Global Media Journal

This study is based on (1) a content analysis of the newspaper, Gaunle Deurali Weekly, published and distributed by a non-governmental organization Rural Development Palpa, and (2) an in-depth interviews with its editor. The newspaper, a product of barefoot journalism, is used as a platform for local leaders and villagers to express what is important to them rather than being a channel for the government or political elite to push their agenda. Two-thirds of the news items dealt with development issues, and non-development news did not get special treatment in terms of use of accompanying photos or graphics.

Gaunle Deurali truly represented the rural villages in Palpa district and provided equal access and participation to different villages. Moreover, most of the development news was related to soft development issues, mostly covering activities of local organizations and clubs in social awareness programs, instead of physical infrastructure development. Overall, the types of stories, their source, and the language of presentation as well the distribution mechanisms made Gaunle Deurali a true community development newspaper.:

Introduction

News media are widely regarded as important tools for national development. However, the way development journalism is practiced in Third World countries has been problematic. A heavy dependence on official sources exists in gathering and presenting development news. Some critics regarded such journalism as the Third World countries’ a disguised effort to manage the news content in order to give flattering publicity to political figures (McDaniel, 1986: 167). A quarter century ago, Lent (1978) termed the Asian development news as “government-say-so journalism.” Similar arguments are found in the Manual of Development Communication, the text that is widely used to train development communicators in Asian countries. It warns that

Development communication in some countries is confused with publicity for government projects. The government as the chief designer and administrator of a country’s development plans should rightfully tell people what is being done for them. But development communication is more than that. (Rajasundaram, 1981: 17-18)

Critics argued that development journalism should also present an alternative to official viewpoints. In development news

… the journalist… should critically evaluate and report the relevance of a development project; … the difference between the planned scheme and its actual implementation; and the difference between its impact on people as claimed by government officials and as it actually is. (Aggrawala, 1978: 200)

Development is a complex phenomenon and development communication is the systematic use of communication for national development (Lent, 1979). Furthermore, how development journalism should be practiced depends largely on how the term ‘development’ is defined. As Singhal & Rogers (2001) note:

Development is a widely participatory process of directed social change in a society, intended to bring about both social and material advancement (including greater equality, freedom, and other valued qualities) for the majority of people through their gaining greater control over their environment. (p. 33)

Research shows that official sources were most often quoted in the Indian dailies (Shah, 1990), whereas weekly newspapers in rural Georgia devoted less space to development news, emphasized physical facilities development, and rarely quoted government sources (Griswold & Swenson, 1992). Indonesian newspapers published more development news than non-development news and used straight news and features format when presenting development news (Sutopo, 1982). Studies on media ownership and proportion of development news coverage showed that conglomerate-controlled newspapers covered more governmental news than development news in comparison to independent newspapers (Vilanilam, 1979b).

The newspaper publication in Nepal has a century-long history. The Gorakhapatra, the oldest and for a long time the largest circulated newspaper, was started by Rana Prime Minister Dev Shamsher in 1901. Since then the condition of the press has changed with the changing political climate in the nation. However, the content of print media in Nepal is generally heavily dominated by politics.

It was only in the 1980s that development journalism was introduced in Nepal. “It was argued that stories about social and economic development activities could be as interesting as political stories provided they were written in a different and more interesting way. Well-written development stories could inspire people to become more involved in the development process” (Koirala & Bista, 2001). Similarly, Kasajoo would argue that coverage of local activities increases the circulation of a newspaper. “I was a reporter for Dainik Nirnaya [Daily Decision] published from Bhairahawa in 1965. The newspaper used to cover mainly politicians or high- profile personalities and national news. I started reporting village news. It increased the sale of the newspaper” (personal communication, 2004).

A good example of a community based development newspaper is Gaunle Deurali.[1] Literally, Gaunle Deurali means a meeting place in the villages. Launched with the support of Nepal Press Institute and the Asia Foundation in 1993, it is a weekly, rural-development newspaper published by a local non-governmental organization called Grameen Bikash Palpa [Rural Development Palpa] (RDP). Based in Palpa district, some 310 kilometers west of the capital city of Kathmandu, RDP's professional staffs work with community–based contributors, mostly barefoot journalists, to produce the newspaper.

Gaunle Deurali consists of development news, covering a wide range of subjects -- from HIV/AIDS to crops and environment, to campaigns against alcohol and drugs. It focuses on both the success and failure of farming patterns and plantations. Grameen Bikash Palpa received an offset press from the Asian Foundation and periodic financial assistance from MS Nepal. Financially, it is more or less self-sufficient. Gaunle Deurali mobilizes the community members in planning, reporting, editing and publishing the newspaper. Its 1,500 copies are distributed in different rural villages in Palpa district as well as to different organizations in 50 of Nepal’s 75 districts. The newspaper has been used by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in promoting adult literacy. Published every Wednesday, the 16-page newspaper is valued at Rs. 5 [U.S. 7 cents] per copy (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2004).

