This northern Thai city had a carnival atmosphere last week as 280 international digital media people descended on its university ground for the <a href="https://www.splicemedia.com/beta-2023" target="_blank">Splice Beta 2023</a> festival. Funders of startups, those starting new media ventures, content creators, journalists, editors, and entrepreneurs gathered to share experiences about how to survive and thrive in the new media landscape. This year’s special focus was on users, figuring out their special needs and how new media can be financially sustainable by providing them the information they need.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_6d599ad4d1e5d3b1976483dd10451b2ff68485ae90e0e9cd5b75756e873c527f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231114061140_6d599ad4d1e5d3b1976483dd10451b2ff68485ae90e0e9cd5b75756e873c527f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> <figcaption>Philip Smith of Journalism Growth Lab at his session on measuring impact of startups.</figcaption> </figure>  “The elephant in the room is the user,” explained <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alansoon73/?img_index=1" target="_blank">Alan Soon</a> of &nbsp;<a href="https://www.splicemedia.com/" target="_blank">Splice</a> Media. “The work of media startups and creators is meaningless if it isn’t valuable for the user of that information.” He added: “The future of media is not news-centred, ad-driven and content-based. It is user-centred, demand-driven and interest-based.” In his session on defining success of a media startup, Philip Smith of Journalism Growth Lab underlined the importance of measuring genuine impact. “Many startups fail because they are putting information out there that nobody wants,” he said, admitting that in countries where media freedoms are curtailed, reach may be difficult to quantify.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_a270dfcde9f5ea117ccfb601fd6c6157a60efb50a7dc133ef6faa0284ae39735.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231114061140_a270dfcde9f5ea117ccfb601fd6c6157a60efb50a7dc133ef6faa0284ae39735" data-rendition-name="original" width="1382" height="744" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> <figcaption>Roman Gautam and Neha Rajbhandari of Himal Southasian explain the 35-year-old magazine's newsletter and membership program.</figcaption> </figure>  “Ultimately, whatever you do has to work well as a business and the viability of the venture has to be clear from the very start,” Smith told a packed audience. &nbsp; The two-day festival at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Mass Communications had workshops, training and coaching classes on podcasting, fundraising for startups, newsletters and membership programs, AI, and combatting disinformation. &nbsp; Some 150 media companies from 57 countries attended the festival, with many of them using the event for networking and knowledge sharing. &nbsp;&nbsp; “We are not talking about the future of journalism, the future is already here,” said Splice co-founder <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rishadismyname/?img_index=1">Rishad Patel</a>. “Journalism isn’t in trouble, the traditional ad-driven mass media model is.” &nbsp; The Philippine digital news portal Rappler won the $32,000 AI in Journalism Challenge at the Splice Beta Journalism Festival. The competition had shortlisted 12 newsrooms from all over the world in August out of 113 applicants which wanted to use AI tools more productively to turn their stories into user-friendly formats.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_d03d6563c902a4352f4c770c44b249a9e2cb69ccc454a0ebfb6fc5aba88786c8.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20231114061140_d03d6563c902a4352f4c770c44b249a9e2cb69ccc454a0ebfb6fc5aba88786c8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1066" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> </figure>  Rappler, which was founded by Nobel Prize-winning Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, was deemed by a panel of judges to have developed the most creative use of AI to turn its investigative stories into visual content more appealing to its young users. Rappler’s AI product is known by its acronym TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t read) and transforms its text-based news stories into interactive infographics, charts, photos and video capsules optimised for social media posts. At a demonstration last week at Splice Beta in Chiang Mai, Rappler came ahead of other online newsrooms like Brazil’s Agencia Publica, The Conversation from Indonesia, Zamaneh Media based in The Netherlands, and Cuestion Publica of Colombia. Zamaneh Media is an independent newsroom based in Amsterdam which is part of the Network of Exiled Media Outlets (NEMO) that was also a participant at the Chiang Mai festival last week and includes the Burmese media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231114061140_e07bf835fec4456941ff04ad27b6cb8c9db09fa07d01d551787217012a115259.png" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231114061140_e07bf835fec4456941ff04ad27b6cb8c9db09fa07d01d551787217012a115259" data-rendition-name="original" width="1196" height="1150" loading="lazy" alt="Splice Beta 2023 NT"> </figure>  “This is an important event for the media operating in exile to empower each other with knowledge-sharing so that we &nbsp;can inform the world about the countries they are from,” said Sudeshna Chanda of Zamaneh.&nbsp; The Splice Beta festival coincided with news from Kathmandu last week that the popular Nepali online media outlets Setopati had decided to adopt a premium subscription model for its content due to falling revenue from advertising. On Monday, Nepal’s governing coalition cabinet<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rattled-by-criticism-nepal-bans-tiktok"> decided to ban the wildly popular Tiktok platform</a>, saying it was inciting social disharmony. &nbsp;&nbsp; Nepali participants at the festival included journalists from Himalmedia, Herne Katha and Himal Southasian.

