The local media in Kashmir is expanding at a staggering pace though the sailing has not been smooth for local journalists and media organisations
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Till the late 1980s, J&K had such less newspapers and magazines that they could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Of these, only Aftab and Srinagar Times, both Urdu dailies, were popular among the masses. When insurgency erupted in the Valley, people needed their daily fix of news. They were eager to remain abreast of developments around them.
State-run Doordarshan and Radio Kashmir were the only accessible sources of news but excessive government control on these media institutions undermined their credibility. People turned to international media, primarily BBC, to get a clear picture of the situation in Kashmir. The then correspondent of BBC World Service, Yusuf Jameel, became a household name in the Valley. Every household would tune into the early morning and evening BBC bulletins.
“People would trust every word the BBC would broadcast. It was too demanding. I could hardly afford any off-the-mark coverage. But my reporting things as they were won me more foes than friends,” recalls Jameel.
Now, two decades later, more than a hundred newspapers, including 25 English dailies, hit the stalls every morning in Srinagar. There are 81weeklies, both offset and litho printed, and 12 monthly and fortnightly English and Urdu news magazines too being published from the Valley alone. About 80 dailies and 132 periodicals are published from Jammu.
The buck does not stop there. According to officials, hundreds of applications for new registrations are pending in the offices concerned in both Jammu and Srinagar. Almost every second month sees the launch of new publications. Most of these newspapers, priced at two to three rupees, survive mainly on government advertisements.
The growing literacy rate, which at present hovers a little above 65 per cent in J&K, has also widened the readership base during the last two decades. At the same time, new technologies like the Internet, networked computers and other hardware and software applications have also helped in producing newspapers in large number with better print quality. Apart from that, more than 20 cable news channels have been launched across the state in the past few years. All of the news channels — more than a dozen — are off the air in the Valley though after the state authorities announced a temporary ban on them four months ago.
GK Communications, with two of its largest circulated daily newspapers, Greater Kashmir (English) and Kashmir Uzma (Urdu) is considered to be one of the biggest media organisations in the state. Both of its newspapers are simultaneously published from Jammu and Srinagar. GK also has a vibrant online edition, which has a large number of visitors across the globe. Similarly, Kashmir Media Group (KMG), which publishes Rising Kashmir (English), Buland Kashmir (Urdu) and Sangarmal (Kashmiri), is also taking shape as a large media group in the Valley. English papers such as Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir and Kashmir Times and Urdu language ones like Kashmir Uzma, Srinagar Times, Aftab and Buland are being extensively read.
Mass communication graduates from Kashmir University are being hired by local newspapers on good wages. “Kashmir University’s mass communication department was established in 1985. Since then, we have produced more than 600 journalists and most of them are well placed in local, national and international media organisations,” informs Nasir Mirza, a senior lecturer.
However, it has not been easy for media organisations and journalists to survive in an atmosphere of hostility and conflict. During the last 20 years, more than a dozen mediapersons have been killed in the line of duty.
Apart from such tragedies, Kashmiri journalists have seen the worst kind of aggression by security forces. This summer more than two dozen mediapersons were ruthlessly beaten up by police and security forces at different times while they were performing their duty. Srinagar-based newspapers have frequently been forced to stop publication by the government. During the civil unrest earlier this year, beating up and harassment of newspaper staff and repeated cancellation of curfew passes made their operations impossible. The newspapers have been stopped for an estimated total of thirty days since June this year.
The channel operators believe that they were targetted only for showing the facts. “The channels were screening only what was happening around. People were being killed and injured by the security forces. How could we have not reported such things?” asks Sanam Aijaz, managing director, J.K. channel.
The popularity of social networking sites has also increased during the last few years, especially among the youth. Many Kashmiris, including those living abroad, have created groups on facebook and Twitter to express their political opinions. During the recent unrest, tech-savvy youngsters used these sites to vent their anger. This attracted the attention of security agencies. Police arrested many young boys for posting “objectionable” remarks on Internet.
But the local media in Kashmir lacks in quality. “During past two decades the Kashmir media has grown enormously but quality is missing,” says Pervez Majeed, a correspondent with Delhi-based news magazine Sahara Time. “The conflict provided a breeding ground for non-professionals who are pursuing varied interests and are indulging in activities which can't be called journalism,” he rues.
