Grassroots Journalism in the Digital Age – by Nalaka Gunawardene
I just spoke to a group of 75 provincial level provincial journalists in Sri Lanka who were drawn from around the island. They had completed a training course in investigative journalism conducted by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), with support from InterNews.
The certificate award ceremony was held at Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), Colombo, on 2 October 2015.
In this talk, I look at the larger news media industry in Sri Lanka to which provincial journalists supply ground level news, images and video materials. These are used on a discretionary basis by media companies mostly based in the capital Colombo (and some based in the northern provincial capital of Jaffna). Suppliers have no control over whether or how their material is processed. They work without employment benefits, are poorly paid, and also exposed to various pressures and coercion.
A tale of two industries: one that evolved, and the other that hasn’t quite done so…
I draw a rough analogy with the nearly 150-year old Ceylon Tea industry, which directly employs around 750,000 people, sustains an estimated 2 million (10% of the population) and in 2014 earned USD 1.67 billion through exports. For much of its history, the Ceylon tea producers were supplying high quality tea leaves in bulk form to London based tea distributors and marketers like Lipton.
The media industry also started during British colonial times, and in fact dates back to 1832. But I question why, after 180+ years, our media industry broadly follows the same production model: material sourced is centrally processed and distributed, without much adaptation to new digital media realities.
I draw a parallel between tea small holders – those growing on lands less than 10 acres (4 ha) who account for 60% of Sri Lanka’s annual tea production – and the provincial journalists. Both are supplies at the beginning of a chain. Neither has much or any say in how their material is processed and marketed.
Provincial Journalists – Ground level ‘eyes and ears’ of media industry, unsung & often unknown
As usual, I don’t have all the answers, but I ask some pertinent questions:
Where are the Merrill Fernandos of our media industry?
Who can disrupt these old models and innovate?
Can disruptive innovators emerge from among provincial journalists?
How can they leverage digital tools and web based platforms?
What if they start value-adding at source and direct distribution via the web?
But since they have families to feed, how to make an honest living doing that?
Promo note for my latest Sinhala language book, being released this week at Colombo International Book Fair to be held from 10 – 17 September 2014.
Kaala Bomba One Kara Thibe – by Nalaka Gunawardene (Ravaya Publishers, 2014) book cover
Award winning science writer Nalaka Gunawardene’s latest Sinhala book, Kaala Bomba One Kara Thibe (‘කාල බෝම්බ ඕනෑ කර තිබේ!’ = Wanted: Time Bombs of the Mind!), will be released at the Colombo International Book Fair that starts on 10 September 2014.
A Ravaya Publication, the book compiles 44 of his weekly columns named Sivu Mansala Kolu Getaya published in the Ravaya newspaper during 2013-14.
Launched in 2011, the popular column offers musings of a sceptical inquirer who sits at the intersection (or confluence) of science, development, mass media and information society. The University of Sri Jayawardenapura presented Nalaka a Vidyodaya Literary Award for the best newspaper column of 2012.
Written in an easy, conversational Sinhala rich in metaphor and analogy, Nalaka connects the local with global and also bridges sciences and humanities. The new collection touches on pharmaceuticals, organic farming, tobacco control, rationalism, citizen journalism and social media among many other topics.
“Lankan society today suffers from a major deficiency of critical thinking. Blind faith and sycophancy dominate our social, religious, political and cultural spheres. Whether writing on science, development or social issues, Nalaka Gunawardene comes up with refreshing doses of scepticism,” says Gamini Viyangoda, leading Sinhala writer and political commentator.
In his quest for clarity and reason, Nalaka talks to researchers, activists and officials. He also draws on his many experiences and global travels as a journalist and development communicator.
In his foreword, researcher and university lecturer Dr Udan Fernando says: “At a time when insularity and monoculturalism are being celebrated in Sri Lanka, Nalaka represents the endangered cosmopolitan perspective.”
Nalaka has dedicated this book to two giants of public science in Sri Lanka: late Prof Cyril Ponnamperuma (1923-1994) and late Dr Ray Wijewardene (1924-2010). “They embraced the best of East and West without losing their roots. We urgently need such public intellectuals today,” Nalaka says.
The book includes columns profiling the work of both scientists, including the Sinhala adaptation of a long interview with Dr Wijewardene.
The title is inspired by the words of Swedish economist, Gunnar Myrdal, who once said, “Books are like time bombs. If they contain ideas that are correct, then one day they will explode. And if they don’t, they will be consigned to the dustbin of history.”
The 300-page book is priced at Rs. 490. It will be available from leading bookstores, and at special discounts from the Ravaya booth during the Colombo Book Fair.
Sivu Mansala Kolu Getaya – columnhead in Ravaya newspaper
In Sri Lanka, mass kidney failure during the past two decades has been followed by what I call a mass media failure. Most of our media have failed to understand, analyse and report adequately on this public health emergency. Instead of helping affected people and policy makers to work out solutions, some journalists have become amplifiers of extreme activist positions.
I talked about this at at the International Science Communication Leadership Workshop, held as part of Association of Academies & Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) General Assembly in Colombo, 16-19 October 2012. An English article based on my talk appeared in Ceylon Today a few days ago:
Mass Kidney Failure & Mass Media Failure: Go ‘Upstream’ for Remedies!
I have just written up similar views (NOT a translation!) for my weekend Sinhala language column in Ravaya broadsheet newspaper:
CKDu infographic courtesy Center for Public Integrity, USA
Ceylon Today newspaper has just published my article titled: Mass Kidney Failure & Mass Media Failure: Go ‘Upstream’ for Remedies!
It is adapted from a paper I presented last week at the International Science Communication Leadership Workshop, held as part of Association of Academies & Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) General Assembly in Colombo, 16-19 October 2012.
In Sri Lanka, mass kidney failure during the past two decades has been followed by what I call a mass media failure. Most of our media have failed to understand, analyse and report adequately on this public health emergency. Instead of helping affected people and policy makers to work out solutions, some journalists have become amplifiers of extreme activist positions.
As health officials and policy makers struggle with the prolonged humanitarian crisis, partisan media coverage has added to public confusion, suspicion and fear. As a science writer and journalist, I have watched this with growing concern.
This is a critique of the Lankan media sector to which I have belonged, in one way or another, for a quarter century. I hope this will inspire some much-needed self-reflection among our media, which I feel over overstepped the boundaries of advocacy journalism in this issue. As I suggest, a return to first principles can help…
Full article below. Constructive engagement is welcomed.
Mass Kidney Failure & Mass Media Failure – Nalaka Gunawardene – Ceylon Today 25 Oct 2012
The kidneys are vital organs in our body that help keep the blood clean and chemically balanced through filtering. Healthy kidneys separate waste and excess water.
Similarly, a healthy and vibrant media helps separate fact from fiction, and provides clarity and context vital for an open, pluralistic society to function.
In Sri Lanka, mass kidney failure during the past two decades has been followed by what I see as a mass media failure to understand, analyse and report adequately on this public health emergency. Instead of helping affected people and policy makers to work out solutions, some journalists have become mere amplifiers of extreme activist positions.
As health officials and policy makers struggle with the prolonged humanitarian crisis, partisan media coverage has added to public confusion, suspicion and fear. As a science writer and journalist, I have watched this with growing concern.
I just gave a talk on this to the Science Communication Leadership Workshop which was part of the First General Assembly of Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 17 October 2012.
Open Minds! (formerly: Moving Images blog) 