Media Helping Media

Two newspapers, produced by Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, have ceased publication because donor funds have dried up. For years they’ve been propped up by international donors because Bhutanese living in exile in Nepal are not allowed to earn a living by law and their newspapers are not allowed to take advertising revenue. Now those behind both publications are urgently seeking the cash to keep going. US$100 a month would save both the Bhutan Jagaran and the Bhutan Reporter. T.P. Mishra reports.

A journalist's duty is to question and not take things at face value. Our duty is to challenge the executive and ask about the issues that most concern our readers, viewers and listeners. We are not there to provide an unchallenged public platform.

This is particularly important when we have the opportunity to interview business leaders, government officials and world leaders. But at times, such interviews can become one-way traffic, with awkward questions avoided. This is not journalism. Rahnuma Ahmed has allowed this site to reproduce her guide on how not to interview.

The first private mass communication college in Nepal, the College of Journalism and Mass Communication (CJMC), is bidding to become a university. The college's founder is appealing to established universities and media organisations across the world to help her transform the college into a university of mass communication. Dr Manju Mishra says she wants it to lift the skills and social awareness of young journalists in the region. From Nepal, TP Mishra reports.