The Origins of Newspapers in Nepal

The Origins of Newspapers

The history of newspapers is an often-dramatic chapter of the human experience going back some five centuries. In Renaissance Europe handwritten newsletters circulated privately among merchants, passing along information about everything from wars and economic conditions to social customs and "human interest" features. The first printed forerunners of the newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400's in the form of news pamphlets or broadsides, often highly sensationalized in content. Some of the most famous of these report the atrocities against Germans in Transylvania perpetrated by a sadistic veovod named Vlad Tsepes Drakul, who became the Count Dracula of later folklore.

In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper were corantos, small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published title was The Weekly Newes of 1622. It was followed in the 1640's and 1650's by a plethora of different titles in the similar newsbook format. The first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666. For a generation it was the only officially sanctioned newspaper, though many periodical titles were in print by the century's end.

Beginnings in America

In America the first newspaper appeared in Boston in 1690, entitled Publick Occurrences. Published without authority, it was immediately suppressed, its publisher arrested, and all copies were destroyed. Indeed, it remained
forgotten until 1845 when the only known surviving example was discovered in the British Library. The first successful newspaper was the Boston News-Letter, begun by postmaster John Campbell in 1704. Although it was heavily subsidized by the colonial government the experiment was a near-failure, with very limited circulation. Two more papers made their appearance in the 1720's, in Philadelphia and New York, and the Fourth
Estate slowly became established on the new continent. By the eve of the Revolutionary War, some two dozen papers were issued at all the colonies, although Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania would remain the centers of American printing for many years. Articles in colonial papers, brilliantly conceived by revolutionary propagandists, were a major force that influenced public opinion in America from reconciliation with England
to full political independence.

At war's end in 1783 there were forty-three newspapers in print. The press played a vital role in the affairs of the new nation; many more newspapers were started, representing all shades of political opinion. The no holds barred style of early journalism, much of it libelous by modern standards,
reflected the rough and tumble political life of the republic as rival factions jostled for power. The ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791 at last guaranteed of freedom of the press, and America's newspapers began to take on a central role in national affairs. Growth continued in every
state. By 1814 there were 346 newspapers. In the Jacksonian populist 1830's, advances in printing and papermaking technology led to an explosion of
newspaper growth, the emergence of the "Penny Press"; it was now possible to produce a newspaper that could be sold for just a cent a copy. Previously,
newspapers were the province of the wealthy, literate minority. The price of a year's subscription, usually over a full week's pay for a laborer, had to be paid in full and "invariably in advance." This sudden availability of
cheap, interesting reading material was a significant stimulus to the achievement of the nearly universal literacy now taken for granted in America.

The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution, as it transformed all aspects of American life and society, dramatically affected newspapers. Both the numbers of papers and their paid circulations continued to rise. The 1850 census catalogued 2,526 titles. In the 1850's powerful, giant presses appeared, able to print ten thousand complete papers per hour. At this time the first "pictorial" weekly newspapers emerged; they featured for the first time extensive illustrations of events in the news, as woodcut engravings made from correspondents' sketches or taken from that new invention, the photograph.
During the Civil War the unprecedented demand for timely, accurate news reporting transformed American journalism into a dynamic, hardhitting force in the national life. Reporters, called "specials," became the darlings of
the public and the idols of youngsters everywhere. Many accounts of battles turned in by these intrepid adventurers stand today as the definitive histories of their subjects.
Newspaper growth continued unabated in the postwar years. An astounding 11,314 different papers were recorded in the 1880 census. By the 1890's the first circulation figures of a million copies per issue were recorded
(ironically, these newspapers are now quite rare due to the atrocious quality of cheap paper then in use, and to great losses in World War II era paper drives) At this period appeared the features of the modern newspaper,
bold "banner" headlines, extensive use of illustrations, "funny pages," plus expanded coverage of organized sporting events. The rise of "yellow journalism" also marks this era. Hearst could truthfully boast that his newspapers manufactured the public clamor for war on Spain in 1898. This is also the age of media consolidation, as many independent newspapers were swallowed up into powerful "chains"; with regrettable consequences for a once fearless and incorruptible press, many were reduced to vehicles for the distribution of the particular views of their owners, and so remained, without competing papers to challenge their viewpoints. By the 1910's, all the essential features of the recognizably modern newspaper had emerged. In
our time, radio and television have gradually supplanted newspapers as the nation's primary information sources, so it may be difficult initially to appreciate the role that newspapers have played in our history.