The following paper on this product of barefoot journalism is based on an in-depth interview with the editor of Gaunle Deurali Weekly and a content analysis of the newspaper. The study sought to assess the content of development newspaper published for rural people in terms of the news source, development issues, as well as the importance accorded to various news items.

Since Gaunle Deurali is a community development newspaper, it was assumed that the newspaper heavily publishes development news. It was also assumed that emphasis accorded to stories would be reflected in presentation of longer stories (with a higher number of words) and frequent use of relevant photos or graphics. Since Gaunle Deurali is purely a community development newspaper, an association between the development stories and the appearance of villagers or local leaders, instead of experts, was assumed.

Newspaper publication in Nepal has a century-long history. Jung Bahadur Rana, the first prime minister and who established a century–long rule of hereditary premiers since 1846, brought a manual press from an official visit to England in 1851 on his return. However, the first weekly newspaper Gorakhapatra was started after half-a-century in May 6, 1901 during the premiership of Dev Shamsher Rana. It became a daily newspaper 60 years later, and is one of Nepal's largest dailies today. Before the publication of Gorakhapatra, literary Sudhasagar Monthly was published in August 1889, and it is considered to be the first paper published in Nepal. No private press existed during the Rana regime (1846–1950) except for a few Nepali language monthly publications, including the monthly literary paper Saradha that started in 1934.

The change in Nepal’s political system from the Rana autocracy to a democracy in 1951 resulted in the rise in the number of newspapers in the country. The number of registered newspapers and magazines reached 221 within a few years. The first daily newspaper Aabaj [Voice] was published in 1950, right after the establishment of democracy in Nepal, as the first private sector daily newspaper published from the capital city of Kathmandu. Two years later, a number of weekly, fortnightly and monthly papers were published from outside Kathmandu as well. The multiparty democracy ended in 1960 with a coup that brought King Mahendra to the throne. The king started his direct rule - which ended in 1990 - and the period saw very limited development in the media sector. Following one of King Birendra’s speeches mentioning a need for media for development, the government adopted the National Communication Strategy with the slogan “Communication for Development” in 1971. In the 1980s, the press became comparatively more active and writing critical of the power holders began appearing in the press.

In 1990, the public uprising was successful in restoring the multiparty democracy curtailing the king’s power and the press enjoyed unprecedented freedom. Within 10 years, over 1,600 newspapers were registered across the nation and big business companies started to invest in print and electronic media. Broadsheet daily newspapers published from the private sector, non-existent before 1990, dominated more than 50 percent of the market in 2001 with the circulation of about 300,000 copies a day (Pandey, 2001, September 7). As of January 2004, there were 3,617 newspapers (daily, weekly, monthly, etc) registered for publication throughout Nepal. Among them, 253 were daily, 9 twice a week, 1262 weekly, 252 once in two week, 1066 monthly, 252 bi-monthly, 383 tri-monthly, 19 four monthly, 56 half yearly and 65 yearly (Bhattarai, 2004 Feb. 3).

Although the number of registered newspapers seems large, the actual number of newspapers in publication was quite low. The Annual Report of the Press Council Nepal for 2000-2001 revealed that out of 1,756 registered newspapers (daily, half-weekly, weekly and bi-monthly) only 431 were publishing, and only 213 newspapers were published regularly. No magazines or newspapers of any kind were registered in 19 of the 75 districts (Press Council, 2001). By 2006, the registered newspapers reached to 2038 out of which 514 were publishing (Press Council Nepal, 2006).

The media presence in Kathmandu Valley and rest of the country was quite imbalanced. The Kathmandu Valley, comprising of three districts and the capital city and a population of about 1.5 million, is home to over half the newspapers registered in Nepal, which has a total population of 24 million people. According to Press Council report 2001, out of regular 213 newspapers, 87 were published from the Valley. None of the newspapers published from outside the valley had a circulation above 10,000 copies. All the 10 broadsheets – six in Nepali and four in English – were publishing from Kathmandu. Except one, all the "A" category newspapers were publishing from Kathmandu.

