ASIA: Amid Big Players, Smaller Media Outfits Keep Afloat

By Lynette Lee Corporal 

MACAU, May 28 (Asia Media Forum) - Surrounded by the Goliaths in the media industry, can smaller outfits - little Davids – take good aim with their slingshots and smite their stronger competitors?

   This question took centre stage at a discussion on the last day of the 6th Asia Media Summit 2009 here on Wednesday in this former Portuguese colony, now a special administrative region of China. The two-day summit, organised by the Kuala Lumpur-based Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development, was held May 26-27. 

   At the discussion, the panelists – all from small broadcasting stations that are struggling to keep afloat amid the stiff competition for revenue and audience – cited common problems such as inadequate funding, small audience reach, transmission challenges and censorship. 

   "One of the biggest challenges facing us is the lack of adequate sustainable funding, whether from government or private advertising, or broadcast fees," lamented Hilmy Ahamed, chairman and chief executive officer of Sri Lanka's Young Asia Television (YAT), a pioneering multi-media organisation for the young generation. 

   Using entertainment as a means to educate, Ahamed said that the station's survival depends on its ability to reach out to audiences and find financial support. 

   Apart from constantly thinking of new approaches to their programming, Ahamed said they need to build capability training for their staff. 

   Similarly, Fiji's MAI TV, the second free-to-air television channel in this Pacific island country, is continuously looking for ways to make its mark since it first went on air almost a year ago. The channel goes on air from 4 p.m. to 12 midnight daily and shows various programmes from news and current affairs to soap operas. 

‘WE DON’T PRETEND TO BE BIG’ 

   "We haven't stopped believing in our vision. We are always changing, we take risks with schedules and we try to secure good content," said MAI TV news director Stanley Simpson, who is also the editor and director of 'Mai Life' magazine. 

   Getting the channel off the ground was not easy for MAI TV producers, said Simpson. They tried to make do with 500,000 U.S. dollars when the required funding was at least two million dollars. 

   "No bank would lend us money. Fortunately, two private investors believed in us. We also had to work with second-hand equipment," he said. 

   But more than the belt-tightening measures, it is the philosophy of MAI TV staff that seems to help the station keep afloat. Said Simpson: "We behave like a small broadcasting outfit. We don't pretend to be big and we live within our means." 

   He added that they strictly follow international copyright standards so that they will "earn respect, produce good shows, and build a strong relationship with our viewers". 

   Like YAT, MAI TV sees the need for more training for its journalists so they can provide quality journalism and getting the necessary equipment and technology. 

NO SECRET FORMULAS 

   But for Ken Clark, chief executive officer of Media Niugini, which produces Papua New Guinea's main free-to-air station EMTV, there are no secret formulas for success. "You just have to do it one careful step at a time. You do it well, serve the community and even be profitable in the process," he said. 

   Clark advises that small media owners and operators need to buckle down to the most boring part of the whole process, including management details, cost and benefits and the like. 

   "All these need to be reviewed and applied even though sometimes the pressure to do otherwise becomes very powerful. Look after the boring bits, because that will be the difference between success and failure," he added.

   Meanwhile, Bhutan's Centennial Radio, one of this South Asian country's three private FM radios, seems to be on its way to further development, thanks to this tiny Buddhist kingdom's recent transition process into democracy. 

   According to managing partner and multi-awarded filmmaker Dorji Wangchuk, private media companies are starting to flourish in his country. 

   "Private media are less formal and are more open to debates and discussions. Bhutan's transition into democracy is one of the factors that have opened the doors to private media outfits," he said. 

   He believes that people trust the private media because they are more able to keep up with the public’s expectations. "Of course, it helps that private media are more creative. We don't replay or re-broadcast programmes in Centennial Radio. We also prefer to stick to our language, Dzongkha," he added. 

   There are currently 45 cable TV channels and 37 cable operators in Bhutan, as well as three privately owned radio stations and three private newspapers. 

   Still, there are challenges that need to be overcome. "We still have a small, under-developed private sector market. We also are faced with the prospect of increasing commercialisation, corporatisation and politicisation of the media," said Wangchuk. 

   As if staying afloat commercially were not enough, small media outfits are also faced with the spectre of censorship and self-censorship.  

   Fiji's media, for one, experienced a government crackdown when ruling military leaders heavily censored the country's print and broadcast media in April this year. Under the crackdown, newspapers and broadcasters were banned from carrying stories critical of the military. 

   "We don't like censorship and at the moment we're trying to find ways for it to be lifted," said Simpson. 

   Bhutan, the new kid on the democratic block, is still taking baby steps as far as censorship issues are concerned.  

   "We're going through fundamental changes in politics where everybody is trying to understand and define their respective roles. As of now, the government has yet to understand what censorship is all about and that is very good," said Wangchuk. 

   But he is concerned by the behaviour of some journalists in his country. "Journalists do employ 'self-limitations' in their reporting, which I think is dangerous." 

   Clark agrees with both, saying that small media outfits should be free from any kind of influence both from the government and commercial sectors. "We must be very vigilant and ensure that editorial and media freedom are not compromised," he said. (END/AMF/IPSAP/LLC/JS/280509)