The need for communication literacy

During the campaign, facilitators from other districts, including me, had to listen, watch and read articles including published and broadcast news about women in various media and submit a report. In addition, the facilitator had to conduct monthly discussions involving local women. During the campaign, the organization also published a booklet called 'Useful Media Active Consumer'. A group discussion was held focusing on the questionnaire including the topics mentioned in the

booklet. In such debates, Manju Thapa and Anju Chhetri, media persons of Asmita Mahila Prakashan Garha, used to shed light on the rationale and necessity of the campaign. Even now, the house conducts research on women's access to media, including magazine publishing, and issues of gender in the media. Some of the housewives and working women who participated in the campaign had also become annual subscribers of Nari and Shiksha monthly for a few years, but that order was broken after Covid. For a few months, my teacher colleagues and I have been reading Nari and Teacher Monthly regularly. Not only that, we have also started a weekly teacher-teacher dialogue about the articles published in the teacher.

In recent times, various means of communication have been operating at full speed, while some of them have been shut down. FM radio and daily newspapers have gained some listeners and readers, especially among the various means of communication that have been opened at the local level. Dainik newspapers and online also honor journalists and writers involved in their anniversary events. However, there is not much discussion about how to reach new readers, that is, what content or columns can be added to attract readers.

Even though various media celebrate the anniversary in their own way, it seems that some established mainstream print and electronic media will organize blood donation and race competitions. But the need to conduct communication literacy campaigns to increase readers and listeners is not felt. Despite this, the number of regular newspaper readers and radio listeners has been decreasing recently. They are obsessed with social media. According to the communication experts, the content published and disseminated in any media is like the eighty-four dishes served at a banquet. It is important for those who consume themselves to know what and which foods are harmful to their health.

In fact, it is necessary to become a conscious and aware consumer to know about the usefulness of the media, that is, the content published or disseminated in various means of communication. While some of the content is useful, lack of communication literacy has led to 'kaaglai bel pakyo, harsh na ishamat' for the majority of active consumers. In recent times, even in Nepal, modern information and communication technology has taken a revolutionary leap than in other areas. However, the lack of communication literacy has not been able to create active consumers. In this sense, although the content disseminated on social media is timely and useful, consumers do not seem to be able to connect it with people's livelihood. It seems that the majority of educated consumers who take the content of social media as entertainment, instead of posting information and message content, they only keep photos of what they have traveled and eaten. In this way, social media is becoming a means of entertainment rather than a means of increasing knowledge. The misuse of social media has not only spread anomalies and distortions, but has also fueled criminal activities. It has affected all age groups badly.

In fact, neither the government has realized the need to raise awareness about communication literacy, nor have the publishing and broadcasting houses made a strategic plan for it. Most of the publishing/broadcasting houses do not seem to understand that with the changing times and environment, the interests of the readers are also changing. In particular, the word literacy refers to the ability to read and write, while communication literacy refers to the ability to analyze, criticize and understand the news, information and messages conveyed by the media. Communication literacy also includes the ability to find out the truth of news.

The National Commission on Media Literacy in the US has defined media as the ability to analyze, evaluate and create media to understand more in detail. Studies have shown that since 1928, John F. Culkin has introduced the provision of media literacy along with the school curriculum in the United States. Some time ago, some schools in California, Texas and New Jersey in the United States started teaching communication literacy skills to students, Carissa Jane Lim, senior editor of BuzzFeed News, brought it to the public.

In the neighboring country of India, the communication literacy program started at the school level was brought to the public some time ago by 'The Hindu'. Similarly, Alt News co-founder Prateek Sinha has also mentioned that a two-month project has been started to teach communication skills related to communication literacy in some schools in Calcutta. In the interactive program and training to be conducted under the said project, students in the age group of 12 to 14 years will be provided with the ability to find out the truth through analysis and evaluation.

In this way, many projects of communication literacy aimed at students are being conducted in countries like America and India. We seem to be completely lacking in such thinking. It is true that school education has not become useful due to the lack of communication skills among our students who are deprived of getting correct information and communication in school life. In this way, it is necessary to teach students basic communication skills to make school education useful and a starting point for earning a living.

In addition to this, organizations working on communication like Asmita Mahila Prakashan House, Center for Media Research (CMR) are conducting programs on communication literacy from time to time. However, not all age groups, especially students, feel the need to start a project.

Like America and India, it seems that media organizations should conduct communication literacy campaigns aimed at students, even if it is for a limited period. If we can do this, like in developed countries, we will have an environment where modern information and communication technology can become the basis of the overall development of the country. For this, it is necessary for all three levels of government to formulate a strategic plan in cooperation and coordination with communication experts to teach their citizens basic communication skills.