Nepali is the primary language of newspapers. Out of 1,756 registered newspapers, 1455 were Nepali language newspapers. The number of newspapers published in other languages follows: English 16, Newari 4, Hindi 3, Bhojpuri, Marwari, Maithili, Tharu, Tibetan, Nepali-Hindi, Newari-English, Nepali-Kirati and Nepali-English- Hindi one each. Some newspapers occasionally insert some pages in the local dialects and languages (Press Council Nepal, 2001).

Before the restoration of democracy in 1990, newspaper publication was not considered a profitable business. It was considered unethical to make money from journalism. Work of the most of the journalists was inspired by “mission journalism” and the mission was to restore the multiparty democracy in the nation. Many journalists and editors faced jail sentences during king’s direct rule for expressing their views. During the period, the average investment in paper did not exceed Rs. one million [US $ 14,000]. Less than a dozen newspapers earned enough to support production and editorial expenses through advertisement and sale. The newspapers with their own printing facilities were sustaining themselves drawing upon income generated from other printing jobs. Very few staff members were fully paid. For many editors it was an honorary work. Many worked full or part time with some other organization.

Furthermore, the newspapers could be identified with the editor or publisher and their affiliation with a political party or a leader. Often time, there have been cases when a political party would summon a newspaper editor to its office asking for clarification on the news he/she published. Thus, the newspapers were mostly mouthpieces for political agendas, and opposing factions hardly bought and read such newspapers.

There have been significant changes in the development of mass media, both print and broadcasting, in recent years, especially after the restoration of democracy in Nepal in 1990. However, these media were largely concentrated in the capital and in big cities. Besides, newly started newspapers and broadcast media were slanted as commercial ventures rather than as tools for national development.

Most rural villages in Nepal have been un-served or underserved by the mainstream media. The national newspapers are not accessible to the majority of the people, especially to those living in the rural villages, because of the formidable barriers of illiteracy and a lack of adequate transportation facilities. Even though there are newspapers published in the country, these, as Koirala argued, “deal predominantly with politics, are targeted at the urban elites, use difficult Sanscritized language, and contain very little material of educational value for the masses of people and are, therefore, of little relevance to the bulk of the population” (Koirala, 2002: 7).

Furthermore, the mainstream media in Nepal is to a large extent irrelevant to the concerns of the common people because it is controlled and run by the state, political parties, and Kathmandu’s ruling elite “who in reality have forged a hand-in-glove relationship instead of an adversarial one” (Sharma, 1999). Under such conditions, many thought that community media could be an effective, credible, cheap and accountable media in Nepal.

Various experiments have been carried out worldwide in the field of community media, including the publication of community development newspapers, small media initiatives such as street drama or people's theater, handwritten or printed wall newspapers, rural newspapers, community audio towers, and even community radio. They aim to address people's problems, creating awareness about relevant subjects, giving voice to the people, and advocating for social changes.

Increasing number of small scale FM radio stations, mostly owned by small NGOs, prefer to call their stations as community radio station. In contrast, prominent journalists working in small scale newspapers prefer to call their paper as national paper rather than community paper. They try to copy the Kathmandu–based broadsheets and forget their particular role and target readers (Kasajoo, personal communication, 2003). Before 1990, the weekly newspapers were the only sources of news and media for alternative views – mostly for political parties. However, the weekly have no longer remained the only sources – there have been daily newspapers from the private sector and FM radio stations – they have been providing up to date news.

Community newspapers are to be found throughout Nepal with varying degrees of circulation and influence. According to a Press Council report, there were 107 regularly published community newspapers in the different development regions (DR) of Nepal. Among these newspapers, about two dozen have wide circulation and influence in the community. There were five community newspapers in the Eastern DR, 6 in the Central DR, and 10 in the Western DR and two each in mid-Western and Far-western DRs.

In order to provide relevant information to villagers in remote villages of Western Nepal, and to enable them to live with dignity and expedite the development process in the villages, Rural Development Palpa (RDP), a local non-governmental organization, has been publishing a community newspaper, Gaunle Deurali, since 1993.

Research Design

This research used content analysis of Gaunle Deurali Weekly newspaper and in-depth interview with the editor. An in-depth interview attempts to extract the interviewees’ experiences and their inherent meanings. It is a guided conversation, which seeks to discover the informant’s experience of a particular topic or situation (Lofland & Lofland, 1995: 18). This study included an in-depth interview with Meghraj Sharma, the editor of Gaunle Deurali.

This study also used content analysis, which is defined as “a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication” (Berelson, 1952: 18). The purpose of the content analysis was to investigate the coverage of development news in Gaunle Deurali. Thus, this research addressed questions such as what is the proportion of development versus non-development news. What are the content characteristics of development news? How often do government authorities and influential personalities appear in development news?

