Significance of media research?

Studying mass media, research, mass media research and significance of mass media research firstly,we need to know what is mean by research.Research can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research (as opposed to basic research) is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. Research can use the scientific method, but need not do so.

Scientific research relies on the application of the scientific method, a harnessing of curiosity. This research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties of the world around us. It makes practical applications possible. Scientific research is funded by public authorities, by charitable organisations and by private groups, including many companies. Scientific research can be subdivided into different classifications according to their academic and application disciplines.

Research in mass media is used to verify or refute gut feelings or intuition for decision makers. Although common sense is sometimes accurate, media decision makers need additional objective information to evaluate problems, especially when they make decisions that involve large sums of money. Mass media research is not limited only to decision-making situations. It is also widely used in theoretical areas to attempt to describe the media, to analyze media effects on consumers, to understand audience behaviour and so on. Everyday there are references in the media to audience surveys, public opinion polls, growth projections or status reports of one medium or another, or advertising or public relation campaigns

The use of research in different forms are:
Electronic media research studies today fall into two main categories: ratings and non ratings research. The data for ratings surveys are currently gathered by two methods: diaries and electronic meters (commonly called people meters). There are many types of no ratings research used by the electronic media.
Print media: It is used in several forms they are:
Readership the most widely used of all print research procedures including research in areas such as reader profiles, item-selection studies, reader-nonreader studies, editor-reader comparisons, and psychographic and lifestyle segmentation studies.
Circulation research about who reads the newspaper or magazine, how can circulation be increased, and what the readers want to have included in their newspaper or magazine.
Management research concerning goal setting by management, employee job satisfaction, and effects of competition and ownership on newspaper content and quality.
Readability: research on all the elements and their interactions that affect the success of a piece of printed material.
On-line media usage: research concerning the Internet and how it affects newspaper and magazine reading.

Bibliography:

Angelina schorr,communication(2003) Research in media science ,Europe.
Adhikary Nirmala Mani (2006) Understanding mass media research (1st ed.) Prashanti Pustak Bhandar

DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM

At the talk program in martin chautari on “Development Journalism: Necessity and Challenges” Laxman Dutta Pant gave in depth analysis over the situation of Development Communication in Nepal. He mentioned “Nepal still lacks in the professionalism of journalist as a whole. Journalism has become a hobby rather than job.” He added people from other profession can join journalism and this practice is creating some hurdles.
He discussed development communication in Nepal, another hotly debated concept in recent years. His analysis of Nepal’s development communication is preceded by brief examination of theories that underline development communication—diffusion of innovation, two-step flow theory, and interpersonal communication. He gave his analysis about development journalism emphasizing national identity, integration, creation of public awareness, promoting people’s participation and rural development. Pant provided a good overview on how effectively development communication can provide a strong base for the development of the 3rd world countries like Nepal. Pant discussed about the present one way traffic of journalists rushing behind the parties and their deeds and in this trend the state of development journalists is directionless. Not only the professionalism but the studying of the development journalism is again another crisis as the course is quiet shaded. He agreed with the concept that the development journalism is a product of 3rd world country but it is not that the 1st world country is not practicing the system. The 1st world countries are taking development journalism into the infrastructural development and in our cases we are more into social development.
Pant further discussed supportive environment is always essential for everything to sustain and this development journalism agenda should be given a separate entity as well. Press violation is always an undignified act which should always be settled aside. Regarding the investment over the development journalism pant pointed the lack of the investors’ interest towards this area. The lack of glamour in development journalism than in any other can be the crucial factor. Talking about the cause of the condition of development journalism sector he criticized the government and conflict with unpredicted the natural disasters.

RADIO NEPAL

Radio Nepal was established on 1st April 1951. Initially, the transmission covered duration of 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt SW transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical efficiency and coverage. Radio Nepal airs programmes on Short Wave, Medium Wave and FM frequencies. Regular broadcasts cover duration of 18 hours everyday which includes about 2 hours of regional broadcasts 09:45 hrs. to 11:00 hrs. in the morning and 18:00 hrs 18:30 hrs in the evening. FM Kathmandu, the first FM-Channel covering Kathmandu valley and adjoining areas was started in 1995 from its premises at Singh Durbar, Kathmandu.

PROGRAMMING

Regional Programme:
Regional programme for audience in different regions is transmitted from regional stations simultaneously from 09:45 hrs to 11:00 hrs and 18:00 hrs to 18:30 hrs every day.
National Programmes:
National programme is Broadcast for a duration of about 16 hours everyday (05:00-23:00 hrs.) excluding the regional programme transmission period. Special entertainment programme goes on air in the day time during 11:00-13:00.
Radio Nepal uses a wide range of formats including features, documentaries, docu-dramas, dramas, talk shows, interviews, music shows, live commentaries etc. Recognizing the citizen's right to be informed under a multi-party democracy, Radio Nepal attempts to provide informative, educational as well as entertainment programmes.
The major programme highlights include:
Educational:
Programmes on religion, literature, science and technology, agriculture, distance learning, women , health and sanitation, public health, children and youth.

