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The First Amendment and a free people. A weekly examination of civil liberties and the media in the United States and around the world. The program has produced cooperatively by WGBH Boston and the Institute for democratic communication at Boston University. The host of the program is the institute's director Dr. Bernard Reuben. This edition of The First Amendment and a free people is coming from broadcasting studios in Colombo Sri Lanka. And I'm delighted to have as my guest today Dr. Wimmer Nika head of the mass communication department at the University of can. He studied mass communications at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 1075 to 1965 76 on a Fulbright research award in 1977 he attended the Summer Seminar media and society and east west review of unanswered questions which was part to the events study at the East-West Center. The good doctor received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University London in drama. He's a
well-known literary critic poet broadcaster and the author of many books in both English and seen how on literature drama and mass communications his latest publications incent Howa is mass communication and development. He is soon to join the East-West Center as a research associate. Doctor does no go. The main questions of. Communications for national development and the implications upon public good are beginning to change from what they were in the 1950s and 1960s and even do even in the 1970s to what is perceived as necessary now. From your perspective what would you like to see happen in this area of communications and national development. Yes to me the most important point to bear in mind is that communication should be an instrument. Or an agent of community participation. By that I mean. In a democracy the people should just be it at all levels of decision making
process and also the implementation of development programmes for this to happen. Mass Communication has to play a very important function in enlisting the cooperation of the people. I see this because if you study what was happening in the 50s and possibly in the early 60s we see the model that we had before us was one which encouraged capital intensive technology large scale industrial and we felt that there was only one way to development and that was the part that was coerced by the industrially developed with the countries. But gradually we are beginning to realize that there are alternate but is instead of capital intensive technology we need to have really been deceived acknowledge it instead of large industries with smaller scale industries instead of passing through the same stages that the industrially do the cartoons. We may have billions of the short cuts. In other words I believe today the emphasis has shifted really. To. Company to
participation decentralization and in this Digg the general idea of the public communication is really geared towards that idea. Today you know as you're saying that there's no necessity to replicate the history in the wurst which was after all the history of the 1920s 30s and 40s when technology was really beginning to burgeon in this part of the world where you can take advantage of what the lessons have been and be quite critical about what you need. Now in regard to rural development. That's the essential question in Southeast Asia is it not. So what are the main tasks that must be accomplished before one can say that we are on the road to achieving some communications understanding of go and and projects is for instance in Sri Lanka 80 percent of the people live in the villages so therefore obviously any communication programme in that national development has
to address its my to this worst body of people living out there. To my mind there are two important facts we need to bear in mind. Firstly in the intermission counted quite obviously people living out there need to be told what is happening both in the look and as well as the international scene. So they need to be informed made aware of what is happening. Once that is done I think we have the second then perhaps the more important step of changing their values effecting certain alterations modifications in their behavior. So what kind of motivation. We just did it did two words Good need to participation is very important. So firstly you transmit various items of news between by the awareness of the development programmes and on the basis of that we get more to aid them to take a more lively interest in community activity. This seems to me the most important decided it I'm at the moment though these people have been
as the Germans would say Ausland as they've been out outside of the of the spectrum of society yet they have their own society. Will enough respect be accorded to indigenous cultures and folkways as we start to communicate news and views of not only the local But the national and international scenes. Yes I think this very important point because as you rightly pointed out. Up until very recent times the rawest group of people living out there were really on the fringe of what was happening you know they were not active participants. So now we need to get them all together to enroll themselves in this common wage of exploration as it works. So to do that. But is most important is to make them feel that they are really a part of the society which is involved in this because if you study the place the cinema the radio in the developing countries it is still elitist and
urban only. This I think is a drawback although the majority of the people live in the village just in the custody of newspapers it's urban oriented. The selection the gathering of news is colored to a very large extent by the compulsives imperatives of the urban environment. We need to change that and think in terms of the failed needs of the people living or dead living in the villages. So this I think is important. If you do that then you would realize that the majority of the people living in the village yes we feel that communication development and so on are really intimately connected with their lives. You know most of the communication progress will inevitably be made for a. Period of time by impositions However Democratic from outside the community in the villages to the villages. Will there ever be a turnaround so that a communication center as it were will be originating materials from the villages to the other community. In other words I'm saying. Will we in our lifetimes see a creativity pattern instead of being urban