Sampling

Guido H. Stempel III (1952) found that “increasing the sample size beyond 12 does not produce marked differences in the results” (p. 333). This study used the criteria suggested by Stempel with some modification. This research covered the year April 2002 to March 2003. First, the whole year was divided into 12 months. Second, each month was divided into 4 weeks and one week from each month was selected randomly in order to construct a year. Thus, there were 12 weeks in the sample. All news stories except advertisements published in each selected issues of the newspaper were coded and analyzed. The unit of analysis was a news story.

Operational definitions

The printed materials in Gaunle Deurali were analyzed using the following dimensions:

(a) Space: Number of words used for each news item and its heading were counted to gauge the space provided for development and non-development news item.

(b) Type of item: News items were classified into straight news, features, letters, and others. The following definitions, used by Janowitz (1952), were employed:

1. Straight news: Factual reports (these included all factual reports regardless of the importance of item if the item was designed to report on the occurrence, past or future, of some event).

2. Feature: Items dealing with home economics, cultural materials, and commercial entertainment.

(c) Prominence: It was defined in terms of whether or not the item was supported by an appropriate photo or a graphic. However, the author’s photo was not considered as a photo for this purpose. Only those photos or graphics that were used to support the news items were coded. The following codes were used: 1. Items with photo or graphic, 2. Items without photo or graphic.

(d) Scope: It was defined as the geographical area in which the events described in the item took place. Following codes were used: 1. Village Development Committee in Palpa district, 2. Tansen municipality, 3. Outside Palpa district, and 4. Not classifiable/others.

(e) Subject matter: All the development news items were coded using the following codes: 1. Health/environment, 2. Education, 3. Personal/success stories, 4. Meetings or conferences, 5. Socioeconomic/cultural issues, 6. Communication & transportation, 7. Agricultural/forestry/animal husbandry, 8. Corruption/conflict/ natural disaster, and 9. Other development news.

(f) Main actor or agency: It was defined in terms of the main source of news item. The following categories were used: 1. Experts, political personality, or government authority (district level or above). 2. Experts or political personality or government authority (village level). 3. Villagers or farmers, and 4. Others.

(g) Categories: Items were categorized into development and non-development news. The definition of development news used by John V. Vilanilam (1979a) was adopted as an operational definition for this study. He defined development news as:

A newspaper was considered as giving emphasis to development activities if the newspaper devoted higher proportion of space to development news, or published a larger number of stories related to development activities, with a relevant photo or a graphic, whatever was necessary. This study attempted to answer the following questions:

Question 1: Does the newspaper Gaunle Deurali publish a higher proportion of development news? Does it devote a higher proportion of space for development news?

Question 3: Does the newspaper quote government authorities and influential leaders very often rather than villagers when covering development news?

Question 5: Where is the event that covered in the news item based? Is it local or otherwise?

Analyzing Gaunle Deurali

Gaunle Deurali gives special importance to literate adult readers living in remote villages, who often do not have access to other reading materials. The main objectives of publishing Gaunle Deurali are:

Meghraj Sharma, who joined the Association for Nepalese Journalist in 1971 and became the vice-president of its national committee, is one of the reputed journalists in Nepal. Born in 1949 (right before the establishment of democracy in 1950) in Tansen of Palpa district in western Nepal, he entered the field of journalism at the age of 20 years. Starting with Aarpana Nepali Weekly, Sharma, a graduate in Arts, worked for different weekly newspapers before serving as the deputy editor for Gaunle Deurali. Meghraj Sharma served as a guest editor for Satya Weekly (Nepali) before he started working for Gaunle Deurali Weekly in 1993. Since Binaya Kumar Kasajoo, editor of Gaunle Deurali, has been associated with Media Services International and is living in Kathmandu, Sharma makes all editorial decisions.

There was no weekly newspaper published in Palpa district since 1961. In order to fill the void, Satya Weekly was published in 1983 under the editorship of Binaya Kumar Kasajoo. The newspaper contributed in raising awareness for human rights and the restoration of democracy in the nation. It was successful in exposing the wrongdoings and anti-democratic characteristics of the late Partyless Panchayat System (1960-1990). The newspaper received recognition at the national level for its efforts in promoting democratic values. The newspaper was closed in 1994, after the restoration of democracy. By that time it was published regularly for 12 years (500 issues) (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2003 December 26).

Satya Weekly’s objective of restoring democracy in the nation through public awareness met with success. In the new and open environment after the restoration of democracy in Nepal, many new publications came into the market. However, such publications mostly covered politics, were published in big cities, used elitist language, and were distributed in urban areas (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2003 December 26).