 The news has at one point or another played a part in every one of our lives. Whether it is a weather report giving flash-flood warnings, information on presidential campaigns, or an obituary citing the death of a television personality, we crave it. Until the recent development and affluence of the Internet as a news source, newspapers have globally been
the primary source of current events. Having become part of a daily routine in most lives, little is known of the immense history this learning tool holds.
The story begins some five centuries ago in Europe. Here, merchants would distribute newsletters written by hand containing information regarding the weather, economic conditions, wars and human-interest stories. Although this was the first known form of distributed written information, the country accredited with the creation of the first newspaper is Germany. In the late fifteenth century, a cross between a brochure and a pamphlet was dispersed
among the people, the text containing highly sensationalized stories along with description of the current news events.
America, however, was a step behind. Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick, was the first newspaper published in America. Printed by Richard Pierce, and edited by Benjamin Harris, the first copy issued on September 25, 1690 would also be the last. It filled only 3 sheets of paper measuring six by ten inches, the equivalent of filling half of the front page of a newspaper today (14" x 23"). The paper had intended to be issued once a month.
The sudden discontinuation of Publick Occurrences would mean the last news offered to Americans for the next few years. Instead, newspapers published in London were read even though the "first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette, published four years later in 1666.
Fourteen years later, back in America, John Campbell, a bookseller appointed Postmaster of Boston, became the editor of the Boston News-Letter. The first issue was dated Monday, April 17 to Monday April 24, 1704 and contained only one advertisement. This was produced weekly and continued to be so even when William Brooker was appointed Postmaster to replace Campbell. Campbell refused to authorize the use of the title "News-Letter" to anyone else so Brooker called his newspaper the "Boston Gazette". Seven months later, Philip Musgrave was awarded the position of Postmaster in Boston and replaced Brooker. At this time, James Franklin, the printer of the Gazette, was also replaced. He wanted to start his own newspaper even though friends and family dissuaded him from doing so by telling him that Boston already
had a sufficient number of newspapers (2) and a third could not survive.
Despite this, Franklin went ahead and published his own newspaper, the New England Courant. The first issue was printed on August 19, 1721 making it the fourth newspaper published in America.
When James Franklin published an editorial criticizing the government, he was sent to prison. James' 13 year old brother and apprentice, Ben, took over the work of laying type, printing, and delivery of the issues. Six
months later, James Franklin was forbidden to publish any more newspapers so the masthead now carried the name "Ben Franklin" as editor and publisher. Ben, now legally free of being an apprentice, and having a dislike for his brother James, ran away to New York and later to Philadelphia. The New England Courant kept publishing issues claiming Ben Franklin was editor and publisher until 1726 without anyone being the wiser.
The fact that newspapers had been so scarce in Europe, America, and many other continents is due to many factors. To find a literate man was no easy task after Europe was emerging from the black age. Paper was extremely
expensive, and hard to come across, and the task of printing was long and laborious. The latter was still a problem even with the invention of the printing press in 1436.
A 39-year-old Johann Gutenberg came up with a printing method, where, by arranging stamps displaying the letters of the alphabet, one could construct a page of literature to be copied numerous times. This became known as the
Gutenberg Press, one of the greater inventions the fifteenth century held. Although a giant improvement from hand copying, this method still required the rearrangement of the letters each time a new page was to be printed.
In the early 1800's the development of continuous rolls of paper enhanced the original Gutenberg Press as did a steam-powered press and a way to use iron instead of wood for building presses. This added efficiency of printing
made the prices of printed goods more reasonable hence the term "penny press". This phrase originated when newspaperman Benjamin Day dropped the  price of his New York Sun to a penny a copy in 1833. Historians have accredited the "penny press" as the first true mass medium.
Another advancement in the history of printing was the origin of Linotype, a method of creating movable type by machine instead of by hand. This was introduced in 1884 and marked a significant leap in production speed. In
terms of the use of computers in the field of printing, especially newspapers, the progression is unbelievable. From the first daisy-wheel and dot matrix "impact" printers to common use of the non-impact printers: ink-jet, laser and thermal-transfer, printing presses are on the brink of becoming a thing of the past.
The big question regarding what the future holds for the old-fashioned newspaper is whether or not it will be overcome by the use of the Internet. Studies show that from 1992 to 1997, the weekly hours of using the Internet
has increased from 1.8 hours, to 9.1. Although the evidence is convincing that in the future the use of computers will obliterate that of newspapers, sometimes the tangible aspect is too great to give up for a color monitor.
You may be convinced that there's no better way to relax than with some black coffee and the front page. Or perhaps up-to-the-minute updates on top stories are more your interest. All we can say is: To each his own, but
always keep an open mind.

In the context of Nepal

The first media publication in Nepali language was "GORKHA BHARAT JEEVAN". It was published from Banaras. Main initiative was taken by the great intellectual Moti Ram Bhatta, editor was Ram Krishna Burma. It was monthly magazine , based

Journalism and Sports Journalism

Journalism is a discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and more broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. Journalism applies to various media, including but not limited to newspapers, magazines, radio, and television.

While under pressure to be the first to publish their stories, news media organizations—each adhering to its own standards of accuracy, quality, and style—usually edit and proofread their reports prior to publication. Many news organizations claim proud traditions of holding government officials and institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have raised questions about holding the press itself accountable.
The digitalization of news production and the diffusion capabilities of the internet are challenging the traditional journalistic professional culture.
The concept of participatory or citizen journalism proposes that amateur reporters can actually produce their own stories either inside or outside professional media outlets, and thus end the monopoly the press holds over information production. Among different field of sports journalism is also one. Sports journalism covers many aspects of human athletic competition, and is an integral part of most journalism products, including newspapers, magazines, and radio and television news broadcasts. While some critics don't consider sports journalism to be true journalism, the prominence of sports in Western culture has justified the attention of journalists to not just the competitive events of sports, but also to athletes and the business of sports.
Sports journalism in many countries have traditionally been written in a looser, more creative and more opinionated tone than traditional
journalistic writing; the emphases on accuracy and underlying fairness is still a part of sports journalism. An emphasis on the accurate description of statistical performances of athletes is also an important part of sports journalism.

