The International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC) has launched a new project to help Mongolia’s major public broadcaster become independent after 70 years of government control. The project will provide technical and professional expertise to the Mongolian National Radio and Television Service (MNRTV), which is making the transition toward editorial independence. UNESCO and the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcast Development (AIBD) are implementing the project.
AIBD project consultant David Mould, a communications professor at Ohio University in the United States, recently completed a two-week trip to the Mongolian capital, Ulaan Baatar. He met with senior management, conducted a management workshop for department heads, and held discussions on programming changes with departmental staff. He wrapped up the October trip with a seminar on public service broadcasting. More than 60 representatives from MNRTV, government ministries, parliament, non-governmental and civil society organizations attended the seminar discussions and workshops with station staff.
Mould says the station faces serious challenges, as it becomes a public service broadcaster: a traditional and rigid broadcast schedule, poor technical facilities, and a lack of live information and entertainment programs. He also said that most programs come from the capital, with little or no coverage of regional and local issues. “I’m encouraged that many people in MNRTV understand the concept of public service broadcasting, but it’s going to take resources and the support of UNESCO and donor agencies to improve programs and technical facilities,” he said.
(Source: International Journalists’ Network)
