s hello from the campus of sj san jos estate university.

afghanistan's media was once through free teach, and the in fa infamous taliban regime, much of that has eroded. >> for all parts of the country, when americans think of afghanistan, what comes to mind? it depends on who you ask. americans might think of war or terrorism. but what does an afghan think of his own country. >> i remember that when i was a school student, we didn't have chairs if our classes, and we were sitting on the grounds and taking notes, listening to our teachers. >> this is a are professor, one of three professors who arrived

in the fall to study modern journalism methods in san jos estate. >> objectivity and free speech are concepts americans may take for granted, but in afghanistan, those are relatively new. the taliban enforced both people of speech and freedom of the press. >> he was teaching at haraat university when the taliban arrived. >> you have to put taliban on your head and i don't believe this. >> rather than follow the apprentice regulations in stated by the taliban, he left the university on his own terms to make for things to below over. >> imprisonment and physical punishment were not uncommon. >> some people paid the

ultimate price. >> that was professor and his colleagues. once approximate a time, they actually enjoyed a good environment in 1986 the country had its first newspaper and in 1995, its first legislation guaranteeing freedom of the press. >> from 1979 to 1992, the country fell under sovietviet influence. >> they were, for example, you were not allowed to read english texts, you were not allowed to go into the details of some political issue, not allowed to

talk about politics, real iblg religion, and tv and music were seen as corrupt. >> the taliban went so far as to destroy television sets. >> anybody found with one risked jail or floging. >> my intention was to grow up any way, to take advantage of that kind of information and not to escape. >> the people of afghanistan have experienced several changes. >> in the wake of the new admin strarpz underd administration under the new president. this is an afghan american journalist and a graduate of san jose state. >> she traveling there

regularly. >> it was the right time to use my skills and learn about it but also report back to a u.s. audience about what was going on there. >> she spent the better part of the last decade working there. >> while we might expect her to focus teaching, she faced much more rudimentary challenges. >> most people had to go to pakistan, drive hours and hours to make a long distance call. >> you had the technical limitations, cell phones, internet access, fax means. >> everything we're used to communicating, was limited there. >> you have that as a major problem. >> or main goal has been to teach reporting techniques and on -- objectivity.

>> didn't really have a lot of public opinion . they just didn't -- that's not the style they were used to. >> what do americans think about afghanistan? >> san jose state students are getting a close up view. not just from the visiting professors, but from their own president. >> he's a nat testify kabul. >> they'll study all of the religious laws. >> learning lessons that stretch beyond the taliban and into important issues today. >> we'll look at how things are progressing when equal times returns.

. welcome back. with the taliban now out of power, the company has been able to break free of much of its restrictive roots and begin the process of rebuilding what is lost. >> once again, chris chandler. >> to aid afghanistan's

efforts, the u.s. government is building media centers at universities, also rewarding schools for general -- we are specifically funding a journalism partnership here at san jose university and it's very crucial for u.s. interest. >> u.s. state department officer says the program is a lot of impractical information that's not taught. >> have i seen professors get very excited about the course work that they are learning here at sj san jose. have i seen them very excite -- i have seen them very excited over knowledge they have learned in afghanistan.

>> the state department is providing them with english language, but eventually take the test of english as a foreign language for entrance to master's degree programs at american universities. >> i have seen incredible leaps and bounds of their english proficiency even in a short amount of time. >> not only the technical knowledge they've gained but many of the pleasant memories and friendships that are built has been transformitive and well be with them for the rest of their lives. >> he's been given the opportunity to help learn video editing. >> they're very eager to learn, that's what's first and foremost what's important. >> she began training journalists more than ten years ago and has witnessed dramatic growth in media. >> we went from maybe one national broadcaster back in

2001 one, 2002, which was the afghan public broadcaster to now, over 100 tv channels across the country. a few hundred radio stations, hundreds of publication s. >> diana stover, who is also teaching them, sees some problems that may come up for the country's developing media. >> she says because these professors are learning an american-style of journalism, all television may not translate. >> we should not expect a model based on the you us's united states's model. >> afghan professor agrees that afghanistan should not lose sight of its own history and values. >> we have the right to value our culture, to respect our history. >> i think exposure to afghans who are here with a professors

who are here, the exposure is good. >> freedom of speech, that the center and the -- the oxygen of the democracy. >> to have that level of freedom of speech that's available, that's there now for afghans, is very exciting. >> and i only see that as a positive thing for the country. >> and i hope it remains that way and i'll be the strongest advocate for free freedom of speech in afghanistan. >> we'll sit down with a panel of experts when equal time continues.