Introduction to Sports Journalism in Nepal

History of Nepalese sports journalism is not too long. Without hesitation we can say that Nepalese sports journalism was started from the irregular sports news published in Gorkhapatra. But sports news were given less priority as compare to political, social or human-interest news. Likewise after the restoration of democracy in 2007 B.S newspaper used to give negligible place fort he sports news. In 2014 first sport newspaper was published. Mahindra Shrestha was the publisher of "Sporting Times". Unfortunately that newspaper could not run for long period of time. In 2018 Shyam Kc published "Sportsman". But this newspaper was unable to continue for long time. In 2024 "Rangashala" came it the market. Rajendra Bahadur Shrestha was the publisher. Similarly like other sports newspaper this paper publication was halted. Behind the discontinuation of sports newspaper there was only one reason.

Lack of economic resources was the main cause for stoppage of sports newspaper. At that time advertising and market were limited.

For the publication of news paper supreme governing body of sport National Sports Council (NSC) also had put effort. It published "Khel ra Kheladi" and "Khelkud ra Nayajewan" . But these papers also could not sustain for long period of time. They were closed. Although NSC doesn't has resources problem but why it was unable to give continuity to these papers seems to be un logical.

In 2037 Subodh Giri published "Khel Jagat". Although it was irregular, its journey continued till 2043. In 2048 Chitiz Arun Shrestha published "Sports Nepal". 

Although there is no cut throat competition but no sports newspaper could run long time. Main reason behind this is mismanagement and economical constraints. This newspaper basically published national and international news. They also published interview and introduction of players, coaches and sports personnel.

Oldest newspaer "Gorkhapatra" started publishing sports new since 2007 B.S. But sports news catches the gear after the establishement of Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) in 2018. Real development of sports journalism occurred in Nepal after the change in political system in 2046. This change paved the way for the establishment of media houses. Change have played a vital role on the development of sports journalism in a well thought way.

Establishment of Annapurana Post National Daily

Annapurna Post National Daily, a leading newspaper is published from Kathmandu. It was started as Tabliod daily at the beginning from 1 May 2001.  It merged into News Media Private Limited and it was converted into broadsheet daily from 12 December 2002. Its sole objective is to inform and entertain the public through the varied topics and new taste.

Working environment is very healthy in this daily. According to Mr. Shree Acharaya, Managing editor of the daily the organization organizes the professional trainings and provides other incentives to its staffers and journalists. It is perhaps the first national daily in Nepal which has adapted diverse multimedia uses in its day to day publications.  The paper is lead and run by the experienced and energetic professional team. The Organizational structure of the daily can be drawn as follows:

Dominant Paradigm of Development

During the 1960s, the dominant paradigm influenced and guided many national development programmes. According to Rogers ( E.M. Rogers. Communication and Development : The Passing of Dominant Paradigm in E.M. Rogers(Ed.) Communication and Development: Critical Perspectives, London:Sage.) the dominant paradigm of development grew out of:

1. the industrial revolution in Europe and the United States;
2. the colonial experience in Latin America, Africa and Asia;
3. the success of the Marshall plan in Europe's post-World War II development;
4. the quantitative empiricism of North American social sciences; and
5. the capitalistic philosophy of economics and politics.

The dominant paradigm, ideally, concerned itself with what it did to the people to raise their standard of living. Thus, it emphasized growth of the economy to alleviate poverty. The essential features of the dominant paradigm were summarized by Hernandez-Ramos and Schramm (Hernandez-Ramos, P.F. & Schramm,W. Development Communication-History and Theories, in International Encyclopedia of Communications, Vol. II, New York: Oxford University Press.)as follows:

1. Industry is the prime mover of the economy. Therefore, a mojor part of investment must go into industry and what is necessary to fuel it includes raw materials, transportation and training.
2. Modern society requires more specialists than generalists within each (e.g. industry, health).
3. Public education is needed to raise the abilities of the entire workforce and encourage their participation in government. Healthcare and family planning are needed to increase the well-being of the population and curtail demand for jobs, housing and so on.
4. The profit from centrally owned and managed industry, trade and sale of manufactured goods would be expected 'to trickle down' from the centre of the system to the periphery, from industries and central markets to agricultural sector and from cities to villages.
5. In situations in which rapid development is desired, necessary information can be diffused and persuasion can occur through the mass media of promising innovations should be encouraged along with increases in productivity.

The dominant paradigm saw mass communication as a powerful and direct force to diffuse information and innovations about development issues to the masses.