rural oriented being perhaps uncertain issues rural or urban oriented. Well this certainly is the idea because you know very often we tend to think of villages as backward perhaps semi-literate people who are superstitious and so on you know which may be true up to a point but they also have their meeting with them. They have lived they have gathered certain knowledge quantum of knowledge having lived through centuries and so on. And if we give them a certain measure of responsibility I feel that they too would be in a position to play a very creative role in this business. Quite obviously this will take some time you know this won't happen overnight but. For communication and development to be meaningful concept I feel that it's a two way traffic is very important. Not only should be given information but also try to extract from them the kind of wisdom that they have acquired over the years. And as you rightly point out if we can bring this about Sometime later I think this would need for very profitable communication is certainly
the idea. It might not happen overnight but this is the ideal towards which we should strive indeed Dr. Ed.. There is much talk in Southeast Asia as indeed there is throughout the developing world that a free press is a luxury that cannot be afforded. One must use the phrase communication national development in certain ways so that the press is guided. What is your view of the viability. Within. Constraints of the concepts of free press as practiced abroad in the West say the United States or Great Britain in terms of its applicability to. Two developing countries. Yes. Well I do not think we could have a free press in the sense that you find in the States or Great Britain because enough of it is social cultural and economic reasons. But this does not mean that the bliss in the developing countries should be an instrument of propaganda for the
government. This I don't want to read it. I feel within certain constraints the place still can be free. After all the obligation of the press as I see it is not to the state but to the individual reader. The press should enlighten him in should great public opinion should be for him. The various options and it is by this means that the press would be in a position to enlist active cooperation. It is true that in more stupid countries as indeed in Sri Lanka the police is to a certain extent controlled by the government. But if the government is wise if it is judicious then it would certainly encourage not only uncritical education. Oh it not only education but also just fair minded criticism because it is in the interest of the government to know or to hear what the people think. So although the place in most European countries operates within certain constraints I feel it is in the interest of
society as well as a gun. To encourage as much which is the best possible. To that extent I think freedom of the press is and government control if when abuses that are not incompatible they're not mutually exclusive or what. What does one do when. It is pointed out. Always it is pointed out in every developing country that there was a riot. There was a communal strife situation at some time in the immediate past or perhaps not so immediate past and therefore is on everybody's mind that the press can be irresponsible. What does one do when the use of the word irresponsible is used to really to encourage less criticism and use and the use of the word responsible to encourage more flattery. Well this I think is completely abuse of the word responsibility responsibility. To me the important point to bear in mind is supposing you focus attention on communal tension or some such a crisis situation
you will need also to interpret the news. This is where I think the press has failed in most developing countries. They focus attention on a crisis situation right. But if you can follow that up with a certain amount of analysis interpretation of needed so that you can place that into context advance reasons for the emergence of such a situation then the situation will not be so. I'm palatable to the government or to the people at large. You see what I mean supposing you would date certain incident dealing with coming a while and you could also analyze that you would basically need to start to collect Social contacts so that then the place is acting responsibly so the better course of action is not to avoid but to brush it under the carpet but to focus attention and at the same time place it in its historical and social context. By that I mean I think the people would be enlightened on what is happening.
So I do not think this want to build place is one that that is a government on the contrary I would think that it is a talking response of the press now when one takes a look at the current North-South debate or the debate on the so-called new information order between the developed countries technologically I always say technologically because all countries are developing socially has not at a faster pace one than the other. I am struck by the. Press by the observations since I've been in Asia on this particular tour that the charges leveled against the West. However true or not they are and many of them are quite justified about the superabundance of information from new services with information going in the other direction. But that seems to be the common pattern as well in Asia. From the elites who run the US and from the urban centers to the rural areas. There is almost no flow in the other direction. Well you recognize this this is not perceived in the same context is it.
