Skip to main content

Our fragile and fast fading Print Media


Says it all
Finally BBS featured a story on dying Bhutanese print (private) media the other day. The report said it was due to heavy decrease in revenues owing to decrease in government sponsored advertisements. And it was pointed out that some media firms are planning to layoff their people while others I am told have not paid their employees for sometime now. A media firm that I know has not yet paid their employees December 2012’s salary. It is disturbing.

On one hand we keep saying that we need a vibrant media for our democracy to function but then a few years into our democracy, we are back to square one. With the death of private newspapers we will only have some state backed media that will run the shows.

The next round of elections is around the corner and our media show no sign of improvement. I was told of mass exodus of senior and experienced reporters and editors from private papers. Authorities blame on the number of papers. Maybe the way we issued licenses to all Dorji, Dawa and Duba was flawed. People wanted to run papers because they felt that’s where the money was. Now many are lamenting. We have more than 10 newspapers in the country! That’s a big number for a small country! It is interesting though why the government does not allow people to start even one private TV channel! It is long overdue! What are we waiting for? 

And as a follow up action – this is what I think private print media should do: form a big group and come up with a paper instead. Yes, I am suggesting collaboration and not competition. Some will laugh at my suggestion. But that’s okay! This way I think they can compete with the nation’s daily. Because right now apparently it seems there are only two papers in the country – Kuensel and private newspapers and accordingly the two receive the equal share of ads.

Collaboration will not create a condition for downsizing. Otherwise at this rate soon many people will lose their livelihoods or at the same time media firms will lose good people to other sectors!

Last time around we accorded a high priority to media. Don’t we need a similar media engagement in the coming elections? Let’s promote a vibrant democracy. Let’s save our media from the clutches of their "death". And this time let's mean it too! 
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 18, 2013 at 4:07 PM

    your picture says it all but enjoyed reading it as much

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

So what do you think?

Popular Posts

When they are ready

The Ministry of Education discovered 890 'underage' children admitted in schools across the country in 2019. Thus, the ministry in May 2019 issued a notification revoking the admission for these children.  Majority were in urban centres.  Desperate, parents and the affected schools requested the government to intervene. They also requested the government to consider lowering the enrolment age to five years.  Currently, in Bhutan a child can legally go to school only when s(he) is six years old.  And that policy was strictly followed a few years ago to the extent that some schools refused to admit children even if they were short of a few weeks. So, parents, mostly in urban areas, resorted to faking their children's ages. Many parents were guilty of adding years onto their children's actual ages. However, most parents, we are told, managed to correct their 'mistakes' later.  Faking a child's age was rampant...
2 comments
Read more...

The Vanishing Currency of a Bhutanese Village

Growing up in rural Bhutan, the richest people in the village often had very little cash. They were known as chukpo , 'the ones with cattle'. And no one asked how much money a person had in the bank. No one or only a countable few had bank accounts, anyway. Wealth was measured in fields, cattle, grains, and the ability to carry a family through the seasons. Cash existed, but it played only a small role. Most exchanges happened through barter. Rice for chillies, soya beans for Sichuan peppers, cheese for eggs. I still remember that a ball of homemade cheese was worth two fresh eggs. Nobody needed a calculator because people simply knew. The most remarkable part of the system was the exchange of labour. During sowing and planting seasons, families needed extra hands, yet labour was rarely paid in cash. If I spent three days helping on your farm, you spent three days helping on mine in return. No contract was needed to be signed. No money changed hands. Wealthier households so...
2 comments
Read more...

Community of Bhutanese Bloggers Conceived

And finally it happened. I must say that it was by far the most attended Bloggers Meet. In the past we had bloggers agree to attend and cancel at the very last minute. But on June 24, 2015 – almost 100% of bloggers, who confirmed came. I would like to thank everyone for keeping his/her words, especially those who had to come all the way from Wangdue or Paro. Thank you! 35 Bhutanese bloggers met in Thimphu. We were honored to have the presence of senior bloggers like Aue Yeshi Dorji and Dasho Sangay Khandu. The meeting assumed more significance because of their presence. Equally, we were happy to have many young bloggers in whom we see so much enthusiasm and potential. On top of many things that transpired during the Meet, one of the most significant outcomes was the unanimous decision reached to form a formal group of bloggers, a platform aimed at encouraging and inspiring more bloggers around the country. The members decided that we will call it Community of Bhutanese Blogger...
16 comments
Read more...