New Development Paradigm:

The new development paradigm recognized many paths to development suitable to developing countries. Pluralistic in its approach, it encompassed all sections of population. The key elements of the new alternative paradigm, according to Singhal and Rogers (1989) are:

1. Greater equality in the distribution of fruits of economic growth, information, and the consequent socio-economic benefits by focusing on such weaker sections of the population as the poor, women, racial and ethnic minorities.
2. Peoples's participation, knowledge sharing and empowerment to facilitate self-help efforts by individuals, groups and communities.
3. Self-reliance and independence in development, emphasizing the potential of local resources. Self-reliance became a key concept at both national and local levels, implying that every nation, and perhaps every village, could develop in its own way.
4. Integration of traditional and modern communication systems and the use of 'little media' along with the 'big media' such as the television and the film, in order to facilitate development. (Murthy: 7-8)

Human Development Approach:

The development theories in the 1990s have increasingly become marked by post-modern concepts like human development, people-centered development, participatory development, empowerment, self-governance, good governance, poverty alleviation, sustainable development, civil society, etc. Some of these concepts have roots in the past, some have been reformulated. Still, some were invented quite recently. For example, participation has been replaced by empowerment, modernization by transformation, economic growth by economic reforms, ecodevelopment by sustainable development, basic needs by human development or human security and ethnodevelopment by social development and civil society. The failure of the dominant paradigm of development theories has simultaneously inspired global debates on alternative concepts of development. But the question is: Have these alternative concepts brought any change in reality? It is difficult to exactly say yes or no. Yet one can be sure that the debates formulated choices among the concepts.

One of such concepts can be referred to as the Right to Development. The pre-ecological, and materialistic thinking rooted in modernization theories based on maximizing productive capabilities ignored both ecological and social considerations essential to the notion of sustainable development. Taking into account the requirements of the New International Economic Order and fundamental human needs, the Right to Development was accepted by the UN as a 'third generation' of human right in the early eighties.(Bongatz & Dahal: 52-53)

Mahabub Ul Haq introduced Human Development index. He rejected the income growth notion and emphasized on the qulity of growth. It is now universally agreed that material wealth is not real wealth; the real wealth is the people themselves, that is, men and women. Development is meaningless if it does not help to raise the quality of life of the conmmon people. Thefore, human development cannot and should not be confined to the economic dimension only. It should incorporate social, cultural and political dimensions as well. (Dahal et al: 213)

Development issues and sub-issues

The focus of development has always been growth.In 1950s and 1960s the economic growth was through industrialization and modernization. But development did occur during this period for already developed societies. The trickle -down theory assumed that the benefits of industiralization and modernization will trickle down from rich and middle class to the poor.The poor will have capital gain as well as gain in knowledge and awareness from developed to developing countries. But this theory did not work as assumed. It rather created a gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots.The emphasis on modernization through media exposure created communication gap between the haves and have-nots because of media opportunities and media access limitations.

In the second and third development decades the development proportionate with social structural growth. Rogers and other development theorists and practitioners talked about societal changes to achieve growth, modernization and quality of life within the cultural matrix.Rogers suggested that social innovations were necessary for material innovations.

The major task was to run development projects for health, housing, employment, food, education etc. so as to provide quality of life to majority of the people.

Eradication of poverty and providing basic minimum needs to all became the main focus of development in 1980s and 1990s.In 1990s the development issues are technology for development and environmentally sustained development.

Poverty reduction is the overall focus in developing countries in 1990s.Poverty reduction is the benchmark against which performance of development is judged and assessed.

Thus development issues have varied overtime for four counts:

1.      The development definition assigned,

2.      Changing development needs of the masses,

3.      Changing world economy and technology,

4.      Politics of development

5.      Resultant supporting issues.

Throughout these development decades, the development issues have been economic, social, political and cultural growth and poverty eradication.The focus has been to give quality of life to the masses through development and communication programmes.The related sub-issues posed by development issues are:

1. Development gap between the haves and have-nots.
2. Communication gaps and information blocked.
3. Programmes of planned development.
4. Development blocked due to bureaucratization
5. Political will
6. Need for development communication and development support communication.
7. Efforts of international development organizations.
8. Flow of development and investments.

Development indicators:

Daniel Lerner says that modernization transformed the traditional societies into modern ones. Lerner in his "The Passing of Traditional Society (1958)" identified four indices for modernization -urbanization, literacy, mass media exposure and political participation. He termed mass media as 'magic multipliers' for the development.

The concept of development is laden with strong evolutionary bias; therefore concept of developmet indicators must guard against facile notions of progress. The indicators of development and communication are linear, one-dimensional, and suggestive of progress along certain predetermined sets of quantitative measures or economic and social progress. Economic growth, mass media and social growth have been the development indicators. From economic point of view, GNP has been the major indicator of development.

UNESCO's set of suggested minimal standards for mass media as development indicators are example of theoretical bias. In 1960s, they urged that every country should provide at least the following media facilities per one thsound of population: one hundred copies of daily newspapers, fifty radio sets, twenty cinema seats, and twenty television receivers. During these development decades many of the developing countries have either achieved this target or surpassed it through unevenly. But development communication has evidenced that (to UNESCO more than others) more media facilities do not necessarily mean better communication or higher standards of cultural development. Communication indicators that are insensitive to small media of transistors, radio, and cassettes, mimeographing, Xeroxing, and to traditional and interpersonal communication channels cannot capture communication and social change. The growth of big media-the broadcasting, press, cinema-satellite indicators, are the primarily government commitment to the expansion of communication infrastructure and dependent on the availability of capital.