No you're absolutely right and very often you know media people accuse you know of the appliance countries offering a one way flow of information and so on but at the same time as you rightly point out the same thing is going on within their own borders where the information flow is really from the urban centers out to the 30 40 and this is happening all the time so therefore it is something in any trouble. I was in. It takes time to change the situation I feel because it's all too much with technology and manpower resources and so on. And another point that I wish to stress in this regard is very often you see right all the information comes from the advanced countries to the developing countries and you only highlight crisis situation floods and family into starvation and so on. But we must also bear in mind the fact that if there is a greater degree of proficiency among the journalists in the European countries this situation can be changed. Well this was a point that I raised when I was in India saying. To my understanding the great new services Associated Press are Archons France Press
Reuters What have you are not so much a centers of conspiracy as great dumb beasts. The actors conveyor belts for whatever material from garbage to the most sophisticated news items that are put on. If there were more stories from the Third World that machinery exists now to to make it attractive for delivery to the First World. This is precisely the point I've tried to make you know. If the men in these developing countries saw a greater degree of professionalism imagination. Enterprise I'm sure they could make use of these channels for their own Advancement Project in their countries and so on. So it's not merely accusing me. Developing countries and the wire services connected with them I think the part of the responsibility is also addressed on the media people in the developing countries how optimistic are you. The media people get beyond rhetoric to the comparatively exceedingly hard time dealing with basic information and conveying it into
stories using one medium or another committee of communication. I agree it's not an easy it does come very often people. Media people. Involve themselves in rhetoric but at the same time there had been certain isolated instances where people have really concentrated on development communicator if you would want to discuss one or two of them where I was talking about the famous Indian experiment off. In the Hindustan Times Well you know the dicta village just off Delhi Georgia uses you know attempts and that I'm just citing as one example where he was not concerned with returning. He was really concerned with the problem of dead the villages and you know this is the kind of trace of the editor of the new design times and he picked this village and decided that there were times when a doctor does it work. That's right. And bring information to it and have a two way belt. That's what success was was there in your view. I know I read the reports but as you are estimating the success or failure. How far
did the paper go. What did they accomplish. Well to my mind it could accomplish two things One the obvious tangible gains in the village itself like you know changing the food bridge but improving the social amenities. But more importantly I think it held out a new concept which to me is more important a concept that can be profitably followed by most other new countries. You know here you know it's instead of the mere urban oriented a to do to me was he adopted something entirely different and I'm not saying that that expanded bus to can successfully take these drawbacks after a while with me. It had become rather dull and so on in terms of reporting. But still there was a concept and that could be hit as well. It is worthy of emulation by the deliberate countries to that extent they believe it. Now this came from one of the leading Indian journalists one of the leading spokesman for India on the world scene in regard to press problems and indeed on many other problems. How prepared would an ordinary newspaper with a
circulation of say ten twelve thirteen thousand be to adopt a village would do would they be as sophisticated would they be as able to be as perceptive as were guests in his group as they approached that village. Yes I agreed it won't be easy because in terms of expertise in terms of financial resources and so on it won't be easy for a small scale paper to engage in and that activity of that nature. It is not easy but perhaps for the large scale national mainstream place it might be an experiment will drain faster than even in our own country. You know some of the daily papers have fairly low blood circulation. You know they tried this out you know on a limited scale perhaps if you had your own choice and you were going into a village you didn't know too much about it and you were advising some government officials as to the budgets that you will need for communication transfer work. What instrument would you
find most convenient less less complicated and more useful would it be radio would it be a combination of posters and newspapers what what does your own experience in general development show. Well actually I've done some social scientific research on this and certainly the medium that has the largest reach and the greatest degree of benefited power is radio for the reason that although this country can boast of a population which is very lightly literate did three artifacts that's it still there are certain people who can't read and rate it can't transcend barriers of literacy and also it can transcend their years of transportation you know which the press and the cinema have to face. So to that extent I think already you said the most powerful media in our country and I would pick that as the most significant media by which we could bring about a development and so on. Are you satisfied with the use of radio at the moment. No I'm not quite satisfied because I think we need to go a long way before we can really make it
an educational instrument for national development. We are moving to the right to do it and we are trying to encourage a greater degree of public participation and we are trying to focus attention on development problems and so on but we still have a very long way to go before we achieve over time. It's and the use of radio or will there be the budget for a diff. If you wanted to use it on a country wide scale here Israel Unka. Yes there is a budget. Actually it's not so much of the hardware that is letting as a software programming the programming that is what is most important after all. Transistor radios are quite cheap and the government can use radio with great degree of success. If we place great influence on software in programming we need to be a little more innovative and imaginative. This is what is most important to be getting through. We know that education is the most important part of the programming. But let's just turn for entertainment now because you have to mix it with entertainment. What is most
