Untitled - socium.ge
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Community mediation in multicultural India 409utilizing pre-existing telegraph poles owned by the government. Sashi Kumarlaunched Asianet with initial funding from a Moscow-based Indian, RajiMenon. A Russian satellite provided the initial transponder. By 1995, Asianetclaimed viewership of 14 percent of the state’s TV audiences, which translatedinto all of Kerala’s cable and satellite homes. Currently, cable and satelliteconnections are found in 24 percent of the state’s households. Asianet continuesto dominate this space (Page and Crawley, 2001: 103). Such rapid developmentsin the south prevented external players from venturing into the regiondominated by media embedded in their community’s political system.These developments caused national Doordarshan to establish regionaltelevision centers for producing specific language programs. Initially,Doordarshan’s origin as part of the national administration and its dependencyupon central government for finance kept it aloof from regional institutionsand insensitive to preferences among diverse communities. However, itscommercialization compelled it to consider audience preferences at regionallevels. In Kerala, Asianet was launched in 1993; Doordarshan Malayalamfollowed in the same year. In Andhra Pradesh, two private Telugu channels,ETV (Eenadu) and Gemini TV were launched in 1995. Doordarshan Teluguexpanded its Telugu programming to four hours on a daily basis.Doordarshan’s regional channels currently form the secondary layer of competition(see table 18.2 for Doordarshan’s audience share).LANGUAGE PROMOTION AND MEDIA INSTITUTIONS:EXPLAINING THE VARIATIONSTelevision in Punjab provides a contrasting example to the southern channelsthat emerged immediately to take advantage of the resources available at theglobal level. Punjabi channels did not appear until 1998. As a result of thisslower development, the Punjabi community presented a different marketstructure for external players seeking regional audiences. By 2000, severalexternal players, including several transnational companies, were operating inPunjab. Although Punjab consists of only 2 percent of India’s population,Punjabi audiences also include Punjabi communities in other parts of NorthIndia, such as Haryana and Delhi. In addition, a large number of Punjabispeakers in neighboring Pakistan augment the Punjabi audience market.Punjabi speakers in Pakistan consist of 48 percent of the nation’s population. 8The slow progress of private Punjabi language television is not necessarilya reflection of Punjabi audiences’ lack of preference for Punjabi programming.For instance, Doordarshan’s Punjabi channel, started in 1998, claimed theattention of 73 percent of Punjabi audiences in 1999. Nor is it a reflection ofthe state’s economy, which ranks as the wealthiest in the country. 9 The cable
410 Anshu Chatterjeepenetration rate of 35 percent is the highest in the northern parts of the country,and a rate of 82 percent of homes with television is the highest in thenation. 10 In comparison, Andhra Pradesh, with its larger population of 67million, is a mid-level economy, and Kerala, with 29 million inhabitants, isconsidered a low-ranking economy. Economic explanations also do notadequately address audience choices. Instead, a process of identifying some ofthe institutional players and enterprises at the community level generallyprovides a more realistic picture of a necessary collaboration that causesglobal processes to mold to the domestic environment.Unlike Zee TV, which had the advantage of a pre-existing Hindi audiencebase, the southern enterprises had to create a television audience base. Thepresence of community institutions that encourage production along communitylines and advocate the consumption of cultural goods among its communitymembers provided a critical supportive role. In return, these institutionsgained a communication channel, which augmented the community sense ofunity and autonomy. Such alignment of interest was not replicated in Punjab,leading to the faltering pace of television development.The mutually beneficial nexus between community institutions, the media,and the elite found among the South Indian communities was establishedhistorically in the early part of the twentieth century. It emerged as a consequenceof widespread social movements that appeared in reaction to theBritish claim to superiority. These movements, in different forms, some ascaste movements and others as religious movements, adopted distinctlanguages as differentiating symbols and transformed them into icons forcollective mobilization against the prevailing sociopolitical order. Their associationwith different regional political movements produced variations inobjectives that had an effect upon the development of media institutions.The Telugu language movement, for example, became associated with thelower-caste movement that sought to establish a politically autonomous regionof Andhra Pradesh in order to differentiate from other politically importantlower-caste communities. The spread of press and cinema technology in Indiaat the time assisted in diffusing the ideals of the movement, establishing apriority in the media for promoting the community and its language. Telugucinema, for instance, reflected both the autonomy movements as well as thenationalist movement simultaneously. The current association between thepolitical and media elites in Andhra Pradesh is embedded in this history.Similarly, in Kerala, the language movement became a vehicle for thedevelopment of an autonomous region for Malayalam speakers. Interestingly,it provided the unifying element in a notably diverse community, whichconfronted not only the British but also the domination of “foreign” uppercastes in running the princely administration. Currently, Kerala’s diversityconsists of 57.28 percent Hindus, 23.33 percent Muslims, and 19.32 percent
