KEY NOTE ADDRESS; (TRANSCRIPT)
Need for Public Service Broadcasting.
BY DR. MUKESH SHARMA, FORMER DIRECTOR GENERAL, FILMS DIVISION OF INDIA / FORMER ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL, DOORDARSHAN, MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
Television is a uniquely influential medium. It has tremendous capacity to mobilise or influence public opinion. The power of TV lies in its value as a common reference point for millions of people. Television can unite us just as it can divide us. We as citizens can be united through public service broadcasters’ endeavours or divided through niche marketing of hundreds of commercial channels.
For the last 60 years in India, the concept of Public Service Broadcasting centred on the nation state and on the state-controlled media. Both Doordarshan and AIR not only acted as custodians of national culture, they have also seen it as their job to provide a universal service. These public broadcasters have been providing programmes for schools and farmers, health and hygiene, literacy and education, along with information and entertainment. No doubt, these programmes by todays’ yardstick were not well made, but they reflected a perceived state responsibility towards all citizens.
On the other hand, with the advent of private broadcasters the role of the state has diminished. The trend in the television programme content has changed so much and so drastically that it does not reflect the Indian reality any more. While cable and satellite have increased the viewing options tremendously, they have failed to offer a better and richer choice of television content. Realistically, they have promoted increasing fragmentation of the television audience. They have raised serious concerns about purpose, orientation, taste and decency.
Out of the 900 odd TV channels in India nearly 45% are TV News channels. The role of TV news media broadcasting, in a democracy has a number of overlapping but distinctive functions. One is to inform and educate, to make intelligent decisions about public policy, people need accurate, timely, unbiased information. The second function is to serve as a watchdog over elected government representatives as well as powerful institutions in the society. By holding to a standard of independence and objectivity the news broadcasting media can expose the truth behind the claims of the government and hold public officials accountable for their actions. Sadly, TV News media in India has more reach but less credibility now. Trivialization, glamorization and sensationalism are the buzzword in today’s parlance. The media barons have the dreadful combination of influence and affluence.
More than 50 years ago George Orwell wrote the bestseller ‘1984’, that classis novel depicted with a fair amount of accuracy, the events that were to unfold in the present era. In fact, the thought control capacities of the powers that be, has gone much beyond the Orwellian fancies and fantasies. And we have been so conditioned by it that we take it for granted and believe in his slogan ‘Ignorance is Strength’. Ignorance and inborn antipathy to any external pressure on one’s inclination to speak and write, that which one pleases, are often responsible for a blind resistance to any law, customs, traditions or norms.
Human beings, being what they are, liberty frequently degenerates into license, and creativity into perversity. And then society itself becomes a cesspool of corrupt practices and pursuits. Tampering checks and constructive direction are necessary to preserve and promote decent values, robust creativity and healthy growth.
Today TV journalists are using the “hit-and-run” methods in the race to capture the market.
Air Pilots can be sacked for one mistake, a railway man can lose his job for sleeping on duty and doctors can lose the confidence of their patients if they mess up an operation. A journalist by contrast can actually get by, with a small correction on page 19, to a news item that was plastered across page 1, and a television channel could simply pull off a wrong story without so much as an apology in the sanguine belief that viewer memory is ridiculously short.” In the midst of all this TV news, Media trials could deny anyone a fair trial. There is the question of admission, authenticity and the issue of privacy. Do such trials amount to public service? It is a question to be introspected by the TV news media, itself? Hitting at a celeb is easy, as he cannot hit back.
Adding insult to the injury are unethical & unjust sting operations because they are staged. Entrapping & luring people to commit crime through monetary inducements is prohibited worldwide. But no such law exists in India and the private news broadcasters have started using sting operations, as an easy option to boost viewership events.
The TV news media screams for a code of conduct for others but has no ‘Lakshman Rekha’ for itself, as it plays God and decides for its own selfish ends who will be destroyed and who will be glorified.
So, in all this confusion what is the relevance of PSB in the multi commercial TV channel era.