popular in rural villages when they listen to radio. Yes the two important programs are musical programmes and drama studio drama. There again you've done some research on this musical programs are popular songs like songs and serial drama like the soap operas in the States and these are the two most popular categories of radio programs and what are the dramas sound like what are some of the themes some you know tell me a typical episode. Well the dramas mainly deal with the lives and the loves of religious people especially the remote religious you know the kind of difficulties they have to face in the idea to be like their tender human relationships. You know it's a very. Simple analysis of village life. I mean it's not any kind of complex study of human relationships are there not trying to project a vision of life and society and so what. But it's a very simple study of what is going out in the religious thing or the method of
their lifestyle and the human relationships that is what is most important in these drugs. I'm struck after touring through India on my work here I am in Sri Lanka which said Ceylon and I apologize when I was in India but everybody said so is this beautiful pear shaped island off the southern coast of India. And because of that 20 mile the closest connection to to India separated by the sea the opportunities here are much vaster than they are in India. One can approach the entire country was a comprehensive plan. Do the Sri Lankans enjoy this. This peculiarity. Of national development which makes things possible. Yes I'm sure they're usually possibly yes I'm sure they do appreciate that I mean any part of the way any remote village can be reached in a matter of days. Being a small country so there's a greater degree of cohesion and interaction. So this as you like to say
makes for makes things much easier for Development Communication good communicators. How serious is communal difficulty. Is it as serious as the press makes it out in delivering its reports to the west. Well I would say that we do not have communal differences come in attention. It is a problem. I don't I don't think we can ignore that fact after all this is there are certain historical reasons for this and there are two main linguistic groups with their own particular brand of culture and so on. So there is obviously a certain mood of tension but at times I feel particularly the distant place tends to unduly heighten these tensions. We had tensions and we are the government does display it desperately trying to bring about some kind of reconciliation and vision. But at times I feel that this particular bit of this. Dense. Marginally to unduly exaggerate this this is because they only
have the surface of the story how many people were involved who they were what happened is that the moment when responsible reporting from the country would give them a complete analysis even with the warts and all. But something rather complete when they are absent from any real hard information about the social condition the way you were when I was talking about you know a crisis situation in our own country I said we cannot brush it under the carpet we need to focus attention but at the same don't lose it in its context. Similarly if the Foreign Press is reporting about some item of gun no tension or it's all good and good they have to report that but at the same time if one can place it in its context and also juxtapose that with the kind of effects that are being made by the gun and the response of the well and trim bodies to immediately the situation then I think it makes for a more balanced reading. So this kind of interpretative reporting. Should emerge not only from our own country but also from the correspondents who are interested in this problem.
So I feel it's really a given the realistic approach in any country whether it's mine or yours or any other country when when communal strife or anything as sensitive as that does happen that's when governments usually get more clamped on information they sequester information rather than follow the discourse that we have been suggesting they ignore us and our ideas at the crucial moment is there any way around them. Well this is a very thorny problem. He's a little tiny problem. It's true that as even as intelligent people we can suggest these remedies but very often when the government just got up in this situation I think adopts the path of least resistance and that is some kind of clamp down so I think you know we need to strive towards this goal which is not easy but we need to have it before us as a as a target we're striving for. What are you going to be doing at the square center.
Well I'll be a research associate or as a research associate and I'll be involved in the number of projects in which I cross-culturally nature. And the East-West Center is so beautiful place because it brings people who have the experience and of course you will be going to other countries as well as you as you work there I presume. Yes yes I think my job can take me to a number of dissertation topics and I've been to the Space Center before and I really love one and I think it's a wonderful place. Oh yes and it certainly is and I must confess that I've fallen somewhat in love with Sri Lanka where I like the way that I fall in love you like a king beach. I guess all of us who lived close to the sea and me in my home bases Boston Massachusetts and so any time the waves in the break is there I feel something right with the world. I don't like to be too far in Dr. Wimble just Nika may I say it's been a great pleasure having you on this program and for this edition from Colombo Sri Lanka. Bernard Reuben Thank you. The First Amendment and the Free People Weekly examination of civil liberties and the media
in the United States and around the world. The engineer for this broadcast was Margo Garrison. The program is produced by Greg Fitzgerald this broadcast is produced cooperatively by WGBH Boston and the Institute for democratic communication at Boston University which was solely responsible for its content. This is the station program exchange.
Series
The First Amendment
Episode
Sri Lanka
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/15-74qjqh3f
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Description
Series Description
"The First Amendment is a weekly talk show hosted by Dr. Bernard Rubin, the director of the Institute for Democratic Communication at Boston University. Each episode features a conversation that examines civil liberties in the media in the 1970s. "
Description
"A"
Created Date
1979-08-13
Genres
Talk Show
Topics
Social Issues
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:28:04
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Credits
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
Production Unit: Radio
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: 79-0165-12-27-001 (WGBH Item ID)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Generation: Master
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Citations
Chicago: “The First Amendment; Sri Lanka,” 1979-08-13, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-74qjqh3f.
MLA: “The First Amendment; Sri Lanka.” 1979-08-13. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-74qjqh3f>.
APA: The First Amendment; Sri Lanka. Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-74qjqh3f