. welcome back. our focus today is free press. let's meet our guests. >> journalist, lecture, and author of opiuminationium nation, i'm a public relation and media advisor to governor office. >> my name is chris chandler and i researched and reported on this story. >> our audience knows a lot about what the news tells them about afghanistan but we know

very little about the culture, and the background and the history. >> and even this, that free press journalism, tell us more about that. free press in afghanistan, the history of that. >> it's a good question. a began stan is experiencing a free press right after 9/11. there was a big market for afghan journalists practicing the values in standards of journalism, while facing domestic violence, as well. >> so, nowadays, there are -- those of tv channels, radios, publications, and news agencies, which all -- through all these channels, people are feeding the information entertainment, and international events. meanwhile, journalists are one of the group of people which

they face a lot of chal frjing -- challenges and traits through the different sources like -- challenging traits like the taliban, like tribal leaders, like some regional countries which they are trying to influence the freedom of speech in afghanistan. >> it's very interesting to be a journalist, but around, it's very challenging to be a journalist around the country. >> i would imagine the american people would be shoked shocked to know about the region and the nation. >> should more should americans know? >> it's a tribal society, and afghanistan is a conservive religious society, and these two

elements like being religious conservatively sefsh -- conservitism, these are all in fight for power. >> religious conservitism is at the same time playing games with all of these. >> for me, my point this, that we have to bring citizenship in afghanistan first. politically, one is demographic, and how many hospitals and schools we should have. >> at the same time, political citizenship is this, that all people in the society are equal before the law. that doesn't exist in

afghanistan and since people are not equal before the law, like women are less than men in afghanistan, unfortunately, and inheritance law, and there's a dogmatic issue they don't want to interpret the whole -- this is a muslim society, as you know, and 99% are muslim. >> they don't want to reinterpret, which is permissible in islamic law. the customer kuraan, to update the whole scene for contemporary living. >> you have 32- tv stations just in cab kabu well, now. >> this isul.

the challenges we came up with, besides all the cons-- censer are vatism, there's not a traditional reporting there. >> you just basically talk about your opinion and when you think. >> teaching journalists how to go and dig deep into a story and find out the different angels of it, was quite difficult. but they did learn, and we had many success stories among men and women learning. >> one of the things we face in the news room, was the men didn't want to work with the women. >> there were a lot of conservative men. this is just right after the taliban believe these women shouldn't be there. the irony is that the women were better at these jobs than the men were. they've had to prove themselves. >> and i think what's

challenging, this conservative society that you're talking about, are the youth in this media. a great example is tv making programs, and it's the most watched tv in afghanistan. people are watching it even though it goes -- certain program goes against their value. they have afghan star, which is similar to american idol. and it's -- i don't know in the 10th season, eighth program. >> i haven't seen any surveys, but there's definitely been a reaction to try to close down this tv. they've beaten up tv in parliament. there is a law in afghanistan to what point, people are allowed to express themselves, and what

are the limitations. and that i do not know yet. >> you've been a welcome the guest. i want to get to your research in just a bit. >> you express yourself pretty readily, you're pretty open about that. >> is that the norm in journalism and in your country? >> speak up. you speak your mind very quickly. >> afghanistan is separated. it depends where you live. in the provinces they are boardering with pakistan -- boardering with pakistan, the citizens have a lot of security challenges where they cannot practice the freedom of speech. they have access to the

channels. >> around, like the kab ushgs lshgsu well, and other state provinces -- ka kabul, it's very easy to talk about when you think and express yourself. >> the major problem is that the talibans are a big challenge for the media and the journalists which they consider the journalist the western spies and they don't behave very well with the media while they are using and misusing the med by providing activities and information. they expect the media to work and to print that one. >> but around, we have been witness of a lot of challenging and mortars and torture and kid napping and hostage by different taliban groups and some provinces of afghanistan.

