Kathmandu, April 6

The Federation of Nepali Journalists today issued a press release urging the government to bring a relief package for journalists and media houses that are rendering public service in the face of coronavirus pandemic.

The journalists’ umbrella body also urged the government to insure them and to ensure their safety, continuity of services offered by media outlets and uninterrupted supply of printing materials for media outlets.

FNJ also demanded that the government bring a relief package to provide economic assistance to those journalists who are affected by the current lockdown and carry out regular screening of journalists. It also urged the government to bring relief package for media houses.

FNJ added that the state should play the role of a guardian to boost the confidence of journalists. Stating that spreading rumours at this stage could be more dreadful than COVID-19, FNJ urged journalists to prevent the spread of rumours and to present factbased reports to refute rumours.

FNJ praised journalists for taking risk to make the public aware in the wake of COV- ID-19.

It said the continuous dissemination of news by journalists even in these grim times had reinforced the fact that journalism was a credible sector.

Journalists, who are deployed in the field, need to be more vigilant and exercise more caution as Nepal had recently witnessed local transmission of COVID-19, FNJ stated in its release.

“Our own security is the first and foremost thing. It is the duty of all media outlets to remain safe and to make people aware how they could remain safe during these challenging times,” FNJ stated in its release.

It has also directed all its committees and affiliates to ensure that journalists perform their duties safely.

The FNJ also called the three tiers of government, state bodies, political parties, civil society organisations, professionals and businesspersons to work unitedly to contain the spread of COVID-19 by setting aside their differences.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 07, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.