Binaya Kumar Kasajoo, Meghraj Sharma, and others realized that there was no single newspaper for villagers in the nation. In this context, Gaunle Deurali was published by Rural Development Palpa to cover villagers’ news, to give them a platform for participation in local media, and to give a voice to the voiceless and marginalized sections of the population. Bharat Dutta Koirala, a pioneer of development communication in Nepal, helped RDP to receive funding for Gaunle Deurali. As a result, RDP was successful in securing financial assistance from the Asia Foundation for the initial three years and a printing press, computers and other necessary equipment (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2003 December 26).

Like any other community media, sustainability has been a big problem for Gaunle Deurali. The author, in informal discussions with various people in Palpa, observed that many people believe that Gaunle Deurali still receives funding from donor organizations. They argued that it is not possible for the newspaper to survive and to continue publication and distribution without any outside funding given that advertising is not a reliable source for media in Palpa district. However, Meghraj Sharma denied that any major funding was received at present. The fact that the number of staff has been reduced to three from the previous 11 because of financial constrains demonstrates the financial difficulties (personal communication, 2003 December 26).

Meghraj Sharma expressed his frustrations that everyone praised the paper in meetings and conferences and recognizes Gaunle Deurali’s contribution in giving voice to the voiceless people, and even extol the need for such a newspaper in the district, but no one comes forward to help the newspaper financially (personal communication, 2003 December 26).

There were about 800 regular subscribers of Gaunle Deurali in Palpa and in other districts. Among the 800 subscribers, the annual subscription fees of Rs. 55,000/- [1 US $ = Rs. 71] for 200 subscribers in different villages was sponsored by the Local Initiative Promotion Services (LIPS) of Helvetas, a Swiss International Organization working in Palpa district. The same amount of annual subscription fees for another 200 subscribers in eastern Palpa has been supported by a Japanese social worker Kajumasa Kakami, known in the local community as Okayabaje [Okaya grandfather]. He has been helping the marginalized people with his own personal initiative and resources for more than 10 years. Besides, Save the Children Norway, and Indrayani Club of Palpa sponsor 150 subscriptions each. Other subscribers include individuals, organizations and schools in various parts in the country. Besides these subscribers, the newspaper is distributed freely to various publications (about 100) throughout the country that send their copy to Gaunle Deurali. Journalists (about 100), the newspaper’s Readers’ Clubs (there are currently 305) and a couple of social organizations also receive free copies of the newspaper (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2003 December 26).

Except for not very many individuals, who pay for their subscriptions, most subscribers receive Gaunle Deurali free of cost. As described above, a large number of subscribers in villages receive a free copy of Gaunle Deurali since their sponsors, national and international organizations pay for it and others receive free a copy because they belong to its Readers’ Club. This contributed to the people’s perception that Gaunle Deurali still receives funding from donor agencies. Meghraj Sharma expressed frustration that the newspaper has to publish the issues that are important to those sponsoring organizations but does not receive any financial support beside the help in getting subscriptions (personal communication, 2003 December 26).

According to Meghraj Sharma (personal communication, 2003 December 26), Gaunle Deurali has managed with an expense of Rs. 25,000/- [about US $ 350] per month for everything, including the salary of the three staff. The present monthly expenses also include remuneration for contributors, mostly villagers and barefoot journalists who receive Rs. 0.20/- per word for their published news. He felt that the newspaper could be smoothly run if it could afford to spend at least Rs. 50,000/- per month (about $700 U.S.).

Gaunle Deurali covers the news that is important to villagers. Although the newspaper lacks the work force to collect news from various parts of the district as well as from other parts of the country, it has no shortage of news stories. This was possible because individual villagers, members of its readers’ club and barefoot journalists send news from their respective areas. This serves two purposes -- it provides news stories from villages, which was not possible otherwise, and, at the same time, it gives a voice to the voiceless. When the villagers’ and the underprivileged people’s problems and feelings are printed, they feel empowered. They realize that they are as important as the so-called experts are; their knowledge is as valid as that of the experts; and they feel included in the dialogue and decision-making process. This process increases their self-esteem and confidence. “The result is even greater when rural people can produce their own newspaper articles, respond to others’ views, and participate in the production of the newspaper” (RDP, 2003).

One study revealed that Gaunle Deurali is most widely distributed in Palpa district followed by in Syangja district of Gandaki zone. Rupendehi and Nawalparasi districts of Lumbini zone also have a relatively larger number of readers. The same study found that the newspaper was used as post-literacy material in classes by Redd Barna Nepal, Women’s Development Section, Women Welfare Committee Palpa and Aguwa Nepal of Nawalparasi and by others (Koirala & Bista, 2001).

