Govt urges media to uphold ethics while promising dialogue-driven reforms on press freedom, media laws and financial sustainability
KATHMANDU, JULY 5
Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dr Bikram Timilsina on Sunday said press freedom must go hand in hand with responsibility, urging journalists to uphold professional ethics while assuring that the government remains committed to strengthening media freedom through dialogue and institutional reforms.
Addressing the Federation of Nepali Journalists' (FNJ) national conference on "Press Freedom in a Changed Context: Media Law and Responsible Journalism," the minister said the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, but responsible journalism based on facts, evidence and ethics is equally essential to safeguard public trust.
Calling for closer cooperation with the FNJ, Dr Timilsina said the government was ready for continuous dialogue to address issues ranging from media laws and public advertisement distribution to the financial sustainability of media houses and journalists' professional security.
He urged the federation to adopt a solution-oriented approach instead of street protests, saying lasting reforms could only be achieved through consultation and consensus.
The minister also stressed the need to distinguish between factual reporting, misinformation and deliberate disinformation, warning that the spread of false information undermines both journalism and democracy.
Dr Timilsina said the government plans to strengthen the Press Council Nepal as a more credible regulatory body while encouraging greater self-regulation within the media sector. He also reiterated that the government has no policy of suppressing information and that any removal of news content would be contrary to journalistic ethics.
Speaking at the conference, FNJ Chairperson Nirmala Sharma highlighted the challenges facing Nepal's media industry and called for a broader national debate on media laws, press freedom and responsible journalism.
