The reliability of this research is limited by the fact that the sample is restricted and thus hardly generalisable to a bigger scale. This influences the reliability in a way that, if ever this research was conducted again, the results could differ and depend on the radio stations visited.
4
Empirical case studies
4.1 Nepal 4.1.1 General overview Nepal is a country in South Asia, surrounded by land, sharing its borders with China and India. Nepal occupies 0,03% of the world and it stretches from west to east with an average length of 885 kilometers (Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2018: p. 2). The history of Nepal begins before the Christian Era, with the birth of Buddha. The projected population of Nepal in 2017 is 28,825,709 with a GDP per capita of NRs. 103,335 (US$ 1004) in 2017/2018. The annual growth rate has been positive for the last four fiscal years, from 2014 on. In 2017/2018, it was of 5.89%. In 2011, 25.16% of the Nepali population lived below the poverty line (CBS, 2018: p. 3&4). According to the Nepalese Central Bureau of Statistics, 81.34% of the population is Hindu, with 9.04% practicing Buddhism and the rest being Muslim, Kirant, Christian or other. After years of constitutional and governmental struggle and a severe civil war, a peace agreement was signed in 2006 between the governmental parties and the rebels. The Nepalese people voted against the monarchy and, with the Constitution of Nepal in 2015, Nepal officially changed from a kingdom to a federal democratic republic with seven states (CBS, 2018: p.2). Between May and December 2017, successful elections were held at local, provincial and national levels where a coalition of two parties won a majority at all three levels. KP Sharma Oli is the prime minister (International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 2018: p.35). These elections were very successful in democratically electing the coalition to lead the country, but it also poses challenges for the government to pass new laws which can have consequences for the media in Nepal (INF, 2018). Press freedom in Nepal Nepal is categorised by Freedom House as a ‘partly free’ country, with a rating of 3.5 out of 7. Freedom House states two categories of freedom: political rights and civil liberties. The civil liberties of Nepal were graded 30 out of 60. The Nepal constitution of 2015 contains articles on freedom of expression and prohibits limits on press freedom, with the exception of situations of national emergency or if it is in the interest of national security. Around the time of elections, there have been cases of violence against journalists in Nepal. Overall the score of freedom has still improved because the pressure on media has decreased and investigative journalism has developed positively. (Freedom House, 2018) Democracy allows a free expression of opinions and ideas by people. This freedom is exercised through media and the media therefore has an important role in promoting democracy. Modern media includes mass media, public media, private media, community media and social media. In this report the focus will be on community media, and more specifically on community radios. Since their existence, they have had an important role to play for the communities. They, amongst other things, address the languages issues and operate as an educator. Additionally, they may function as peacekeeper between different communities, operate as one channelled