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 Bhutan's independent media needs support, training and international recognition, both inside and outside the country, if it is to have maximum impact and fulfil its role of informing the public debate. That was the message coming out of a regional conference for South Asia marking International Press Freedom Day voiced by a Bhutanese journalist working in the country and another working in exile. There was also a call for journalists to be protected as they continue to do their jobs.
A journalist at the Bhutan Observer says the strengthening of the country’s independent media is essential if the recently announced press freedoms are to have maximum impact.
Speaking in Kathmandu at a regional conference marking International Press Freedom Day , Nedrup Zangpo outlined some of the difficulties journalists in Bhutan face.
He said the shortage of advertising revenue, low circulation figures and the lack of journalilstic training - particularly in ethics - were holding the media back in a country that recently moved from an absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy.
On advertising, Zangpo told the conference that most government advertising goes to the pro-government daily, Kuensel , making it hard for independent media to reach financial sustainability.
Society, he said, had not yet understood the importance of the media in national development, and politicians still finds it hard to accept critical stories.
However, Zongpo said that with the emergence of the two dailies, the Bhutan Observer and the Bhutan Times , the media scene is changing for the better, despite ongoing challenges.
T.P.Mishra, president of the Bhutan Chapter of the Third World Media Network (TWMN)
At the same conference, T.P. Mishra, president of the Bhutan Chapter of the Third World Media Network (TWMN) and editor of APFAnews.com and the Bhutan News Service called on the international communities to continue to push media freedom in Bhutan.
Mishra highlighted the plight of exiled Bhutanese journalists saying that they, too, needed international recognition and support.
The conference published a declaration on media freedom in South Asia, which demanded that state authorities in the countries of the participants denounce acts of lawlessness against the media and take action against those responsible.
We pledge our commitment to work together as a cohesive network to support each other in our common aspiration to improve and assert press freedom and the rights of journalists in the South Asia region."
Senior journalists and media freedom activists from South Asian countries including Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan attended the seminar.
The conference was jointly organised by Panos South Asia , UNESCO and the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) .
Note: Material for this article taken from two reports, published on APFA News, about the conference.They are: ‘Too early to say Bhutan has press freedom’ and ‘Media situation not much changed’ . |
