Country Report -COVID 19- Nepal

Journalists in Nepal are at career crisis facing unprecedented financial problems causing breaks to their career. With major media houses including Kantipur publications, Nepal Republic Media- the publisher of Nagarik and Republica dailies, Annapurna Post and so forth asking hundreds of their staff to stay on unpaid leave-journalists are facing tough time finding alternate way to continue with their works. More than 150 journalists with these media houses were compelled to stay at home unpaid as owners and editors asked them do citing drop out in advertisement and businesses due to COVID19 , dozens of them compelled to quit jobs. This is utter violation of the professional rights of journalists, the working journalists Act and standards of the Minimum wage.

Though Press Council Nepal, Federation of Nepalese Journalists, the Minimum Wage Fixation Committee urged these big media houses to revoke the decisions to remove journalists from jobs, the latter did not respond to this call.

Kantipur publications-the largest media house has asked more than four dozen staff to stay on unpaid leave. Many of these journalists have continued to work for the publication for the last two decades. The publisher is targeting staff that they wanted to fire long ago such as journalists associated with FNJ and labor unions.

Many of the online news portals across the country and the social media platforms, on the other hand, in recent days are criticized for disseminating false, half baked, distorted and unreliable information making public threatened and terrified. Press Council Nepal (PCN)- has directed numbers of online portals to abide by CoC else be ready to face the consequences. PCN has also recommended for actions to concerned bodies that resulted into to the suspension of such portals.

Threats from political parties and business groups are also seen common these days. The Netra Bahadur Chand (Biplab) led underground party NCP- warned Janastha Online over a news story, local governments’ representatives including ward chairpersons and municipal heads thrashed journalists seeking clarity on the COVID19 related compensation packages. Similarly, business groups and government authorities have been found issuing threats to journalists watching upon frauds of resources during the pandemic.

These cases show that journalists are in multiple crises–power centers favor seeking pressures and that of ethical crisis on their own. This is high time that media remains calm and composed approaching sources for their own safety and the authorities remain intact ensuring free flow of information and the press freedom as guaranteed in the constitution and in the international human rights treaties that Nepal is a state party to.