonable stipends to their staff, that will be a miracle.
Arti
Arti Jaiman Project Manager: TRF Radio [email protected]
www.trfindia.org www.jaiman.org www.pitara.com
--- On *Wed, 24/12/08, sajan venniyoor /<[email protected]>/* wrote:
From: sajan venniyoor <[email protected]>
Subject: [cr-india] when cash registers ring for community radio
To: "CR India" <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, 24 December, 2008, 12:48 PM
This is the second press story in a row on how CR is going "to set
cash registers ringing". (Another one had appeared in Indian
Express last week: 'Community Radio Must Earn Revenue
<http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/community-radio-must-earn-revenue/399479/>')
Not only is the story below factually incorrect (IMS Noida tells
me that they are already broadcasting ads), this media projection
of CRS as a cash-cow is sending out very wrong signals. Like many
others on this list, I have often been approached by dubious
individuals and NGOs in search of ringing cash registers courtesy
'community radio'. Very often in Delhi -- and recently in Patna --
I've had long, surreal conversations with people who assume that
CR is a kind of cut-price commercial radio station. The tragedy is
that, given the loopholes in the policy, anyone can set up a
network of CR stations and turn them all into low-cost commercial
FM channels without even bending the law.
Unfortunately, it is the genuine community-based group, with
little or no interest in making profits, that's grilled endlessly
on their revenue model and why they don't plan to broadcast round
the clock. The other sort, who prepare a business plan before they
think of a programme plan, set the standards of 'sustainability'
that the rest of us are supposed to shoot for.
I guess it is difficult to tell whether it is cash registers
ringing or bells tolling when one's ears are stuffed with greed
and ignorance.
Sajan
'This is Radio Jamia, and you can hear our cash register ringing'
<http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=IndiaSectionPage&id=7a66cbb5-7e23-41a8-91c9-1a187b110da5&&Headline=%27This+is+Radio+Jamia,+and+you+can+hear+our+cash+register+ringing%27>
Hindustan Times, 24 Dec 2008
Come January, Radio Jamia on 90.4 FM — run by Jamia Millia Islamia
University — will become the first campus community radio station
in the Capital to air commercials.
And this is exclusively meant for the benefit of local products
and commercial ventures.
"Our radio reaches out to people within 10 km. This new feature
will provide a platform for the local tea stall, the nondescript
beauty parlour, eating joint or even a small-time soap
manufacturer within the area to popularise their product or
service," said GR Syed, Reader and in-charge of Radio Jamia. The
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting allows community radio
stations to have a five-minute commercial spot every hour.
There are five operational community radio stations managed by
educational institutions in Delhi, including those run by Delhi
University (DU) and Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).
DU and IIMC don't plan to introduce commercial spots in the near
future. This will make Radio Jamia the first among them to
generate revenue through advertisements. The station currently
airs programmes for six hours every day.
Private institutions, namely Jagan Institute of Management and
Jagannath International Management School, run the other two stations.
"The commercial length will be anywhere between 10 and 30 seconds
and we've decided on a tentative charge of Rs 50 for the same.
Currently, our volunteers and radio jockeys work without pay. We
would like to start paying them a token amount with the money
earned through advertisements," said Syed.
If needed, students of the Mass Communication and Research Centre
will also help produce the commercials.
"They will, however, have to pay the rent for the using the
university studio," said Syed.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=IndiaSectionPage&id=7a66cbb5-7e23-41a8-91c9-1a187b110da5&&Headline='This+is+Radio+Jamia,+and+you+can+hear+our+cash+register+ringing'
<http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=IndiaSectionPage&id=7a66cbb5-7e23-41a8-91c9-1a187b110da5&&Headline=%E2%80%98This+is+Radio+Jamia,+and+you+can+hear+our+cash+register+ringing%E2%80%99>
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