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Assertion amid restrictions
Till the late 1980s, J&K had such less newspapers and magazines that they could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Of these, only Aftab and Srinagar Times, both Urdu dailies, were popular among the masses. When insurgency erupted in the Valley, people needed their daily fix of news. They were eager to remain abreast of developments around them.
State-run Doordarshan and Radio Kashmir were the only accessible sources of news but excessive government control on these media institutions undermined their credibility. People turned to international media, primarily BBC, to get a clear picture of the situation in Kashmir. The then correspondent of BBC World Service, Yusuf Jameel, became a household name in the Valley. Every household would tune into the early morning and evening BBC bulletins.
“People would trust every word the BBC would broadcast. It was too demanding. I could hardly afford any off-the-mark coverage. But my reporting things as they were won me more foes than friends,” recalls Jameel.
Now, two decades later, more than a hundred newspapers, including 25 English dailies, hit the stalls every morning in Srinagar. There are 81weeklies, both offset and litho printed, and 12 monthly and fortnightly English and Urdu news magazines too being published from the Valley alone. About 80 dailies and 132 periodicals are published from Jammu.
The buck does not stop there. According to officials, hundreds of applications for new registrations are pending in the offices concerned in both Jammu and Srinagar. Almost every second month sees the launch of new publications. Most of these newspapers, priced at two to three rupees, survive mainly on government advertisements.
The growing literacy rate, which at present hovers a little above 65 per cent in J&K, has also widened the readership base during the last two decades. At the same time, new technologies like the Internet, networked computers and other hardware and software applications have also helped in producing newspapers in large number with better print quality. Apart from that, more than 20 cable news channels have been launched across the state in the past few years. All of the news channels — more than a dozen — are off the air in the Valley though after the state authorities announced a temporary ban on them four months ago.
GK Communications, with two of its largest circulated daily newspapers, Greater Kashmir (English) and Kashmir Uzma (Urdu) is considered to be one of the biggest media organisations in the state. Both of its newspapers are simultaneously published from Jammu and Srinagar. GK also has a vibrant online edition, which has a large number of visitors across the globe. Similarly, Kashmir Media Group (KMG), which publishes Rising Kashmir (English), Buland Kashmir (Urdu) and Sangarmal (Kashmiri), is also taking shape as a large media group in the Valley. English papers such as Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir and Kashmir Times and Urdu language ones like Kashmir Uzma, Srinagar Times, Aftab and Buland are being extensively read.
Mass communication graduates from Kashmir University are being hired by local newspapers on good wages. “Kashmir University’s mass communication department was established in 1985. Since then, we have produced more than 600 journalists and most of them are well placed in local, national and international media organisations,” informs Nasir Mirza, a senior lecturer.
However, it has not been easy for media organisations and journalists to survive in an atmosphere of hostility and conflict. During the last 20 years, more than a dozen mediapersons have been killed in the line of duty.
Apart from such tragedies, Kashmiri journalists have seen the worst kind of aggression by security forces. This summer more than two dozen mediapersons were ruthlessly beaten up by police and security forces at different times while they were performing their duty. Srinagar-based newspapers have frequently been forced to stop publication by the government. During the civil unrest earlier this year, beating up and harassment of newspaper staff and repeated cancellation of curfew passes made their operations impossible. The newspapers have been stopped for an estimated total of thirty days since June this year.
The channel operators believe that they were targetted only for showing the facts. “The channels were screening only what was happening around. People were being killed and injured by the security forces. How could we have not reported such things?” asks Sanam Aijaz, managing director, J.K. channel.
The popularity of social networking sites has also increased during the last few years, especially among the youth. Many Kashmiris, including those living abroad, have created groups on facebook and Twitter to express their political opinions. During the recent unrest, tech-savvy youngsters used these sites to vent their anger. This attracted the attention of security agencies. Police arrested many young boys for posting “objectionable” remarks on Internet.
But the local media in Kashmir lacks in quality. “During past two decades the Kashmir media has grown enormously but quality is missing,” says Pervez Majeed, a correspondent with Delhi-based news magazine Sahara Time. “The conflict provided a breeding ground for non-professionals who are pursuing varied interests and are indulging in activities which can't be called journalism,” he rues.
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