In India the concept of public service broadcasting centred on the Nation State (India) and on State controlled media (AIR and Doordarshan). With the establishment of Prasar Bharati Corporation in the year 1990, a true public service broadcaster was born. The mission and objectives of Prasar Bharati as a public service broadcaster were made clear. On one hand it had to resist the temptation of the commercial market, on the other the corporation has to resist the power of political pressures and patronage.
What is the Mandate of Prasar Bharti?
The Shunu Sen review committee report on the working of Prasar Bharati published by the Ministry of I& B was suggested for adoption, by Prasar Bharati. The report said & I Quote: “Prasar Bharati will aim to provide, in the most efficient manner possible, media content of the highest quality that will empower and enlighten the citizens of India, and audiences outside the country, through original and relevant programmes which inform, educate and entertain, whilst ensuring a sizeable audience and reach.”
Sadly Prasar Bharti has failed miserably in its efforts to empower & enlighten the citizens of India as the viewers are not interested in substandard & poorly made content
Relevance of Public Service Broadcasting Today.
“A division between commercial broadcasting & Public Broadcasting has clearly emerged. Pb’s primary purpose is public service and CB’s is obviously business seeking & maximize profits. For Public Broadcaster the ambition is to succeed in innovation, in refreshing the pool of home-grown programmes, in accurately reflecting and stimulating the public mood and taste…. Perhaps the best medicine is to make sure that the public service broadcasters, those who put the public interest first, those who are committed to sustaining a creative non-derivative production base, are properly supported, properly sustained and properly funded. in the end, the public interest will remain very much the same as it is now:
Mandate for Public Service Broadcasting.
Public service broadcaster must be concerned about a broader set of clienteles and has a much larger mandate. It has to meet the complete media needs of all including those of a villager who has very few media options. Such a person is either watching Doordarshan or listening to radio on a community set. The public service broadcasting also needs to take into account the media needs of the minority audience, whether they be ethnic, religious or linguistic. Such a broadcaster needs to concern itself with developing taste, spreading literacy and development; and picks up issues that a commercial broadcaster rarely addresses.
In a tv Interview with me film maker Pankaj Parashar, said & I Quote
“Whatever TV channel which is private or are owned by shareholders, or owned by Australian or Chinese or whosoever comes into India, will obviously have his own axe to grind. They are not here because they like India, they are here because they want to make money”. Unquote
Let’s look at Key characteristics of public service broadcasting.
Kiran Karnik. Former President, NASSCOM, described the key
characteristics of PSB,& I quote “To me one of the key characteristics of public service broadcasting, is that it maintains and enlarges the space that exists between viewing commercial broadcasting on the one end of the spectrum and government run propaganda on the other. So, it’s independent of both government and market, and enlarging that space which you might call that space for civil society is one of the key roles of public service broadcasting.” Unquote
The need for public service broadcasting.
Well, a simple answer could be that AIR and Doordarshan are ahistorical reality, already the largest broadcasting network in the world.Therefore, there is no point in questioning their existence.
Such a proposition, however, does not lend meaning, to the existence and identity of an organization. An organization cannot grow and excel if it exists only because of an historical accident.
For any living and vibrant organisation there must be a larger purpose and mission.
In order to do this, it is necessary to analyze, whether commercial broadcastings can fulfil the objectives of public service broadcasting.
Inother words, can market forces alone, meet all the objectives of PSB
Late Media Person, Anil Dharkar, had told me once & I quote. “I don’t think market forces can take care of public service broadcasting at all, I’m quite definite about it…. I’m absolutely certain. And the reason for that is, is it a sustainable thing. We have seen all over the world, it is not. Any private company is going to be interested in the bottom line. Therefore, either it pays for itself or it doesn’t. Even a multichannel will not want to have cross subsidies. Left to market forces, it is possible that purely commercial broadcasting will not meet the full needs of the public service broadcasting.