Gaunle Deurali Weekly newspaper was intended for the rural people living in the mid-hills of Nepal. The newspaper gives special importance to women and farmers, to the underprivileged and to those who are lagging behind, to the downtrodden and to those who are the victims of various prejudices, and to the neo-literates and post-literates, as well as to the intellectuals in both urban and rural areas. People read Gaunle Deurali because it covers events in villages, it publishes materials that are useful for villagers and it presents news and views without taking political sides. The newspaper uses very simple language that is easy to read and understand. It gives ideas for income generation, it covers women’s issues, health issues, village news and it provides inspiring news and success stories (Koirala & Bista, 2001: 9).

A development newspaper like Gaunle Deurali cannot generate adequate income through sale and advertisement. Since most people in remote villages cannot afford to subscribe the newspaper, externally donor-supported free subscription is desirable. At the same time, it is not easy to secure advertisements for a newspaper that does not take any political side. Although the participants in meetings and conferences (mostly the government authorities) express a need for such newspapers like Gaunle Deurali, they do not provide any financial support. Instead, they help those newspapers, which provide flattering publicity for them or write news taking political sides. Although RDP has a printing press and provides printing services, the income from the printing job could not make any significant income to make the newspaper self-sustainable because Palpa is not an industrial and business center (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2003 December 26).

National and international organizations that have been involved in improving people’s lives through raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, health, and environment could help Gaunle Deurali by helping villagers to subscribe to the newspaper. However, such organizations spend a lot of money in conferences in expensive hotels, spending tens of thousands of dollars that could perhaps be better used for increasing the marginalized people’s access to information (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2003 December 26).

In addition to financial challenges, Gaunle Deurali has other challenges. Since the newspaper receives news stories from villagers as well as from barefoot journalists who received training from RDP, most of the news stories and feature articles require major editorial changes. Many stories and features lack the basic standard and essential components. Although the newspaper tries to publish as many articles as possible, it is not possible or practical to publish all the news stories and feature articles it receives from the villagers. Thus, the newspaper receives many complains from villagers that they were not given enough opportunities (Meghraj Sharma, personal communication, 2003 December 26).

Since Gaunle Deurali is a community newspaper, it has certain responsibilities towards the community. Despite suffering from financial constraints, the newspaper does not accept all kinds of advertisements. The newspaper has rejected very attractive proposals for advertisements from beverage, cigarette and fast food (packaged-food) companies. Explaining the rational for rejecting such advertisements, Sharma argued that many villagers in remote areas do not have access to other newspapers except Gaunle Deurali. Those people who do not have access to any other newspapers believe whatever has been published in Gaunle Deurali. It is morally not right to publish advertisements for beverage and cigarette companies for the villagers, and the villagers should not be buying expensive packaged-foods that lack nutritional value. The newspaper could financially sustain itself if it disregarded its social responsibility and accepted all kinds of advertisements (personal communication, 2003 December 26).

Content of Gaunle Deurali

Among the 339 news items published in the selected 12 issues of Gaunle Deurali Weekly, 229 (67.7%) dealt with development issues whereas 110 (32.4%) news items dealt with non-development issues. This clearly demonstrates that the newspaper covers significantly higher proportion of development news. It might be obvious because Gaunle Deurali is not a regular newspaper; rather it claims itself as being a community based development newspaper. Gaunle Deurali proved to be a truly a development newspaper as it preaches to be in terms of the coverage of development issues.

The study used the number of words used for each story in order to calculate the space provided for the story. There were altogether 339 stories coded for the study. The space (the number of words) used for a story ranged from seven words to 1356 words with 265.5 mean number of words. The average number of words used for development news items was 289 whereas it was 202 for non-development news items. This shows that development news items were longer in length than non-development news items (Table 1).

A slightly higher than one-fourth news items featured a district level chief, a higher-level government authority, or a political personality. The sources for a large proportion (35.6%) of the news items were villagers.

Space accorded, their sources and presentation of development and non-development news items published in Gaunle Deurali Weekly in 2059 B.S. (April 2002 - 2003 March)

A sharp distinction can be seen between the development and non-development news items in terms of sources of news. A larger proportion of non-development news (30.2%) featured district level chiefs, higher government, or political personalities than the development news items (22.3%). The source for a large percentage (16.2%) of development news items was village level political leader or a government authority as compared to only 3.5% in case of non-development news items. Similarly, 41% of the development news had sources as villagers whereas only 20.9% of non-development items had them as the source of the news. Since the news items coded as “others” included those items that lacked a clear source for the issue discussed or failed to mention one, only one-fifth of the development news items were in this category whereas slightly less than half of the non-development news items fell into this category. The results suggest that the difference between development and non-development news items in terms of their sources was statistically significant (Pearson Chi-square = 30.753, df = 3, sig.=.000) (table 1).

