Asian Voices
Writing by admin on Sunday, 27 of July , 2008 at 12:13 am
“Asian Voices” is a monthly radio magazine programme produced by the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) from Singapore. It brings you news, views and interviews on Asian media and communication issues from an Asian perspective. In this first issue of “Asian Voices” Kalinga Seneviratne joins the ‘etuktuk’ team at Kothmale Community Radio in Sri Lanka on a live broadcast from a Tamil tea estate community in the hills. Also included in the program are the following segments:
| a) | Vox Pops on whether radio is a dying art |
| b) | Mike Pedero, chief broadcaster of the National Broadcasting Corporation in the Philippines reflects on this point, as well as Haan Tran, head of Radio Australia. |
| c) | Kudsia Kahar, general manager of AMP Radio Malaysia talks about the threat to radio coming from politicians rather than new technology. |
| d) | Jace Au, head of public affairs at Radio Television Hong Kong talks to Asian Voices’s Tharuka Prematileka about how radio could respond to the digital age. |
| e) | Evelyn Agato station manager of Radyo Pilipinas overseas services explains how her radio station links overseas Filipino workers with their kith and kin back home. |
| f) | Prateek Dubey and Naren Katara, two MBA students from the Mudra Institute of Communications in India explain how their students’ community radio station links with the adjoining villages. |
| g) | Asia Voices’s Kalinga Seneviratne joins the ‘eTuk Tuk’ team at Kothmale Community Radio in Sri Lanka on a live broadcast from a Tamil tea estate community in the hills. |
This programme is produced and presented by Dr Kalinga Seneviratne, Head of Research at AMIC and a former radio broadcaster. Production assistance by Tharuka Prematileka, Research Assistant at AMIC. This programme could be downloaded and broadcast in full or in segments, free of charge, by any non-profit public or community radio broadcaster in Asia and around the world. If you do broadcast please let us know time and date of broadcast, just for our records.
We also welcome contributions from Asian radio stations and radio producers. At the moment the programme is produced entirely on a voluntary basis, but, we may commission special features for a fee in the future. For more information, feedback and contributions, please contact Kalinga Seneviratne – email: kalinga@amic.org.sg Ph: 65 – 6792 7570.
To learn more visit the AMIC Alternative Media Portal and listen to Asian Voices.
Read a full transcript from the etuktuk segment below:
Nar: Meanwhile in Sri Lanka, Kothmale Community Radio is the third tier of public service broadcasting via the national network – the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. In recent years, this community radio station has attracted worldwide publicity for their innovative programming blending traditional radio broadcasting with digital and internet technology. Their latest project is the ‘etuk tuk” mobile radio studio, which broadcasts live programming from surrounding village communities, and, thus creating harmony between various ethnic communities. .
Recently I joined one of their production teams when they went to a tea estate Tamil community to broadcast a live programme.
Cut 14 – KCR announcer (0’10”)
(fade down under voice)
Nar: In this tea growing hill country about 150 kilometers from Colombo, a government run community radio station is creating harmony between the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities. They are doing it by taking radio to the community.
Cut 15 – sound of etuk tuk
Nar: This is the sound of the three-wheeler, popular in Sri Lanka as a cheap taxi service. But, at Kothmale community radio they have turned this vehicle into a digital mobile radio studio, to take their radio station to the community and opening up the airwaves for community participation.
Packed into this small three-wheel vehicle are a laptop with digital audio recording facilities, scanner, printer and other broadcast equipments.
On a Saturday afternoon, the Tamil tea estate community here has been waiting eagerly for the etuk tuk to come to their village. These Tamil communities are one of the most marginalized communities in the country, but, via the Kothmale community radio station they are able to take their voices and the musical talents to other communities in the region. This live broadcast was held in the evening after the people have finished their work in the tea plantations.
Cut 16 – Pavitharan introducing programme.
Nar: (This multi-lingual broadcaster uses a special mobile phone to connect directly to the studios some 15 kilometers away. He is going to broadcast Tamil cultural contents from the village in a live Sinhalese programme).
Cut 17 – Tamil music
Cut 18 – Pavitharan
In one channel we have Tamil as well as Sinhala. My mother tongue is Tamil but I can speak Sinhala very well. Now I did a live programme in Sinhala channel, that time while live broadcast is going on, I do the Sinhala version and the Tamil version. I think this is a good issue for Sri Lanka. Because Sri Lanka they are all taking about peace. I think community radio has been doing this from the beginning.
Nar: That was P. Pavitharan, a broadcaster with Kothmale Community Radio, who comes from the local Tamil community in the tea-growing region.
Cut 19 – Pavitharan
I think it is a good opportunity to go to the village and move with the people and people says radio comes to the village. Their voices go through the radio.
Nar: S. Sathiyanathan is a social development officer with a local NGO and he is a regular listener of the community radio.
Cut: 20 – Sathiyanathan
A lot of listners are listening this radio and the younger generation most interested to listen to the songs and cultural events. Compared to other channels Kothmale community radio is far better, good, Private channels they will put Indian songs, Indian dramas and everythings. Community radio and Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation is giving opportunity to people in the plantation areas.
(followed by singing for 0’20” – cross fade between woman and child singing)
Cut 21 – Pavitharan
My staff, Kosala. Asanka, Ranbanda they are all Sinhala. We are working together as a team. I think this is community radio. Participation is most advanced and peoples voice always goes on community radio.
Nar: However, the Kothmale community radio also has its local critics, who point to the fact that the station is owned by the Sri Lankan government via the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.
The station manager of the station is Sunil Wijesinghe, who is an employee of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Thus, receiving a monthly government salary.
Cut 22 – Sunil (voice-over)
There is a participatory communication process here. The community presents the programmes. These are broadcast for the community. The difference is that there is a manager who receives a government salary. Just because there is a manager who gets a government salary, cannot we be a community radio? That is my question.
( music for 0’10”)
Nar: This brings us to the end of this month’s Asian Voices brought to you by the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre – AMIC – from Singapore.
The programme was produced and presented to you by myself Kalinga Seneviratne and I was assisted in the production by Tharuka Prematilake.
Join us again for another issue of Asian Voices next month at the same time, bringing you news, views and interviews on the Asian media and communication environment from an Asian perspective. Until then, good bye.
Cut 23 – fade out music.
(END)
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