The media plays some role in promoting regional cooperation in South Asia but also faces several challenges. Media ownership is concentrated among a few families and there is lack of understanding about neighboring countries. While some initiatives like SAFMA have helped networking, more can be done to encourage collaborative journalism and highlighting common issues. Governments and institutions must support greater media exchanges and connectivity to help people in the region understand each other better and alleviate misunderstandings. Overcoming issues like political influence and focusing on each other positively could help media strengthen its role in regional cooperation.

1. The role of the media
on regional cooperation
in South Asia
Hansani Sampath
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2.  in a Pakistani Newspaper, on 26th October
2013, there were two headlines, each giving
some information regarding a religious
festival. One of the headline was related to a
Muslim religious festival, which stated: “The
spirit of devotion: three day Ghazi Urs”
 where as the other headline was related to a
Hindu religious festival, which read: “SU exam
on the eve of Diwali criticized.”
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3.  2. Conscious that in an increasingly interdependent world, the objectives of peace,
freedom, social justice and economic prosperity are best achieved in the SOUTH
ASIAN region by fostering mutual understanding, good neighborly relations and
meaningful cooperation among the Member States which are bound by ties of
history and culture;
 3. Aware of the common problems, interests and aspirations of the peoples of
SOUTH ASIA and the need for joint action and enhanced cooperation within their
respective political and economic systems and cultural traditions;
 4. Convinced that regional cooperation among the countries of SOUTH ASIA is
mutually beneficial, desirable and necessary for promoting the welfare and
improving the quality of life of the peoples of the region;
 5. Convinced further that economic, social and technical cooperation among the
countries of SOUTH ASIA would contribute significantly to national and collective
self-reliance;
 6. Recognizing that increased cooperation, contacts and exchanges among the
countries of the region will contribute to the promotion of friendship and
understanding among their peoples;
SAARC Charter
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4.  protecting images and as a vehicle of opinion
making
(It influencing on how citizen thinking, What
they think about)
 Information (News stories)
 Education
 Entertainment
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5. Regional
Cooperation
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6.  Media companies( TV, News pepper, radio) are largely owned by
individuals, societies, and associations , joint stake companies
or firms and partnerships
 Although there are also media run by political parties , trusts , &
cooperative societies , these are exceptions to the rule and have
relatively small circulations

 Press ownerships in south Asian countries concentrated in the
hands of the few industrialized families who have significant
economic stakes or interest outside the newspaper business
India -Tata, Birals, Goenika
Sri Lanka – Wijewardana family,
Nepal –kanthipur media pvt ltd (kailasiriya family)
 Same company or same persons having many media such as
radio tv print media together
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7. Whether the media plays
a role
in promoting regional
cooperation in
South Asia
or
not????
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8. HANSANI SAMPATH

9. WHY
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10.  People of different South Asian countries have been brought up with
different histories. we do not have the mind-set to shape a South Asian
destiny
 India’s policy had not evolved towards the region, and was focused on
individual countries
 In the Indian media’s coverage of the neighborhood, Pakistan and China are
the two most important countries which get maximum media space in
indian media
(The troubled India-Pakistan relationship, the Kargil conflict, 26/11 Mumbai
attacks, China-Pakistan nuclear cooperation, China building ports in
Pakistan and other South Asian countries are the some of the issues which
have got maximum coverage in the Indian media)
 There is a lack of understanding about South Asian countries in news rooms
and that the Indian media is obsessed with Pakistan and China
There is a perception among India’s neighboring countries that the Indian
media does not care about its neighbors and only provides coverage to
these countries during the Prime Minister’s visit.
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11.  The media has failed to explore commonalities and bring communities
closer for fostering historical and cultural ties among people of the region
 The problem with the media in Afghanistan is that it is heavily dependent on
foreign funding and it is highly politicized and has a political agenda. The
dependence of the media on external funding makes it vulnerable to
external pressures, particularly those media houses run by politicians and
political parties.
 Maldives has given press freedom in 2008, media in Maldives has always
fought for its rights its not going beyond .
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12.  There is no cooperative journalism.
There are very few Bangladesh journalists have written
about the declining Hindu population or the issue of
illegal migration from Bangladesh into Indian states,
although a section of the Bangladeshi media
acknowledges it
How sri lankan and Indian media reporting about
kachchathivu issue , Fisherman problems
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13.  South Asian Free Media Association – SAFMA
http://www.southasianmedia.net/
1. South Asian Women in Media (SAWM)
2. South Asia Media Commission (SAMC)
3. South Asian Media School (SAMS)
 SAARC Audio-Visual Exchange (SAVE)
Programme
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14. Need to go beyond jingoism.
 There should be a regional initiative for bringing media
together and there should be more networking among the
leading media houses and agencies in the region
 Re-invigorate SAFMA
 collaborative projects like Aman ki Asha be taken up among
regional media groups, in order to highlight common issues
so as to bring the people of South Asia closer and to alleviate
common misunderstanding among the people

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15.  governments should promote regional understanding . they need to
implement actions, policies and frameworks
 There should be exchange of media personnel among different
countries; governments should make visas available more easily
 need to have passports to travel across the South Asian countries.
 There should be cross posting of articles and viewpoints
 There must be initiatives from institutions across the countries
 there should be focusing on news coverage on both sides of the
border call a spade a spade

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16.  Monopoly
 Lack of connectivity
 Incorporation among the counties
 Political involvement
 External threat
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17. The media, known as the fourth pillar of
democracy has a huge impact on society. So
media has to play a great role to promote
cooperation of the region
If the people of South Asia are united, the
governments too will be united for a South
Asian Union Media can play a big role to
make people united
HANSANI SAMPATH

18. HANSANI SAMPATH