In a country like India a PSB has a unique duty, to address not the consumers but the citizens. And that is an important differentiation in a poor country because the two are not synonymous, unlike in the more western or prosperous countries where the citizens and consumers are synonymous.” Unquote
Ashok Mansukh ani media specialist too shares his views& I quote “The needs of a public service broadcasting have changed. Today the levels of literacy are certainly higher than they were 30 years ago, but the needs of eradicating ignorance are equally important. Urbanization has not really made much of a difference when it comes to understanding what is in the nations’ interest or what is not in the nations’ interest. And I personally think public broadcasting has to always be the most integral element, the reason why Doordarshan must exist.”
So, what are the Crucial function of a public service broadcaster.
Well, we viewers, we citizens have broad tastes, and we cannot be compressed into the neat categories of marketing, where income and taste and choice are the determinist prisons of the consumer market.
There are classical dance fans among cricket fans and vice versa. When channels proliferate the mixed channel vanishes. In its place the specialist network—Sports, film, news, music, wildlife, shopping etc. comes alive.
Whereas the mixed network emphasizes what viewers have in common, the single-issue channel emphasizes what separates them from the others. We know what we gain from single subject channels. A vast supply of say, every single cricket match played. But what do we lose from the proliferation? A sense of sharing with others? A sense of being part of a collection of individuals who all through separate choice make up the mass television audience, and that sharing in the mass act of viewing becomes a valued social experience.
Prem Sagar, son of legendary Producer Director Ramanand Sagar, and maker of the popular serial Ramayan on DD , shares his experiences & I quote “What happened during Ramayan is a legend, weaving like a garland the whole nation, whether it was Tamil Nadu, one jewel, or Assam another jewel, or Kashmir, all the pearls right from Maharashtra to Gujarat, were weaved, to make a garland which was put on India.”
A.S. Tatari, a retired Addl. DG of DD said, “There is absolutely no doubt about it, that people do need entertainment, but at the same time, they need a lot of information which is useful to them. And on this point, the private channels really are not helping them at all. This help can be given by the channel which is serving the people, which is serving the public. And this way if we look at the rural programming, if we look at the educational programming, if you look at the programmes which informs people about various laws which are being enacted by the government, you don’t have to be a sort of ‘bhopu’ for the government.” Unquote
Public service broadcasters therefore have a crucial function to discharge, free from commercial pressure; they are free to address the full range of audience interests, not just those which are commercially the most attractive. The crucial fact is that the viewers of these ‘minority’ programmes are not some exceptional elites. They are the same people as those who watch the soaps.
We all want wider choice at some point of the viewing week andpublic service broadcasting is providing these programmes.
Although all of us enjoy the most popular programmes for much of the time, very few of us want them all the time. Research shows that, by and large, the public wants to spend two thirds of the time watching undemanding entertaining fare but wants to watch something more challenging for the other one third. Commercial television schedules, are prepared to achieve volume, and in so doing, the range of programmes is severely restricted.
So can we say that Public service broadcasting a key to our democracy.
Well, this fact was confirmed when I spoke to Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, &I Quote “Public service broadcasting is not only a key to our democracy, but that is an engine which can keep the democratic process going. After all what is democracy all about, it is for every citizen of India; to not only know his rights, but also to ensure that he is able to exercise those rights. And for that, the content of information data knowledge that has to be provided to him.” unquote
It is the duty of the public service broadcaster to ensure that important public service messages, like missing persons’ reports, appeal for blood donations, rescheduled arrival/departure of train timetables, important information regarding AIDS, polio vaccinations etc are given to the public.
The public broadcaster gives valuable airtime for this purpose in spite of there being no revenue earned. Public sector broadcasting has been built on the principle that public service television is free at the point of use. There is no reason why this principle should be abandoned.
Source of Funding for Each Broadcaster.