The study indicates that Gaunle Deurali was not a mouthpiece of government authorities; rather it was a platform for villagers to express their genuine development efforts and raise issues that matter to them. Such is not the case with other media outlets. For example, McDaniel (1986), using content analysis of English language newscasts on the national television services of Malaysia and Pakistan, found that “development journalism is being used as a vehicle not only for publicizing government programs, but for the promotion of government personalities” (169). As McDaniel (1986) has further pointed out, politicians in developing countries “wish to be seen as champions of development issues” and warned, “it might undermine development as a responsibility of the whole population, picturing it instead as an activity of the influential and politically powerful” (p. 170). In contrast, this study suggests that Gaunle Deurali, by giving space and importance to village-based activities and the needs of villagers, includes people in remote villages as a part of the communication and social change process.

Furthermore, using a content analysis of South Asian English language online newspapers, Banjade (2002 July) also found that newspapers in developing countries devote a large proportion of space for development news. Media in developing countries do not necessarily refer to or quote government authorities and influential political personalities when covering developing news. Most of the development news published on the South Asian online newspapers centered on economic activities. For these issues, the newspapers tend to refer to private spokespersons rather than to government authorities (Banjade, 2002 July). The mainstream and development newspapers both publish development news. However, development newspapers like Gaunle Deurali are different from the mainstream newspapers in term of the degree to which development activities are covered, the sources of the news items, and that the news items in development newspaper were submitted by villages rather than by outsiders. As John Vilanilam argued that villagers need timely information provided by fellow villagers who is familiar with their realities. He said:

Although, Gaunle Deurali privileges development news, the present research indicates that it did not favor the presentation of such news items with photos or graphics any more than non-development news items. The table shows that more than one-fifth (22.5%) of the stories were supported with photo or graphic. Among the development news items, almost one-fourth (24.0%) were with a photo or a graphic whereas less than one-fifth (18.6%) of the non-development news items were supported with photos or graphics. However, the difference was not statistically significant (Chi-square = 1.049, df = 1, sig.= 0.306). This shows that the newspaper did not give preference for development news in terms of use of photos or graphics. This might be due to the lack of resources, i.e. cameras in the rural areas.

Table 2 shows that among the 339 news stories coded for the study, more than 43 percent were published in the straight news format, 34.6 percent were features, 17.5 percent as letters, and the rest 4.4 percent were in other formats. Interestingly, villagers are reporters as well as the receivers of the news stories. This not only helps the newspaper to collect news, it empowers the villagers, making them a part of the local communication processes.

Types of news items and their origin for development and non-development news published by Gaunle Deurali in 2059 B.S. (April 2002 – March 2003)

The presentation style and simple language used in news stories make Gaunle Deurali very easy to understand. It is because of this quality Gaunle Deurali is being used in Nepal by different NGOs in their post-literacy or neo-literacy programs. Generally, rural people would find it difficult to understand the mainstream media with its sophisticated elitist language. Because of illiteracy and sophistication in presentation, villagers cannot decode the meaning of the messages as intended. One study by the National Development Services and UNICEF in Nepal in 1976 revealed that most people identified objects in pictures without understanding the messages intended. They concluded that villagers did not expect to get messages from pictures, that they looked at pictures literally, that they did not necessarily look at a series of pictures from left to right, and they did not see connections between pictures in a series. Also, villagers in Nepal who were not used to looking at pictures, found it difficult to see which objects were portrayed and they did not understand the symbols used in pictures (Communicating with, 1976).

The table 2 shows the different formats used for development and non-development news. A sharp distinction can be seen in the use of the feature format and letters. About 44 percent of the development news items were in feature format whereas only 9.3 percent of non-development news items used this format. Likewise, only 10.5 percent of the development news items used the letters format whereas more than one-third of non-development news items used this format. This indicated that the letters concerning political issues and other general issues were more often published than the letters with development issues. The Pearson chi-square test indicated that the difference in term of news formats while reporting development and non-development news items was significant (Chi-square = 49.171, df=3, sig.=0.000).

