AIR news analysis through good old radio
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: April 07, 2012 -

Despite technological advancement giving more ways to have access to an increasing amount of information being bombarded from every nook and corner of the globe, radio continues to play an important role in information sharing; more so, for people in places where access to other options of information technology is expensive.

This is all the more true in case of Manipur where development in communication and transport facilities remain a nagging problem even in this age of hi-tech super-computer.

As news broadcast through good old radio can provide real-time information to its listeners even in remote areas of the state, people hooked on to their receivers for the latest updates. This is a fact not only for people in remote rural areas but also in urban areas.

Televisions, telephones, mobile phones, internet connections, etc, may no more be luxuries in most households in Manipur today, but when electricity supply is something that cannot be relied upon and there is the possibility of blocking internet or snapping telephone lines without any rhyme or reason, news crazy people turn on their radios and search for airwaves to listen to news.

Because electricity is not a necessity for the battery-operated and hand-cranked radio sets. Most importantly, with radio stations having the capacity to reach across borders, news broadcast through radio become the only source of reliable information for its people when the landlocked hilly state remained cut off for days on account of imposition of bandh and blockade along the National Highways over one reason or the other and more frequently than not.

In such a situation, it would be an understatement, if not an outright blasphemy, to even think of discrediting the services of All India Radio (AIR) station at Imphal to the people of Manipur and beyond since its inception and modest beginning.

To look back in history, we may recall how the radio station at Imphal started broadcasting its programme on August 15, 1963 through a low power P-50 MW transmitter with a handful of staffs.

At that time, the studio of AIR Imphal was equipped with limited facilities of bare necessities and equipments. One playback studio and two multipurpose studios, that's all.

Since then, much water has flowed down Imphal River and lot of changes and improvements have taken place in the functioning of the radio station. Keeping in mind the needs of the time and the demand of its listeners, transmitters have been upgraded and the studio facilities enhanced.

Along with all these developments, the scope of the programmes broadcast through radio too has been expanded as an ongoing process with the latest introduction of FM radio channels.

Today, one does not have to just wait for 7:30 news either in the morning or in the evening to keep abreast with the happenings around the world.

To enlighten the listeners and make the experience of listening to the morning news even more interesting, features like news analysis on the newspaper reports of the day have been added.

This innovative idea too is appreciable. However, something that sounds jarring in the ears of the listeners and leaves a bad taste in their mouths is the deliberate act of skipping the name of some particular newspapers from mentioning while picking up news reports for analysis.

If the names of the papers are not to be mentioned, then why news reports from these papers has been picked up for analysis? Such solecism is inexcusable as it smacks of biasness.

Or is it a case of wanting to enjoy a tasty curry without acknowledging the skill of the cook ?