A new book and video film looking at the impact of satellite television in South Asia will be launched at the British Council, Colombo, on May 2 at 5.30 p.m.

The book, ‘Satellites Over South Asia: Broadcasting Culture and the Public Interest’, analyses how satellite television has been instrumental in creating a new South Asian popular culture which has proved both attractive and controversial. It is written by David Page and William Crawley, two broadcasters formerly with the BBC and with many years of experience working in South Asia. The book’s findings are illustrated in a 57 minute video documentary titled ‘Michael Jackson comes to Manikganj’, produced by Indian television journalist Nupur Basu.

The book and video are the product of three years of research under the Media South Asia Project, an initiative of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. The authors worked with a team of research associates from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to gather information and opinions. In total, over 400 South Asian opinion-shapers were interviewed, and focus group discussions were arranged with six categories of people to gauge public reactions to satellite programmes in a number of key areas of cultural influence.

The video is a colourful collage of snippets spanning the urban and rural areas of South Asia. In mid 2000, director Nupur Basu travelled extensively in the five countries to capture glimpses of how far satellite television reaches out, and what social, cultural and political impacts it produces among the people of South Asia. Working with local camera crews in each country, she met a cross section of people whose views are diverse as they are divergent on the impact of satellite television.

The co-authors of the book will address the launch, which will include the screening of the film, and a panel discussion on the issues raised by the book. The panel will include Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and media specialist, and Nimal Lakshapathiarachchi, Director of MTV and Sirasa TV. The panel will be chaired by Nalaka Gunawardene, Regional Representative of the International Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), whose organisation is co-sponsoring the event together with the British Council.

Participation at the launch will be by invitation only. A limited number of passes are now available from the British Council Arts Office on a first-come, first-served basis. Copies of the book and video will be on sale at the launch.