Entertainment:
Music: Nepali songs, Hindi songs and Gazals and Western music.
Songs in the different national languages.
Radio dramas and comedy shows.

Information:
» News and Current Affairs.
» Phone-in for Parliamentarians.
» Radio Reports.
» Review of the press.
» Developmental Programmes.

RADIO NEPAL: FM – KATHMANDU

In consonance with the policy of forging ahead in tune with the changing broadcasting scenario, Radio Nepal launched the first FM Channel in Nepal on he 30th of Kartik 2052 B.S.(16th Nov.1995). The FM Channel airs programmes on 100 MHz on the FM band through a 1 KW stereo transmitter installed at Khumaltar, Lalitpur. A fairly well equipped studio with stereo facilities has been established at Singh Durbar. This studio along with the provision of a standby studio has made it possible to broadcast programmes live. Radio Nepal has a policy of leasing out its air time to private parties to broadcast programmes on its FM channel by permitting private operators to use their own staff. These programmes have proved to be very popular among the urban youth of Kathmandu.


NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

Radio Nepal broadcasts news bulletins in at regular intervals (hourly) from 06:00 hrs until the close of the transmission. News bulletins in English are broadcast at 08:00 hrs, 14:00 hrs and 20:00 hrs everyday.In additional to the news in Nepali and English, there are bulletins in other languages at various timings. They are Magar, Gurung, Tamang, Rai Bantawa, Limbu, Newari, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Urdu, Tharu East and Tharu West, Avadhi, Sherpa, Maithili, Sanskrit, Kham Magar and Doteli. Special news bulletins on SAARC related contents (SAARC News) and news for Children (Bal Samachar) have been broadcast as well. Radio Nepal attempts to provide prompt and accurate coverage of all national and international news including political, economic and social highlights in a balanced and objective manner. It attempts to safeguard the basic principle of public interest and the public's right to be informed as the prime public broadcaster of the country. The station has designated stringer reporters in more than 50 districts for coverage of news and information.


COMPUTERIZATION OF THE NEWS ROOM

In its effort to utilize the advances in modern technology and introduce useful changes in its broadcast environment, Radio Nepal has recently launched a project called "Newsroom Computerization Project". The overall concept of the project is to eventually make a paperless newsroom. A special broadcast software, NewsBoss, developed by Desktop technologies, Australia has been initially licensed to seven workstations linked-up within a local area networking system. With the support from UNESCO, Radio Nepal is proud to be among the few radio stations in Asia trying to turn the news system digital. The main features of the system are:
» Text Editing
» Audio Editing
» Auto recording
» Wire Service
» Prompter for the news delivery
» Archiving
It is a pilot project and is implemented in the central newsroom. Upon the satisfactory performance of this system, Radio Nepal has a plan to computerize its regional stations' newsrooms and interconnect them to the central grid.

CHANGUNARAYAN

The oldest temple in the valley is the Changu Narayan Temple, located 22 km from Kathmandu and a 25-minute drive from Bhaktapur city. The original temple was built in the 4th century during the time of the Lichhavi rulers and is perched on a hill overlooking the nearby city. Much of it was rebuilt in the 18th century.
This temple is known for its beauty, location and age. It is a Vishnu temple. One of the oldest Lichhavi period stone inscriptions is also found here. A Vishnu image with ten heads and ten arms is another fine example of stone carving from the 5th century. The struts of the two-tiered temple depict the ten incarnations in which Narayan destroyed evildoers. A 6th century stone statue shows the cosmic form of Vishnu, while another recalls the dwarf incarnation in which he crushed the evil King Bali. Garuda, the steed of Vishnu, kneels before the temple. The statue of Vishnu astride his steed is a popular favorite.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Emotional Intelligence (EI), often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), is a term that describes the ability, capacity, skill or (in the case of the trait EI model) a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self,of other,and of groups.
Emotional Intelligence tests/activities/exercises books - for young people ostensibly, but just as relevant to grown-ups - provide interesting and useful exercises, examples, theory, etc., for presentations and participative experience if you are explaining EQ or teaching a group.
Emotional intelligence is increasingly relevant to organizational development and developing people. Emotional intelligence is an important consideration in human resources planning; job profiling, recruitment interviewing and selection, management development, customer relation and customer service and more.
Emotional intelligence links strongly with concepts of love and spirituality: bringing compassion and humanity to work, and also to multiple intelligence” theory which illustrates and measure the range of capabilities people possess, and the fact that everybody has value.
Emotional intelligence has two aspects
Understanding yourself, your goals, intentions, responses, behavior and all.
Understanding others, and their feelings.
Recent studies indicate that emotional intelligence influences behavior in a wide range of domains including school, community, and the workplace. At the individual level, it has been said to relate to academic achievement, work performance, our ability to communicate effectively, solve everyday problems, build meaningful interpersonal relationships, and even our ability to make moral decisions. Given that EI has the potential to increase our understanding of how individuals behave and adapt to their social environment, it is an important topic for study.
Emotional intelligence five 'domains' of EQ as:
• Knowing your emotions.
• Managing your own emotions.
• Motivating yourself.
• Recognizing and understanding other people's emotions.
• Managing relationships, i.e., managing the emotions of others.
. By developing our Emotional Intelligence in these areas and the five EQ domains we can become more productive and successful at what we do, and help others to be more productive and successful too. The process and outcomes of Emotional Intelligence development also contain many elements known to reduce stress for individuals and organizations, by decreasing conflict, improving relationships and understanding, and increasing stability, continuity and harmony.







