Afghan TV Radio 2.0

In Afghanistan, Blog, Internet, Islam on 22 December 2008 tagged Ariana Afghanistan TV, Ariana Television, Marshall McLuhan, MTV, Noor TV, PBS, Radio Television Afghanistan, RTA, Tolo, TV, Wired, Wired Magazine with 7 comments

Television image courtesy of: (A3R) angelrravelor (A3R)

In an article on the medium of Internet video in the January 2009 issue of Wired magazine, Marshall McLuhan is cited as stating that in their embrace of new mediums of expression, human beings tend to use them in ways that are more akin to older ones — hence the tendency of early TV broadcasts to consist mainly of men reading radio scripts live on air. Essentially, progress in the media and society are stymied by our own tendency to re-create previous modes of interaction on the latest technology rather than embracing the features unique to the new medium from the onset.

Interestingly enough, I have been thinking about these very issues in relation to the Afghan satellite television stations that have become such a staple in many Afghan households. Observing a glut of call-in shows, advertisements and music programs, I began to wonder what exactly separates one station from the other in the minds of the viewers? Are these perceived differentiations so great as to create audiences dedicated to a particular channel or do the viewers tend to be more fluid, following individual personalities from one channel to another?

Each station has its own cadre of talking heads taking on issues of: religion, politics, entertainment, and health, with their own views that they cling to adamantly. But surely there must be more than one way to interact with such a captive audience.

This is not to say that there are is no narrative or original content on these channels, but those are largely limited to dubbed Pakistani soap operas and a few original sketch comedy and sitcom style shows. Thus, if you were to turn on any of the Afghan satellite television stations you would most likely find : a talking head commentator, a music video, or an advertisement. Essentially, making these television stations newer version of the Afghan radio that dominated so many Afghan households throughout the 1990s.

Of course, all of these stations are still very young and operating with limited budgets but it would still be interesting to find out what the medium could turn into if the stations embraced different issues and story telling methods.

Would it be possible to one day see a show on one of the stations addressing issues of technology and the environment? After all, Islam is by nature a very green religion that has a deep focus on sustainability and responsibility for one’s actions, but too few Muslims know that. What about an informative program dealing with pertinent global issues like human rights, human trafficking, genocide, and the current global economic crisis with a panel of guests? How could these stations better interact with the younger audiences who find themselves in a world of media ubiquity? What kinds of public discourse can better bridge the gap between Afghans at home and in the diaspora? How can these stations be used to revive the Afghan cinema? Can musical artists, who now have greater opportunities to interact with the world at large, try to challenge traditional standards of music as Ahmad Zahir did by incorporating more contemporary, Western elements into their productions? How can producers and musical artists try to create new visions for their music through music video rather than merely trying to replicate the works of major Western media makers like: Michael Jackson, Herb Ritts, Justin Timberlake, and Robert Palmer?

These questions take on a greater importance when you consider the potential for engaging the members of the Afghan diaspora who felt shut out from the traditional media of their host nations by language and culture. A lack of engagement which has lead to a greater divide between important global issues and those people often most affected by those very issues. Just as this lack of engagement has disenfranchised a large number of people, it also presents an immense opportunity for the Afghan television stations to fill that very gap.

Though it is still a young medium, the Afghan satellite television stations are at an interesting crossroads where they can choose between several competing television models:

There is the PBS route of a solid mixture of cultural and intellectual content with a high premium placed on personality driven content (Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, Suze Orman, and Charlie Rose).

With such an emphasis already placed on musical content, they could embrace the MTV model of trying to dictate where culture is headed through a constantly shifting mixture of music, film, “reality,” scripted, and documentary series. Of course, the MTV model would require a serious dedication to spotting, analyzing and steering trends within the community.

The most risky of all models is Current TV‘s, where the emphasis is placed on the audience through a unique intersection of user-generated and professionally created content. This approach proves all the more precarious when the large digital divide among Afghans is taken into account. Then again, Current’s method may indeed be the best way to try and engage the younger audiences who are already engulfed in a world of text messaging, Myspace, and Youtube. Of course, the success of such a model also hinges greatly on actual audience engagement and interaction with the content.

No matter which route these stations may take, there is little doubt that their immense hold on the Afghan people (at home and in the diaspora), gives them both a sense of great power and responsibility towards the community to use this new found medium as a tool of societal engagement and advancement beyond what Afghans have known before.