>> so -- >> already we're getting a sense that the background that you just gave and the background that you just gave sounds like it's going to be in conflict because you're going to try to go back and do free-speech journalism, what you've been learning here at san jose state, but there might be a resistance in parts of the country. >> i spoke to her in my story that you have seen already and she kind of echoed what you guys have been saying. >> now things are looking pretty optimistic in afghanistan because there's over 100 tv news programs, hundreds of newspapers. so that's encouraging. she said she had to struggle against the mind set that existed, kind of the soviet, very heavy propaganda they had. it was really relied -- just

firsthand sources from the government rather than actually doing their own investigation. >> she had to conquer the push back that kind of said this was only a western model. >> and it's also very strange when you consider the history, because afghanistan up through the 60s, they had ratified a -- to their constitution, a measure for free press, and at that point, afghanistan looked like it was pretty much going to keep pace with the rest of the world but then all of the warfare took place, soviets came, the taliban, and we know what the result have been. >> we know now they're trying to get back the identity that was lost. >> we're hoping american, after the war, after troops are withdrawn, free press will take hold and stay. >> that's why more are here in the spring at san jose state to study that, but is there a possibility of going back or

being restricted from doing free press? >> yeah, because journalism, i'm with the media for the last 20 years, writing scripts and this and that, journalism is the homegrown phenomenon. we can't import western journalism in afghanistan. that's a very wrong idea. because journalism has a lot to do with culture, religion, way of life, okay, and when we talk about freedom of speech, okay, here the definition of freedom of speech is completely different than freedom of speech in afghanistan. >> even as chris said about 60s, i was a teenager in the 60s and i remember very well, that the media was controlled by the

government, and i there was. >> so, we never had a true freedom of press in journalism in afghanistan, my personal observation when i was born and raised there. and at the same time, neither the government nor institutions, tried to, as i say, bake a new cookie for journalism. what does religious values bring up-to-date princeiple s to the table? our cultural sensitivities, the way we joke and through throw jokes to each other. >> i'm very happy you invited me. we need to from this university where the president is an african born presidents we have

to bake a new cookie for afghanistan, what journalism should be established. >> think also we need to remember that the media has changed gloeb al globally. >> isn't homes they visited, under the tal taliban in 2000, they hid it well. >> they had access to global tv, which he works for right now. >> they watched afghan tv produce the in the united states in afghanistan now. so the transnational or international connection between this, again s changing minds and affecting lives. >> i'm really interested in how this is impacting the population and how it's making progress for lack of a better word. >> is it adding anything to the society? is it taking away anything? >> mean i'd like to know if you

have had any experience with that? what is this new free press doing to the mind-set of afghan? >> it's very hard to analyze the rule of freedom of speech and media in a very short amount of time, but what i would like to add on agreeing what you have said, is that nowadays, people really rely on what media is telling them in afghanistan. >> for example, what she hears from the tv, because she trusts them, and for example, the media is playing a very significant rule to change the mind-set, the lifestyle of the afghans nowadays. >> for example, with having a lot of family shows and culture shows and religious shows, even uned ducated people, frequently,

it's changing the way of life and frequently changed mind-set. >> but what i would like to add, which is very much important and concern the freedom of speech in journalism practitioners is what will happen after 2014, this is important, the people agree on what they think freedom of speech and media growth is one of the big achievement of the afghan society right after 9/11. >> we're hoping this will enable you to talk more freely about this after the americans pull out of afghanistan. >> at this point the narrative is it's going to get worse and that means less freedom for

minorities and the press. >> we're hoping you will go back and hopefully make a difference. >> we're going to have to end right there. i thank you all very much for joining us and we hope you'll come back for another edition of equal time.