The choice of communication indicators reflects the model of communication towards whcich society is striving consciously or unconsciously. Communication indicators thus serve as intermediate variable between development theory and development communication policy. The development theory posit empirically verifiable propositions about the nature and direction of social change. Development policy by contrast deals with 'what ought to be', rather than 'what is'. Development indicators thus serve as empirical links between these two sets of propositions. Mazid Teharanian advocates that historically irrelevant development theories often lead to wrong headed development policies and development indicators which measure the inconsequential and the symptomatic signs of misdevelopment. (Narula 7-8)

Development Vs Developmentalism:

Developmentalism is the ideology of growth marked by western ethnocentrism, which sees development essentially as accumulation of capital investments and mass production of consumer goods. Development policies derived under capitalism, socialism, or mixed economies are characterized by a growth mania. Thus the development indicators express the commodity fetichism characteristic of advance industrial societies. The engineered staples of images, ideas, feelings and opinions, packaged and delivered through media assault our sensibilities throughout with round-the-clock regularity.(Narula 8)

Dynamics of Development:

Three essential parameters for development are: political leadership, development administration and the rural and urban masses. They are the agents of development. The patterns of interaction and social realities of various agents of development are dynamics for development.

The major dynamic factor for development is 'Development effort' put by all the agents of development. Development efforts comprise development awareness, motivation for development, and participation in development. There is relationship between development awareness, discontent, motivation and feedback linkages with participation, approval and adoption of development projects.

Dysfunctions of Development:

The word dysfunction means not working normally or properly. Yosef Gotlieb, in his book Development, Environment and Global Dysfunction, 1996 accuses the conventional concepts of development and modernization of contributing to entrenched poverty, environmental degradation, and socio-political unrest.

The analysis of four development decades reveals that interaction patterns of the development agents in the developing countries created development discontents. It was prefigured by historical factors involving political leadership, development administration, and the rural, urban masses. The government's goal in developing nations for self-sustaining development that improves the material well being of the masses within a context of democratic socialism is difficult and contains some unresolved contradictory tensions.( Narula 11)

b) Development Awareness:

Parents, relatives, school teacher and community leaders are more effective in dissemination of development message and in the decision-making process than the modern means of communication. A study made by Dr. George Axinn and Mr. T Mallick in 69 small farms in Chitwan district on information flows indicated that personal visits were the biggest source of information. Visits by professionals to the farms were more frequent than any of the other information contacts reported. The data suggested that since officials from various organizations do visit the farms they could dispense verbal information, posters, charts and even printed matter. With most farms having at least one reader present, the benefits of distributing written information are potentially great. The study also pointed out that more than twice as many farms received information by letters via postal services as read newspapers or listened to the radio. It also found information flowing through the bazaars and the local tea houses. Therefore, demonstrations near the roads leading to such places, as well as posters, charts and public radio, are also promising channels of communications in the villages.(Shrestha: 8)

Development awareness addresses the question of people's awareness of development programmes in general and for specific development activities going on in the local areas or likely to be taken in the future. The general awareness is identified with interest and arousal stage, whereas specific awareness is identified with participation and adoption stage. The extent of awareness as high and low dependes on the source, content and credibility of communication links.

Larner argued that dynamic power of modernization is the ratio between rising expectations and frustrations. There has to be a balance between the ratio of wanting and getting. The achievement is equal to aspiration over frustratin. The thrust of the argument is that the dynamic power of development  lies in development awareness(rising expectations) and discontent( rising frustrations) and achievement lies in balancing the two.(Narula 26)

Development Discontent:

Development discontent is multi-dimensional. The discontentment may be with the existing communication and administrative development strategies or when the development demands of people are not fulfilled.

The assumption is that people are activated to participate when there is development awareness and development discontent. The discontent or dissatisfaction causes "psychological arousal." Psychological arousal and cognition of needs, in turn, create discontentment among the people.

Development Motivation:

Development motivation for participation is identified with the demands of the people made on the government for satisfying development needs, individual initiated and community initiated development participation and above all, the actual participation in local development activities in the past, present and the initiative to participate in the future. The degree of involvement is identified by the frequency with which people discuss development.

The low development achievement can be reduced or eliminated by factors affecting the motivation of the people. According to Uma Narula (Development Communication Theory and Practice) the motivational force in development may be the psychological arousal of the people by the development awareness and discontentment with the on-going development programmes.

Works cited:

Powell Mike. Development in Practice, Vol. 16, No. 6. November 2006, Editor-in-Chief: Deborah Eade.

Dube SC. Tradition and Development, Delhi:Vikas Publishing, 1994.

Murthy DVR. Developmental Journalism. New Delhi: Dominant Publishers, 2001.

Shrestha, Aditya Man. Conservation Communication in Nepal (With a strategy for Tarai Region), Published on own, Kathmanud: 1987.

Bongartz Heinz and Dahal Dev Raj. Development Studies Self-Help Oraganizations, NGOs and Civil Society, Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Kathmandu: 1996.

Dahal,Madan K. et al. Development Challenges for Nepal. NEFAS, Kathmandu: 2000.

Development: Concept

Three concepts to describe and explain the goals of newly independent nations:

Growth

Modernization

Development

Recent development thinking has moved away from the limited objective of raising the GNP. Its new concerns-prevention of the degradation of environments, preservation of scarce natural resources or finding alternative to them, population control, and so forth-have wide ramifications in the domain of culture. Any consideration of the quality of life will be meaningless if it does not take into account deeply held cultural values. Similarly, human resource development has vital cultural underpinnings. The notion of basic or minimum needs-nutrition, education, health, housing, employment, and leisure-again is originally linked to culture. In this perspective, culture acquires still more significance. (Dube : 21)

Theory and practice in the influential Northern offices of development organizations which oversee policy development and exercise overall control of many programmes and budgets, argues that the current understanding and use of knowledge within the development sector is generally poor, and that this fact represents a major barrier to the effectiveness of development interventions. Furthermore, current trends in information, knowledge, and communications management practice within the sector are making matters worse, and that strategic opportunities offered by new technologies and new models of information exchange have not been properly understood, let alone exploited.