It is very important to see from where the news items originated. The result (Table 2) shows that more than one-third (36.9%) of news items originated in different Village Development Committees in Palpa district and almost one-fifth in Tansen municipality alone. Only one-fourth of the stories were about events outside Palpa whereas either less than one-fifth of the news items were without the origin mentioned or the stories were of general topics applicable to all. The 125 news items, which originated in the VDCs of Palpa district were from 48 different VDCs of the district (not shown in the table). This shows that no single VDC or a particular group of VDCs dominated the news stories. It also shows that the Gaunle Deurali truly represented the rural villages in Palpa district.

A large proportion of development news items originated in different VDCs compared to non-development news. The largest proportion of non-development news originated outside Palpa whereas the largest percentage of development news items originated in different villages of Palpa district. The findings indicated a sharp and statistically significant distinction between development and non-development news items in terms of their origin (chi-square = 28.159, df = 3, sig.= 0.000).

The level of development news reported depends on the levels of training journalists receive (Shah, 1990). Journalists who receive special training on issues like rural development, health, population and social issues tend to cover a high proportion of stories dealing with such issues (McKay, 1993).

Rural Development Palpa (RDP), with assistance from MS Nepal (a Danish Organization) has conducted Barefoot Journalism trainings in 42 out of 75 districts in Nepal. About 1,000 individuals in Nepal have received such training through this initiative. Those who received the training have been involved in the media throughout the country and Gaunle Deurali receives news articles from them. These individual trainees include women, teachers, NGO workers, as well as people from the underprivileged sections of the population.

The health and environment category included regular stories on HIV/AIDS. Personal achievements, problems, and success stories included farmers and individuals that were either successful in their work or faced problems. The deputy-editor of Gaunle Deurali Meghraj Sharma told the author that people criticized the paper for publishing flattering success stories. The category meetings, conference and training included a large number of stories about local clubs and groups’ activities reported from the respective villages. Anti-corruption and conflict stories (Maoist insurgency) mostly originated from villagers in the form of letters.

The purpose of the study was to assess Gaunle Deurali, a community based development newspaper, in terms of the news source, development issues, as well as the importance accorded to various news items. This study used an in-depth interview with the editor of the paper and carried out content analysis of the paper in order to achieve the purpose of the study.

Our analysis of Gaunle Deurali shows a sharp distinction between the development and non-development news items in terms of their sources. A relatively smaller proportion of district level chiefs and government and political personalities appeared in development news items than in non-development news items. Villagers were the sources for a larger proportion of the development news compared with non-development news items. The difference in terms of sources of news items was statistically significant. Thus, the findings suggest that the newspaper has not been used to tell people what the government or political elite has to say but rather to give a platform for local leaders and villagers.

The use of photos or graphics was used more often while reporting development than non-development news items. However, the difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the newspaper used the straight news format more often than features and letters for both development and non-development news items. However, the feature format was used more often for development news items than for non-development items whereas letters dealt with non-development issue more than they did development issues. This indicated that the letters concerning political issues and other general issues were published more often than the letters with development issues.

A large proportion of development news items originated in different VDCs compared to non-development news. The largest proportion of non-development news originated outside Palpa whereas the largest percentage of development news items originated in different villages Palpa district. Origin of news stories in Gaunle Deurali indicated that no single VDC or a group of VDCs dominated the news stories and it truly represented the rural villages in Palpa district.

Most of the development news was related to soft development issues instead of physical infrastructure development issues. One reason for this may be a lack of physical infrastructure development in the district because of the Maoist insurgency. Further, the activities of local clubs on social issues were deemed as being important to cover. Political stories included regular articles by former District Development Committee Chairman. This may contribute to the people’s feeling that the Gaunle Deurali gives more stories from those who are politically left of the center.

Like many other community media, Gaunle Deurali faces financial challenges. “A village-oriented organization like RDP and villager-oriented publications can hardly be capable of becoming self-sustaining in the rural context of Nepal in the near future… What is more important at this stage of development is to make it more effective and result-oriented rather than evaluating it on the basis of sustainability” (Koirala & Bista, 2001: 16).

In conclusion, in this age of information, while people in the developed world are facing information overload, their counterparts in the developing countries live in a relative information-famine. Furthermore, the gap of access to information in developing countries is wide between those who live in big cities and those who live in remote villages. While Gaunle Deurali has not been able to play an influential role in the national political and socio-economic scene of Nepal, it enjoys both authority and respect in its far-flung remote regions and the communities.

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[1] Gaun is the Nepali word for a village. Gaunle refers to something that is associated with a Gaun (village). Deurali is a public place in the village – usually a market with a dozen or so shops and usually situated higher up in the village - where people hang-around.

Arjun Banjade is a Lecturer on leave from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. While on the faculty he served as Consultant with Johns Hopkins University/Population Communication Services in Nepal. He is currently based in Richardson, Texas.