Emotional Competence
Emotional Competence is a learned capability based on emotional intelligence
that results in outstanding performance at work. Our emotional intelligence
determines our potential for learning the practical skills that are based on its five
elements: self-awareness, motivation, self-regulation, empathy, and adeptness in
relationships. Our emotional competence, on the other hand, shows how much of
that potential we have translated into on-the-job capabilities. For instance, being
good at serving customers is an emotional competence based on empathy.
Likewise, trustworthiness is a competence based on self-regulation, or handling
impulses and emotions well. Both customer service and trustworthiness are
competencies that can make people outstanding in their work. Simply being high
in emotional intelligence does not guarantee a person will have learned the
emotional competencies that matter for work; it means only that they have
excellent potential to learn them.


The emotional competence frame work
Personal competence-self awareness, self regulation, self-motivation

1) Self-awareness
(a)emotional awareness: Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects.
(b) Accurate self-assessment: knowing one’s strengths and limits.
(c) Self-confidence: sureness about one’s self-worth and capabilities.

2) Self-regulation
(a) Self-control: managing disruptive emotions and impulses.
(b) Trust worthiness: maintaining standards of honesty and integrity.
(c) conscientiousness-taking responsibility for personal performance.
(d)adaptability-flexibility in handling change.
(e) innovativeness-being comfortable with and open to novel ideas and new information.

(3) Self-motivation
Achievement drive-striving to improve or meet a standard of excellence.
(a)commitment-aligning with the goals of the group organization.
(b) Initiative: readiness to act on opportunities.
(c) optimism-persistence in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks.
Social awareness
empathy- sensing others feelings and perspectives, and taking an active interest concerns
Service orientations: anticipating,recognizing,and meeting customer’s needs.
Developing others:sensing what others need in order to develop,and bolstering their abilities.
Leveraging diversity: cultivating opportunities through diverse people.
Political awareness:reading a group’s emotional currents and power relationships.


Social skills
(a)Influence:wielding effective tactics for persuasion.
(b)Communication:sending clear and conciving messages.
(c ) Leadership:inspiring and guiding groups and people.
(d)Change catalyst: intiating or managing change.



Example of emotional Intelligence
Here’s a cautionary tale about two students, Penn and Matt. Penn was a brilliant
and creative student, an exemplar of the best Yale had to offer. The trouble with
Penn was he knew he was exceptional – and so was, as one professor put it,
“unbelievably arrogant.” Even so, he looked spectacular on paper. When he
graduated, Penn was highly sought after. He got a lot of invitations for job
interviews. But Penn’s arrogance came across all too clearly; he ended up with
only one job offer from a second-tier outfit. Matt, on the other hand, wasn’t as
academically brilliant. But he was adept interpersonally. Everyone who worked
with him liked him. Matt ended up with seven job offers out of eight interviews
and went on to success in his field, while Penn was let go after two years at his
first job. Penn lacked – and Matt had – emotional intelligence.




.
References
• Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books
• Bradberry, Travis and Greaves, Jean. (2005). The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book. New York:
• Bar-On, R. (1997). The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): a test of emotional intelligence.
• Kluemper, D. H. (2008) Trait emotional intelligence
• Petrides, K. V., Pita, R., Kokkinaki, F. (2007). The location of trait emotional intelligence.
• Petrides, K. V. & Furnham, A. (2000a). On the dimensional structure of emotional intelligence. Personality

Conspiracy journalism

Conspiracy journalism represents a genre of journalism that has elements of advocacy journalism and investigation journalism. It typically intends to exposure or reveals a plan plot or conspiracy towards a group of innocents’ .Conspiracy journalism usually exists in the lesser known sections of media and may have significant political or religious overtones.
Conspiracy journalism has grown significantly since the proliferation of the internet. Previously, it existed in published traits. Conspiracy journalism uses the elements of propaganda to faster interest and gain readers.
Examples of conspiracy journalism
Most recently, the growth of the 9/11 truth movement has been fueled by its own conspiracy journalism. This is the publication and reporting of issues, information, opionion and data related to their specific cause. Thousands of pages of documents, stories and articles have been generated by this organization in it’s quest to validate it’s stated position. During the controversy in 2000 presidential election, main steam media organization the Florida recount. It was only later that a comprehensive review by the New York Times revealed no conspiracy existed.

