THE PRESS IN NEPAL IS NOT OTHERWISE MUZZLED

broadsheets have expanded reach dramatically in the last decade of press freedom, putting the party-affiliated weekly tabloids in a bit of shade. Meanwhile, there is the very successful world of independent FM radio stations, now nearly a dozen countrywide. Television presently means only the state-owned Nepal Television, but the attempts by the controversial businessman Jameem Shah to uplink Channel Nepal, Nepal`s first satellite station, via ThaiCom has been stymied over the last two months even though all the infrastructure is in place. Some critics say that the government is succumbing to the Indian government`s alleged sensitivities by not allowing Channel Nepal to uplink.

The role of the Nepali media in general during the latest crisis following the royal palace killings has been disheartening. The broadsheets, of whom a lot was expected, essentially chickened out and did not go with investigative reports and breaking news for the first couple of days. Even later, they mainly concentrated on descriptive news. In fact it was the much-maligned weekly tabloids that lived up to some level of journalistic principle. The local FM radio stations and the national state-owned Radio Nepal fed the public with an overdose of mournful shenai music all of this past week and more, and the same was the case with Nepal Television.

Under such circumstances, the news that was available came from websites (such as those of www.nepalnews.com) and the outside channels, particularly BBC and the Indian channels.

Why were the Indian channels in particular blacked out?

With the Nepali news media keeping mum, it was left to the very active Indian satellite channels to carry news. Some of this was not done professionally, while others were quite adequate. However, there was unrest on the streets emanating from the public feeling that it was being fed false news. In order to control the public`s wrath, says the government, it pulled the plug on the cable
television (the main cable company is run by the same Mr. Jameem Shah).

Not only the news channels, but also the entertainment channels were blacked out as a mark the period of mourning. Entertainment, or cricket, would probably have kept more people indoors and less agitation on the streets. In any case, the blackout of the news channels was just for a couple of days and they are back on.

There are constant references to the unpopularity of the Indian media during the coverage of the this tragedy. Is it possible to pinpoint the cause of this unpopularity?

Well, to begin with, the general perception that has been in place over the years is that when it comes to international affairs (including bilateral affairs with Nepal), the New Delhi press tends to take a `statist` approach, that of the Indian