There are certain regulations for the users of surface transport. There is a lane for the cyclist, the pedestrian uses the subway, the motorist uses the fast lane and the heavy vehicles have their lanes earmarked. In this manner nobody infringes on the others’ space. If this does not happen, one can visualise the chaos and cacophony that will ensue. In the absence of clear-cut funding mechanisms, the broadcasting industry seems to be a “free for all.”
A pay channel in spite of collecting subscription fee from the viewer, also broadcasts advertisements. A free to air channel, collects subscription money and also clusters the programme content with advertisements. Sometimes it seems that the programme is sprinkled in between the continuous stream of advertisements.
Ideally the public service broadcaster should have independent source of funding, without any strings attached. At present the scene in this sector too is quite chaotic. Some monies come by way of selling airtime and some come from the government to compensate the deficit.
Funding –Public Service Broadcasting.
1. Global Scenario.
There is clearly no single perfect funding mechanism for public service broadcasters. But they do need a secure and reliable funding in order to survive in the commercial market. In the current scenario PB world wide are surviving on a combination of Funding. In some case it is licence fee, in others it is license fee & ad revenue. In some cases, the PB is being funded through License fee, ad revenue, sponsorship and public & Private funding.
It is evident from all the above that it is difficult to say which funding model is ideal for a public service broadcaster. However, the success and failure of a model could depend on the national values and traditions of a country; and on the media market opportunities available. No single universal model can be recommended across the globe. Every country keeping in mind its own strengths and weaknesses, its opportunities and threats to its system, would need to adopt its own model.
2. Indian Scenario.
In the context of India and particularly in the case of Prasar Bharati, the only national public service broadcaster, following would be the ideal mechanism for funding.
License fee: This system of funding was prevalent till 1985for both radio and television on the receiver set. Since it was difficult to collect the licence fee, the same was abolished. In today’s context, licence fee can be collected with the help of any government agency. For example, the citizens can pay monthly or annually the license fee on the television sets, either along with telephone bill or electricity bill. In return the government agency can deduct nominal service charges and deposit the remaining amount in the Prasar Bharati’s fund. People who do not own a television set, can simply give an affidavit to that effect.
Annual television license fee is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts and iPlayer catch-up to fund BBC
. Let’s quickly Compare PsB and CB.
1. PSB policy is motivated. CB is profit motivated
2. PSB enhances the quality of public life empowers individuals and social groups to participate more fully and equitably.
CB Does not have any specific mandate, since it is answerable to the shareholders
3.PSB caters to the citizen. CB caters to the consumers
4.PSB main aim is to reach largest possible audience most effectively.
CB Only interested in eyeballs and large audiences.
5.PSB aims to touch people, to move them, to change them.
CB Aims to put them in a mood to consumer.
6.PSB Free of charge to the end user.
CB Recurring expense to the end user.
7.PSB is Free from commercial pressure, it can address the full range of
audience interest.
CB has Commercial pressures, limits the range and variety of content.
8. PSB’s mixed programming content unites audiences.
CB’s niche programming content fragments audiences.
9. PSB Credibility quotient is high as it presents a fair and balanced flow of information of national and regional issues, without advocating any opinion or ideology of its own.
CB Credibility quotient is not high, since it advocates opinion or ideology of the group to which it belongs.
And finally, I sum up a part of the 1995 Supreme court Judgement on the importance of airwaves and where we stand today
“There is no doubt that since airwaves/frequencies are a public property and are also limited, they have to be used in the best interest of society. And this can be done either by a central authority; by establishing its own broadcasting network, or regulating the grant of licenses to other agencies, including private agencies. What is further, the electronic media is the most powerful media, both because of its’ audio-visual impact and its widest reach covering the section of the society where the print media does not reach. The right to use the airwaves and the content of the programmes, therefore, needs regulation for balancing it as well as to prevent monopoly of information, and views relayed, which is a potential danger flowing from the concentration of the right to broadcast / telecast in the hands of either a central agency or with a few affluent broadcasters. That is why the need to have a central agency, representative of all sections of the society, free from control, both of the government and the dominant influential sections of society.”
THANK YOU.