It is important to be clear why 'knowledge' and perception are so central to the value, purpose, and practice of development organizations. In order to do that, we need to reflect on the nature of development. The largely quantitative representation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-targeting percentages of the global population for access to vaccinations, primary education, and safe water supplies, among others-and the growing preference for meeting such targets through sets of contractual relations, reporting upwards to central authorities, give credence to a view of development as a set of deliverable actions at the end of which 'development' has taken place, as a giant service industry .(Powell: 518)

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015-from a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and all the world's leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest.

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

Defining Development:

Though most would agree that development means improving the living conditions of society, there has been much debate on just what constitutes improved living conditions and how they should be achieved.

Harka Gurung, in the forward of the book Nepal's Failed Development authored by Dr. Devendra Raj Pandey, states-"The author commences the book by referring to Paulo Freire on the notion of 'tyranny of words'. This encourages me to begin with debunking some dubious words prevalent in development lexicon. The first is the misconception that considers growth and development as being synonymous. Growth basically pertains to quantitative increment which may be independent of the process that induce change. Development, on the other hand, refers to transformation brought through structural changes in the operating forces. In Nepal's case, it has been mere growth in select indicators without any substantive alteration in the traditional set-up. In other words, what has gone through is only briddhi (growth) as accumulation but not vikas (development) with impact. That not all growth needs to be positive is evident from the country's increasing population and accentuating poverty."

Dr Pandey in Nepal's Failed Development states-" Development is a continuing (never-ending) process of change (towards a continuous improvement in human condition), we have been told almost from the time we ever heard this word in an academic or a professional context. And, indeed, that is what it must be in practice too. Can a continuous process be anything other than sustained and sustainable even as we should be careful not to confuse sustainability with continuity?"

Uma Narula says in Development Communication Theory and Practice-"Development includes the improvement of quality of life with programmes of nutritional status, maternal and child health and primary health care and the transformation of individuals as well as the social system. The present understanding of development is a unified socio-economic process."

She further says-" Development is a whole, it is an integral, value loaded, cultural process; it encompasses the natural environment, social relations, education, production, consumption and well-being."

Uma Narula's words-" Development is necessarily conceived as 'dynamic' in the service of the 'progress'. The progressive change is described as alternation in awareness, motivation and participation of the individuals. From a social point of view the development refers to the change in the social structure or in the functions performed by different groups and units within it. It is a process of innovation where one learns from the experiences of others and assimilates what is considered useful through a process of selection. Development is 'growth' oriented all time."

Development: First perspective

The first is modernization, based on neo-classical economic theory, and promoting and supporting capitalist economic development. This perspective assumes that the Western model of economic growth is applicable elsewhere, and that the introduction of modern technologies is important in development. Evidence of modernization can be readily observed in local-level projects that aim to persuade people to adopt technologies, and also in the macro-level policies of government and aid organizations that pressure Third World countries to sacrifice education and human services for economic growth.

Development: Second perspective

Critical perspectives constitute a second way of thinking about development. These perspectives challenge the economic and cultural expansionism and imperialism of modernization, and they argue for political and economic restructuring to produce a more even distribution of rewards in society. These perspectives do a good job of exposing and critiquing the flaws of modernization, yet they have been less successful so far in proposing concrete alternatives, and they seldom form the primary basis of funded development projects.

Development is usually understood to mean the process by which societal conditions are improved. However, there is much disagreement on what constitutes improvement. For instance, a modernization perspective, assumes that a western model of economic growth is universally desirable. Critical perspectives challenge the economic and cultural expansionism and imperialism of modernization, arguing for new economic arrangements to create more even distribution of rewards in society.

Professor K.E. Eapen has projected that three major factors must be considered in any discussion of development: economic growth, self-reliance, and social justice.

Paradigms of Development:

There have been several paradigms of development, each of which had a little different view of what development is.

First Development Decade: 1960s (In the 1950s and 1960s the development theorists and practitioners stressed and visualized that development can be achieved by modernization via industrialization and urbanization.)

Media-for-Modernization paradigm (1960 &1970s)

Western development aid and all facets of the process, including communication, have been challenged since the 1970s. (Many large and expensive projects promoting social change have failed to help their intended recipients, or have resulted in even worsened conditions for them. Development's primary focus on economic growth has ignored other crucial, yet non-material aspects of human need.)

The 1970s were giving rise to consideration of greater grassroots participation, more equality in distribution of the benefits of development, more inputs by recipient nations and local communities and enhancing the quality of life in developing countries.

Prior to the 1980s, development communication referred to a dominant paradigm in theory and research. It was top-down, non-directive, and relied on mass media technology to persude.Out of this grew the diffusion of innovations model, based on the idea that new ideas in the system would 'trickle down' to the masses, where they would eventually be adopted. Under this theory, information access was for the privileged, the masses had little input, and the knowledge gap widened. Then, in 1986, Rogers abandoned his top-down orientation in diffusion theory and introduced his convergence model, which asserted that communication is always a mutual process of information-sharing between two or more persons in order to reach a mutual understanding.