- Page 379 and 380: 358 Jeffrey S. JurisNOTES1. Moving
- Page 381 and 382: 360 Jeffrey S. JurisMRG,’ which w
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- Page 385 and 386: 364 Araba Sey and Manuel CastellsIn
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- Page 404: PART VIIThe culture of the network
- Page 407 and 408: 386 Imma Tubellacultural and sociol
- Page 409 and 410: 388 Imma Tubellaand through symboli
- Page 411 and 412: 390 Imma TubellaStates. During the
- Page 413 and 414: 392 Imma TubellaIn Galicia, autonom
- Page 415 and 416: 394 Imma Tubellarooms, including fi
- Page 417 and 418: 396 Imma Tubellaunderstand the choi
- Page 419 and 420: 398 Imma Tubellainteraction which i
- Page 421 and 422: 400 Imma TubellaFerguson, M. (1995)
- Page 423 and 424: 18. Globalization, identity, and te
- Page 425 and 426: 404 Anshu ChatterjeeIndian entrepre
- Page 427 and 428: 406 Anshu ChatterjeeThese enterpris
- Page 429: 408 Anshu Chatterjeerestricted area
- Page 433 and 434: 412 Anshu Chatterjeeproduced instit
- Page 435 and 436: 414 Anshu ChatterjeePunjabi TV face
- Page 437 and 438: 416 Anshu Chatterjeedecisions. The
- Page 439 and 440: 418 Anshu ChatterjeeNOTES1. For mor
- Page 441 and 442: 19. The hacker ethic as the culture
- Page 443 and 444: 422 Pekka Himanenthe informational
- Page 445 and 446: 424 Pekka Himanenone of the founder
- Page 447 and 448: 426 Pekka Himanena work culture in
- Page 449 and 450: 428 Pekka Himanenhype in which the
- Page 451 and 452: 430 Pekka HimanenWithout renewing t
- Page 453 and 454: Afterword: an historian’s view on
- Page 455 and 456: 434 Rosalind Williamsdoes it mean t
- Page 457 and 458: 436 Rosalind Williamsindustrial soc
- Page 459 and 460: 438 Rosalind Williamsgovernance str
- Page 461 and 462: 440 Rosalind Williamsspeech deliver
- Page 463 and 464: 442 Rosalind Williamsincarnates as
- Page 465 and 466: 444 Rosalind Williamsexponentially
- Page 467 and 468: 446 Rosalind Williamsmultiplicity o
- Page 469 and 470: 448 Rosalind WilliamsArendt, Hannah
- Page 471 and 472: 450 IndexCalifornia, University of:
- Page 473 and 474: 452 IndexDetroit Area Study 249, 25
- Page 475 and 476: 454 IndexGore, Al 99Gould, Stephen
- Page 477 and 478: 456 Indexencryption 71, 76gender ga
- Page 479 and 480: 458 IndexMTV 403, 415MTV India 406M
Community mediation in multicultural India 409utilizing pre-existing telegraph poles owned by the government. Sashi Kumarlaunched Asianet with initial funding from a Moscow-based Indian, RajiMenon. A Russian satellite provided the initial transponder. By 1995, Asianetclaimed viewership of 14 percent of the state’s TV audiences, which translatedinto all of Kerala’s cable and satellite homes. Currently, cable and satelliteconnections are found in 24 percent of the state’s households. Asianet continuesto dominate this space (Pa<strong>ge</strong> and Crawley, 2001: 103). Such rapid developmentsin the south prevented external players from venturing into the regiondominated by media embedded in their community’s political system.These developments caused national Doordarshan to establish regionaltelevision centers for producing specific langua<strong>ge</strong> programs. Initially,Doordarshan’s origin as part of the national administration and its dependencyupon central government for finance kept it aloof from regional institutionsand insensitive to preferences among diverse communities. However, itscommercialization compelled it to consider audience preferences at regionallevels. In Kerala, Asianet was launched in 1993; Doordarshan Malayalamfollowed in the same year. In Andhra Pradesh, two private Telugu channels,ETV (Eenadu) and Gemini TV were launched in 1995. Doordarshan Teluguexpanded its Telugu programming to four hours on a daily basis.Doordarshan’s regional channels currently form the secondary layer of competition(see table 18.2 for Doordarshan’s audience share).LANGUAGE PROMOTION AND MEDIA INSTITUTIONS:EXPLAINING THE VARIATIONSTelevision in Punjab provides a contrasting example to the southern channelsthat emer<strong>ge</strong>d immediately to take advanta<strong>ge</strong> of the resources available at theglobal level. Punjabi channels did not appear until 1998. As a result of thisslower development, the Punjabi community presented a different marketstructure for external players seeking regional audiences. By 2000, severalexternal players, including several transnational companies, were operating inPunjab. Although Punjab consists of only 2 percent of India’s population,Punjabi audiences also include Punjabi communities in other parts of NorthIndia, such as Haryana and Delhi. In addition, a lar<strong>ge</strong> number of Punjabispeakers in neighboring Pakistan augment the Punjabi audience market.Punjabi speakers in Pakistan consist of 48 percent of the nation’s population. 8The slow progress of private Punjabi langua<strong>ge</strong> television is not necessarilya reflection of Punjabi audiences’ lack of preference for Punjabi programming.For instance, Doordarshan’s Punjabi channel, started in 1998, claimed theattention of 73 percent of Punjabi audiences in 1999. Nor is it a reflection ofthe state’s economy, which ranks as the wealthiest in the country. 9 The cable