Media Scenario and Pedagogy: Bangladesh Experience

Introduction
New media arrives, but the impact of old media on audience is still unexamined— that is the pedagogic problem in media studies in Bangladesh. Before 1990’s, it was not felt seriously to study the impact of media on audience as there was only a radio and a television channel owned and heavily controlled by the government, 5 to 10 regular private dailies which were less professional and only remarkable role of those dailies was political activism and a film industry which produces generally low and occasionally mid-quality films. So researchers were not enthusiastic and aware enough, probably, to study these apparently harmless and less professional media. But it was their limitations also not to study extensively the print media at least, which had experience of more than 200 years. Moreover media studies were not recognized and had no good status in the academic arena for a long time.

Electronic Media: Control ‘ours’, liberalize ‘others’
After 1990, in a changed global economic and political situation, the scenario of Bangladeshi media was also changed as consistent with global and regional media scenario. Globalisation demands market liberalization and the liberalization of media also. For that, though the government always heavily controlled the state owned radio and television channels but, in the early 90s, they gave permission to broadcast commercially the satellite channels. Before that, the government even started relaying the news of BBC and CNN through the state owned channel Bangladesh Television. As a result Bangladeshi audience were flooded by Immense of foreign channels who had only the experience of BTV before 1990s. Now There are eight private satellite channels which broadcast entertainment programs, in general. There are two FM radio channels, major programs of which are music and news. In media discourse community radio is a much talked issue but the government is yet to give permission of any community radio.

Print Media: Most powerful?
Just after the landmark of 1990, there was a ‘boom’ of print media even. In a country of 130 millions of people, though only about 1.3 million of copies of newspapers are sold daily, there were 300 dailies in Bangladesh at the end of the millennium. After 1990, in an environment of globalisation, corporate companies came ahead to invest in print media. Till now, print media is the most powerful media in Bangladesh.

Film: Media at stake
Film industry of Bangladesh has about 50 years of experience and has released more than 2000 films in total and 82 in 2002. But the tradition of the industry is not glorious enough. In 1980s and 1990s the quantity of films increased but the quality of films fell down in an alarming manner. Sex and violence are essential elements of mainstream films and which are failed copies of Bollywood. But at the beginning of new millennium, some makers are coming ahead who has the experience of film society and the experience of independent cinema movement and producing quality films. Film like ‘Matir Moina’ (The Clay Bird) has achieved international recognition.

The Internet: New media, new concerns
In 1990s, like many other countries, the Internet emerged as a new media, which has been appeared in urban areas only. Mushroom growths of Cyber cafes in the city like Dhaka, Chittagong or Rajshahi proves the significant expansion of Internet in urban life, though according to the total number of people the rate of using the internet, is very low (in 2000, 60 per thousand people). But of course, it doesn’t seem unusual in an agriculture based and technologically poor country like Bangladesh.

Mediation
Here comes the question of mediation, cultural intervention and feelings of studying the impact of sky and cyber cultures. But like many other countries, the impact is yet to be comprehended due to the sparse and unorganised research materials. Some small-scaled researches were done by individual researchers and also by some research institutions; but those were content analysis type of research, in general. And the goals of the research were not clear. In Bangladesh, when it was a part of Pakistan before 1971, the Radio and Television were established to use the media for development effort. For that, some researchers had their research from effect point of view. Those were not taken as the cultural practice approach (i.e. symbolic interactionism, semiology). Extensive audience research was not taken up which could identify the impact of new media and technologies.

In search of Pedagogic Possibilities
To my view, extensive audience research and also research from cultural perspectives of the content are needed to understand the nature of cultural mediation in Asia. My hypothesis is, the impact of new media would be a bit different in Bangladesh and also in other Asian countries from western countries as the eastern and Asian countries have unique and different cultural backgrounds. I want to focus on the point that, what cultures are seen in new media, are far different from the culture we practice in real life. The question is how the audience is managing the cultural gaps (the gap between real and virtual culture). If we can identify the impact of new media, we can develop/analyse alternative forms of resistance, subcultures and progressive movements, which attempt to understand issues of class, caste, gender etc in more complex and honest ways.