The international development theorists and practitioners in the second and the third development decades argued and practiced that development implies commitment to social goals as well as to multifaceted interrelated sets of economic, social, political and cultural variables.

In the 1960s development means a process of modernization modeled on industrial societies. The measure was economic growth. The programmes and projects in the economic and social structures were undertaken in developing countries. The paramount paradigm was knowledge transfer from developed countries to developing countries. The myth of the power of the mass media to transfer knowledge alone was turned to media and communication research. The idea was that technology will replace teacher. The passing of traditional society was inevitable. The major issue was diffusion of innovations.

But as the time passed, the indicators were that more complex socio-economic forces were at work for development rather than industrialization only. The gap was widening between the rich and the poor, the centrally planned interventions did not benefit the intended beneficiaries. The social growth along with economic growth were the development focii.Since definition of development has been changing due to variety of factors both in the developed and developing countries, the newer paradigms were emerging during these four decades with different focii.

The western model for development predominated in the 1950s and 1960s.Rogers called this the 'dominant paradigm' of development.The emphasize of this model was that modernization/development could be achieved by increased productivity, economic growth and industrialization, that is, heavy industries and capital intensive technologies, urbanization, centralized planning and endogenous factors of development. Development was measured by gross national product (GNP), total or per capita.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, several world events combined with the intellectual critiques began to crack the credibility of the dominant paradigm. Then alternative to the dominant paradigm emerged.

Behavioral Change

Media provide adequate information to people. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. It means information make the people powerful by knowledge. The functions of media are to inform, to educate, to entertain, to persuade and to socialize.

Media make people mature, so if the watch, heard or read the news related accident the do not be panic. Due to repetition of these types of news time to time, people take it without panic. People draw their attention to receive information by media. So information has been established as basic needs of people. They don not look to sky to know the weather of the day, but they tune to radio or television. Media has been appropriate medium for information which is related with daily human life. So dependency to media is growing up day by day.

Media provide in formation as quick as they can. These types of flow of information make behavior of people quick. They can do their duty on time. Media grow consciousness of people and consciousness makes them empowered.

We can know many individuals who are from different sector. It makes people socialized as well as culture of collaboration will grow by media. Discussion and interaction is possible with the help of media. Behaviour of people to reach to conclusion will be developed.

News Bulletin

The bulletin is more than a sum-total of a number of stories. The bulletin is a collective form in which the separate news items are brought into a coherent order and some relationship.

Bhatt

News bulletin is the transmitting time of sum-total of news stories, which is determined by media. In time of news bulletin, fresh news is presented separately in same time. Media house has mentioned certain time for regular news bulletin, but sometime in particular incident or condition, media house may broadcast special bulletin.

Skill and editorial idea should have presented by professional communicator in news bulletin. Especially, the time of news bulletin in radio is 10 to 15 minutes. Some time the bulletin has space of 5 minutes without headlines.   

Elements of News Bulletin

The headline

Main points of broadcast media are the headline of broadcast media. The bulletin, which has space of 10 minutes, is every hour news bulletin. These types of bulletin have few headlines. Commonly these types of news bulletin mentions 4 headlines. The news bulletin, which has space of 15 minutes, has 5 headlines. But some bulletin may be long, may one hour time space. We can aspect comprehensive news matter in these type bulletins. The headline is repeated in mid time of bulletin.

The body of bulletin

News anchor reads different news after reading of headline. Different news is the body of bulletin. But the anchor reads some news without headline. These types of news are based on formal program. The news will present with headline in beginning period of bulletin, which has especial news value.

The break or commercial break

News anchor stops news reading while he/she is reading news continuously in news bulletin. To stopping of news is for presentation of identity of the media. For example, if the news anchor of Radio Nepal stops the news and says this is Radio Nepal, you are listening news of 9 o'clock bulletin. It proved that the news bulletin broadcasting by particular media.  Different news bulletin may be broadcasting at same time. If there is no break listener may be in dilemma that which bulletin is broadcasting? Radio station may face this type of identity problem.

After break for identity of station, media broadcast advertisements as commercial message. Broadcasting time of new bulletin is significant. So rate of advertisement is expensive, which is casting in time of news bulletin.

The repeated headline

News anchor repeats headlines of the news before ending of news. The audiences who have not got chance to heard headline, they get chance to know about previously broadcasted news. Radio and television both media have followed this types of trend. Television shows footage of related subject matter with script and similarly radio broadcasts only the related bite of audio.

Presentation of News

News anchor present the news after preparation the news. News presentation is also an art, thus pre-exercise is necessary is this art. The news anchors are these types of journalists, who have qualification of news reading. He/she should have good pronunciation as well as presentation of feelings.

News anchoring is final stage of news oriented task of news presentation. To collecting, writing, editing than broadcasting of news are major tasks of broadcast journalism.

