Media criticised for poor science coverage

Kathmandu, September 26:

Experts today said science journalism should fall under priority of the media for the overall development of the country as envisioned by the government.

Media, they said, have not covered science journalism adequately and have given least priority to science and technology at a national conference on “Mainstreaming Science Journalism in Contemporary Media of Nepal” organised by Nature Nepal (NN), Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and Federation of Nepali Journalists.

Though there are a large number of media organisations — around 5,000 newspapers and magazines, over 70 FM radio stations and eight television channels (according to Department of Information) — very few media have given due importance to science and technology, said Dr Hom Nath Bhattarai, NAST vice-chancellor.

He said since media are the major source of information, they help bridge the gap between scientific world and the general public.

Media should inform the public about the issues of science and technology in a way they could understand, he said.

“Sadly, only the political issues are dominating media and the field has been taking a backseat

at a time when the world has gone far ahead through science and technology,” he said.

Another speaker also rued that media are not highlighting the issues concerning Science and technology. Kapil Mani Acharya, president of Nature Nepal, said the country and people couldn’t progress by putting the issues of science and technology in the backburder. Acharya underscored the need to highlight the importance of science and technology through media.