Why are journalism and democracy considered inter-dependent? Disscuss with suitable examples.

Journalist act as the bridge between authority and people. Press need to deal with the government for two reasons
(1) due to it’s watchdog function
(2) bridging function
Journalist play the vital role of “watchdog” over the government looking out for instances of malfunction and corruption. The public would have far less control over the affairs of the government without the probing questions of investigative reporters. Democracy of journalism means freedom of press which gives right to publish without prior restraint and freedom from despotic control by the government.
It provides an independent channel of communication between groups in society.
It also provides a forum of public debate about the issues of the day, it articulates public opinion arising from this debate and it forces governments to take account of what people think. Journalism is thus the agency through which private citizens are reconstituted as a public body exercising informal supervision of the state.

Democracy and journalism are deeply inter-dependent because it assume that human beings are rational and are capable of making their own decisions and the government exists to serve the individual. We also know the meaning of freedom of the journalism which assumes that journalism will not overlook the poor and powerless. Actually journalism is the voice of voiceless people.
The principle and purpose of journalism are defined by something more basic the function news plays in the lives of the people. For all that the face of journalism may change but its purpose remain remarkably constant, since the notion of the journalism first evolved . the central purpose of journalism is to tell the truth so that people will have the information that they need to sovereign.
Democracy means people power and Journalism is to bring messages from the government to the people and vice versa for transparency (trust) and accuracy in order for the people to have clear images of whom they want to be their leaders.

Democracy is the system of government where people control the government through election and it is well known fact that only a well-informed citizen can take better decisions. Journalism is that sole medium through which people become informed about the governmental activities because journalism plays the active role of watchdog. Media is the main source of information for public. So when public are given diversified in formations, they take their own decisions. In a way, we can say, media is not the power house itself but it enjoys the power through the public support. So media indirectly control the government.
A lot of countries now have a trend toward democracy and this is the journalism's essensial duty really to help those people who are in need when they need somebody to explain them that they have their own rights to choose the government who can ensure their needs.
On the other side, journalism by definition always sticks to the key word “news”. Also journalism is more tilted towards social service and less towards business, so authentic and fact news distributed before wide audience by journalism are certain to serve and make people aware of governmental activities, changing trend in the society and also the ups and down of the whole world.
There are countries where the vast majority of people don't have access to basic life necessities such as food, running water, electricity, medical care, etc. It's very unlikely that those people would know much about democracy let alone fight for it. Roman republic contributed into different aspects of democracy such as Laws, it never became a democracy. The Romans had elections for choosing representatives, but again women, slaves, and the large foreign population were excluded. So the public opinion is formed by media through the public feedbacks and responses which is a must for democracy. Even in our own country Nepal, the exclusion of Janajatis, Madhesis and other marginalized groups of Nepali inhabitants from the main-stream media and also the main-stream politics became the greatest reason for Maoist decade long civil war and also the biggest threat for democratic government leaded by Nepali Congress Party. So democracy and media are two sides of the same coin and incomplete without one another’s being.
For example the ‘independent’ press and the fight for democracy in Zimbabwe: A critical analysis of the banned Daily News

The closure of The Daily News, Zimbabwe’s only ‘independent’ newspaper in 2003 attracted both local and worldwide condemnation as the height of the Zimbabwe government’s intolerance of diverse viewpoints. This paper critically analyses the circumstances surrounding the closure of The Daily News and argues that to a great degree, and in various ways, the paper contributed to its own closure, not least because of the hidden motives and ineptitude of its management. Despite immense contribution to opening up the democratic space in Zimbabwe, The Daily News had, right from the beginning, inherent problems that conspired with the political environment leading to its closure in 2003. The paper also argues that foreign ownership and foreign funding of media in developing countries can lead to the erosion of the necessary legitimacy that these media need to compete on the local market. It argues that while the independent press has undoubtedly played a crucial role in the democratization process, they have failed to temper their new found freedom with responsibility. It has become widely accepted that the media are central to modern democracy as primary sources of information. This is because democracy as a political system requires an informed citizenry that is capable of participating effectively in public debate and in the overall political process where they have to make informed decisions.