News anchor should be aware with language, feelings and technical part during news presentation. If something has been mistake, it may affect to the whole image of media house. Thus the news anchor should be attractive, balance, conscious and efficient with good image. He/she should be cleat that what type of matter is reading by them. The news should be read by them seriously before on air. If they do not it they may be in dilemma. Qualities of 3C are necessary to the professional communicators of broadcast media. The term 3C refers to clarity, comprehensiveness and Command. 3C is basic qualities of news anchor.

News anchor should draw attention to their respiration.  If the anchor couldn't control his/her respiration echo will be created in sound. It will not better impact to audience. In the moment of news anchoring gesture and eye contact should be balanced.

In news anchoring the anchor should give stress to significant words and sentence. But he/she should not give stress to wrong words and sentences. He/she draw attention to this idea before airing the news.

Introduction of news

News comes from plural form of new. The origin of news is 'Nova', which is Latin word. Nova means new thing. So news is new information, message, event and invention.

According to Oxford Learners' Dictionary, news is information about something that has happened recently or reports of recent event hat appear in newspaper or on television or the internet.

Harold Evan has said news is people. We can understand news is concerning matter to people. News is kinds of task in journalism, which fulfill the right of know of people. People always want to know what happening cotemporary society of world is.

Facts in information are backbone of news. So news is closely related with fact. But all fact is not news. So, the combination of fact and journalistic presentation makes news. Journalistic presentation means the writing form of news.

Reporters gather information and they write or type in certain form of news. The editors correct fact and figure. After purifying, media disseminate or broadcast it. So news collection and selection is major task of journalism and it is major content of mass media.

People want to read, view and listen the matter, which is hidden. Reporters search the hidden matter to disclose. So news is the reported matter by reporter. News is not imaginary and fiction type of writing. It means news is nonfiction reporting. News must be factual.

The facts, which is not written in journalistic form is not news. Gossip, rumor, propaganda, literature, history are not news, though they are in written form.

Some definition of news

News is the timely reports of fact or opinion of either internet or importance or both, to considerable of people.

Michael V. Charnlay

When a dog a dog bite a man that is not news; but a man bites a dog, which is news.

John B. Bogan

News is a new piece of information about significant and recent event that affect the audience and is of interest them.

Paul De Maeseneer

Communication Process (संचार प्रक्रिया)

सूचना वा सन्देशको आदान प्रदान गरीने प्रक्रियालाई संचार प्रकृया भनिन्छ। संचार प्रकृया मा विभिन्न तत्वहरु हुन्छन् जो एक अर्कामा अन्तरसम्बन्धित हुन्छन।

Elements of Communication Process (संचार प्रकृयाका तत्वहरु)

• Source or Sender (श्रोत वा प्रेषक)

श्रोत भन्नाले त्यस्तो पक्ष वा निकाय हो जो संग कुनै जानकारी छ र उसले आफु संग रहेको जानकारी अरुलाइ साझेदारी गर्न चाहन्छ वा त्यसको लागी पहल गर्छ। जसलाई वक्ता, प्रेषक, श्रोत, संचारकर्मी वा संचारसंस्था वा सुचना संप्रेषणकर्ता पनि भनिन्छ। श्रोत एउटा वा थुप्रै पनि हुन सक्छन्। श्रोत व्यक्ती वा संस्था पनि हुन सक्छ। तर श्रोत संग जानकारी गराउन लागेको विषय, घटना वा व्यक्तीका वारेमा जानकारी हुनु पर्दछ। त्यस्तै उक्त जानकारी कस्तो प्रापकलाई वा श्रोतालाई पठाउन खोजिएको हो उसले त्यसको पनि ख्याल राख्नु पर्दछ।

Communication (संचार)

प्रेषक र प्रापक वा वक्ता र श्रोता विच उद्देश्यमुलक ढंगले कुनै पनि संकेत चिन्ह वा हाउभाउको सहायता वाट कुनै पनि विषय वा व्यक्ती को वारेका जानकारी वा सूचनाको आदान प्रदान गरीने प्रक्रियालाइ संचार भनिन्छ।संचार एउटा यस्तो प्रकृया हो जसले सबैलाइ (संसारलाइ) जोडेर एकता वद्ध गर्ने काम गर्छ । सचारद्धारा नै मानव, अभिव्यक्ती, अनुभव तथा कुनै पनि घटना विषय वा व्यक्ती को वारेका जानकारी वा सूचनाको आदान प्रदान गर्न सकीन्छ।मानिस एउटा समाजिक प्राणी भएकाले संचार उसको समाजिकीकरण गर्ने मुल माध्यम हो।संचार विना हरेक प्राणी यस संसारमा रहन सक्दैन।यसको क्रमबद्ध विकाशले नै संसारको विकाश यहाँ सम्म आइपुगको हो।यदी सही रुपमा संचार नहुदो हो त मानिस आज सम्म पनि ढुगे युगमा नै हुन्थे होलान्।Communication (संचार) भन्ने शब्द Latin भाषाको Communis (noun) र Communicare (verb) बाट आएको शब्द हो । जसमा Communis भन्नाले common साझेदारी हो भने Communicare भन्नाले to make common साझेदारी गर्नु हुन्छ। Oxford Dictionary का अनुसार Communication(संचार) भन्नाले विचार वा भावना अभिव्यक्त गर्ने जनतालाइ सूचना दिने, टेलिफोन, रेडीयो, internet द्धारा सुचना दिने कार्य हो।