The Media Council should be a body that has the respect of all the stakeholders
As the House of Representatives (HoR) starts debate on the Media Council Bill, following its passage by the National Assembly after some amendments, the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has voiced its opposition to endorsing it as it is. The bill, which will convert the Press Council Nepal into the Media Council, had generated a lot of controversy ever since the government had registered it in the Upper House in May 2019, in which at least four provisions were found unpalatable to the journalists and the civil society, sensing they would undermine media freedom. Following much hue and cry, the National Assembly has removed the controversial provisions of fine, compensation and punishment from the bill, which had earlier proposed a hefty fine, anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 million, on media outlets, their publishers, editors and journalists for the publication of news that breached the media code of conduct. Instead, a person who claims media outlets have undermined his or her prestige and dignity can directly move the court, and the issue will be settled through the regular judicial process.
The FNJ is now seeking amendment to the provision that allows for the appointment of the office-bearers of the media council through a recommendation committee headed by a government secretary, which, according to it, would give the civil service an upper hand in the recruitment process. An 11-member Media Council has been proposed in the amended bill, from the previously proposed nine members. Accordingly, the council will have one chairperson and 10 members, which includes the president of FNJ and seven representatives from all the seven provinces – three of whom will be elected and three will represent the print, online and broadcast outlets, while one will be a professor of journalism.
The bill proposes that the Media Council should be chaired by a person with at least 10 years' experience in the field and a qualification equal to that of a Supreme Court Justice. The regulatory body's autonomy can, however, be ensured if there is transparency, and not political pressure, in the appointments to the council. A lesser irritant in the bill includes the provision that mandates journalists to obtain a licence to practice journalism. Currently working journalists need not sit for the licence examinations, but fresh ones wishing to enter the field will have to sit for an exam and also have the minimum qualification.
Now that the preamble of the very bill has been amended to state that the Media Council will be an autonomous and competent body, it is only right that the HoR and the government should work towards making it one. Instead of either side trying to have an upper hand on the council, it should be a body that has the respect of all the stakeholders, not the least that of the media fraternity. The FNJ on the other hand must work to see how to maintain the sanctity of the fourth estate, especially in the context that there is so much of fake news and disinformation circulating even in the mainstream media, which is confusing the consumer. Add to this, the growing challenges of the no holds barred social media, and the FNJ has quite a task at hand.
Costly health service
The people in the rural parts of the country still lack access to health services, and they have to travel as far away as the federal capital despite the country having adopted federalism seven years ago.
When the country was federated, it was expected that the people would get health services easily at their doorsteps. All the primary and local health centres are handled by the local levels, but they lack basic health care services. The people still have to visit regional or federal hospitals to have their health checked up or undergo a follow-up.
A report from Bajura states that a Dalit man suffering from renal failure is undergoing treatment at the Bir Hospital with the money borrowed from a local money lender at high interest rates. The government provides free dialysis and also provides Rs 5,000 per month to purchase medicines. But the largesse provided by the government does not cover other costs involved such as renting a room while staying in the capital. Had the government set up a dialysis and kidney transplant facility at the provincial level, the ailing man from Bajura would not have had to travel to Kathmandu for availing health services by mortgaging his entire property. Right to health service is still a far cry in the country.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 5, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.