Media in Nepal bearing brunt of political rivalry:IFJ

Though Nepal last year made good move towards democratic rule, media, being an easy target, often find themselves facing the brunt of rivalry among the political and non political groups, says International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

In a new press freedom report of South Asia, IFJ said the new Maoist-led government has not yet proved able to shift the thinking of its cadres towards peaceful means of resolving rivalries and conflict, which made journalists victims, directly or indirectly.

The report says parties must undertake awareness-raising programmes among cadres and the wider society, including in regard to the role of an independent and critical media in a democratic order.

Terming the media industry as 'troubling', IFJ says media rights remain weakly institutionalised and public attitudes toward the media are problematic. Media rights have been a casualty, with attacks on the media increasing in various forms since the CA elections and the subsequent swearing in of coalition government.

Murder of Uma Singh in January 2009 has been taken as the most traumatic manifestation of the new turbulence in Nepal's media environment.

While editors are still pressured through discriminatory allocation of advertising revenues, and media proprietors often come under pressure to dismiss some journalists because of their political allegiance or ethnicity, anger among the wider public is increasingly directed against journalists and media outlets for their coverage (or lack of it) of events and issues related to the political transition and minority interests, the report says. The media is often the target and critical reporting often invites a harsh vendetta.

Political partisanship seems to have spread through Nepal's media, resulting in heavy-handed tactics by some Maoist-aligned house unions which undermine prospects for reconciliation and the efforts of national journalists' organisations to negotiate improved working conditions on behalf of the entire media workforce. Several bitter disputes during the year highlight the difficulties like in Himalmedia, Kantipur publications and APCA Nepal.

Journalists' working conditions continue to be a serious concern despite amendments made to the Working Journalists' Act (WJA). nepalnews.com ia May 01 09