What experts say about status of Press Freedom after the 2006 Movement ?

We have interviewed some experts on what they think about the status of Press Freedom in Nepal after 2006 Movement. We are specially thankful to :
Professor P Kharel, President, Nepal Press Institute
Ram Krishna Regmi, Professor, Kantipur City College
Rajendra Dahal, Senior Journalist, Press Advisor of President
Bishnu Nishthuri, President AJA Nepal, Former President FNJ
Guna Raj Luitel, Associate Editor, Nagarik Daily
Shreeram Singh Basnet, Chief Editor, RSS


Achievements
Legal provision allowing FMs to broadcast news freely
Constitutional guarantee for press freedom; no restriction. (In past there used to be restriction as “you shouldn’t write on Royal Family” etc.)
Establishment of High Level Media Commission, provision of implementing Working Journalist Act, Permanent Information Commission, activation of Press Council, simplification on discerning and renewal of radio, out numbered T V channels etc
Increase of trained professionals
Editors' sphere of autonomy not disturbed
Decreasing tendency of political biasness

Obstructing Forces
Sister organizations of major political parties, mainly organizations of party-affiliated journalists like Press Union and Press Chautari.
Militant groups (especially in Terai belt)
Advertisers’ influence over media
Impunity, political biasness

Responsibility and obstructions
Party interest influence in pro-govt. media and Press Council.
Provision of government fund to party journalism.
Commercial view point: profit prior to service.
Crime, politics and glamour dominating social and development issues.
FMs generally depend upon newspapers, rarely attribute sources.
Advertisers’ influence: the major obstruction for responsibility is media persons' fear of advertisers.
In overall, Broadsheets more responsible than tabloids

Problems
The Code of Conduct for Journalists by Press Council is still not comprehensive.
Political affiliation of journalists obstructs fairness, objectivity and responsibility.
Popular weeklies known to be mouthpieces political parties.
Cases of abductions, murders of mediapersons.
Impunity and self-censorship.
No proper execution of laws and orders.
Political instability suffers media.

Effects to be taken
Constitutional guarantees in a proper way on upcoming constitution.
Impunity should be discouraged.
Depoliticization of media professional organizations.
Depoliticization in pro-governmental media and Press Council.
Freedom of media professional organizations from pro-government economic influence.
Political stability, and commitments.
Responsibility: from the side of media and journalists
Formation or amendment of necessary laws and effective implementation of them.
Local media should give priority to local issues.
Professional competition among media.

To conclude
Press and Loktantra have been two sides of a same coin. If press is weak, Loktantra is weak; and vice versa.
Politicians need to express their commitments and act accordingly for free and responsible press.
Politicians need to take advices from genuine experts before taking any decisions on press issues.
Loktantrik Aandolan focused more on political changes than in media sector.
Nepali media today is the freest in South Asia, but ironically it is least professional.
Overall the situation is on the way of improvements; and our future in the sector is better.

(The major part of a presentation by Sagarmatha College BA 2nd year students at a seminar held on 15 August.)