Journalism in Nepal

Journalism- Roles and Challenges in Building New Nepal

Seminars, Article-5

Submitted by: Sixit Bhatta

Whatever happened after the exit speech of the Ex-King at the Narayan Hithi Royal palace must have ashamed the journalist fraternity in Nepal. The chase was on to grab the chair of the ex-king as soon as he completed his speech and the journalists present on the event not only managed to grab a piece of the chair but also posed for the pictures that would no doubt haunt them once they realize the true responsibility of a true journalist.

Weeks prior to the aforementioned event, news regarding the finding of the inedible objects in the soft drinks circulated in one of the electronic media. The intensity and the reinforcement provided to this particular event by the concerned channel is enough to raise the question mark on the credibility of the news.

Are we in the right direction in terms of practicing ethical journalism and becoming responsible journalists? Is this the journalism we practice for building the up the New Nepal after the political changes that has occurred in the country? These are the questions that arise in the aftermath of the aforesaid events. It would therefore be relevant in this context to seek the answer to the above question.

Wikipedia online defines journalism as the profession of writing or communicating, formally employed by the publications and broadcasters, for the benefit of a particular community of people. This definition itself underlines the social responsibility of journalism and presents it as a mirror to reflect the events that are happening around us. Therefore, the journalists are responsible for communicating the events and the incidents hence acting as a bridge between the current state of affairs and the desired one. Journalists do not have the liberty to interpret the happenings and are very much responsible to convey the news without any biases or prejudice.

It is therefore important that the...