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The future of journalism is already here

Us journalists have always believed that informing the public is our job and it is the editors who decide what the public needs to know.&nbsp;
In the past, the modes for sharing information were limited: when something happened, a reporter would go interview witnesses or experts, write up the story, and news agencies distributed the news. This monopoly over selection, production and dissemination convinced media owners that they owned and controlled content, and defined its price.&nbsp;
The media business is about mass producing news and getting revenue from subscriptions and advertisements to pay for it. It was any other product and media companies believed the public should pay for news because it cost them to cover it.&nbsp;
Till recently, we were forced to consume whatever the mainstream media dished out. Gatekeepers at radio, tv and newspapers gave the audience what they thought they wanted, not what they needed. &nbsp;
This left the media ill-prepared for the Internet era when competition became stiff and audiences had the freedom over format and a global reach.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/investigation-introspection-and-investment-in-media">Investigation, introspection, and investment in media</a>
While in a hurry to adopt the next shiny thing, publishers gave away for free what they previously sold. Readers anywhere could access the product, which was regularly updated and more conveniently available on their monitors, free of charge.
Audience habits had changed, but the Nepali media and its business model did not. The new online portals that emerged in the 2000s and 2010s followed the footsteps of legacy publishers, and they are now the legacy media — depending on advertising.&nbsp;
Most users in Nepal are not paying for online news, many are not even going to new sites, but to YouTube and TikTok entertainment. Publishers rarely know how many are willing to pay or can be persuaded to pay.
While surviving on 100% paywalls, membership or subscriptions is still a far-fetched dream in Nepal, reader revenue can help increase accountability among publishers and, in turn, trust from the audience.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/media-melee-in-the-age-of-ai">Media mêlée in the age of AI</a>, Kunda Dixit
Much of the digital boom in Nepali media happened alongside Facebook. Which is why many mainstream publishers did not think about establishing themselves as a destination, a homepage to come home to. They relied instead on traffic that Facebook, Twitter and other platforms brought in.
These same platforms allow people to communicate directly and have proven to be good at helping them to share information. They can now easily find what they need without relying on journalists.
But there is much Facebook users need to know beyond what they share among friends. That is where journalism comes in — to report and investigate, add context and explain, to fact check and debunk assumptions.
Recently social media platforms have been weaponised to deface media itself. This week, Twitter in Nepal has been abuzz with a leaked audio clip of a conversation between a noted tv anchor and an interviewee, in which the latter asks when the interview will be aired. The journalist is heard explaining that while the program is ready, the station was still waiting for sponsors.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/journalism-is-all-about-storytelling-and-money">Journalism is all about storytelling (and money)</a>
Most comments on the thread attack the anchor, saying this is one more proof that the media is for sale and how news is not aired unless there is money involved. There were some journalists and others who defended the anchor, saying that is how tv functions anyway. But the damage was done.&nbsp;
Public trust in the media is wavering. A 2022 survey by Sharecast Initiative showed that &nbsp;for 76% of Nepalis, friends, family and neighbours were the primary source for local news and information: for national and international news it was 50%. Both were followed by Facebook, radio, YouTube and tv.
Media literacy in Nepal is low. Audiences confuse mainstream media for social media, opinion, or unfiltered content for news, and YouTubers for professional journalists. But pushing the accountability towards the audience is not the answer when the question is what can journalists do to change this.
Just when its role in safeguarding democracy and press freedom has become more important than ever before, journalism struggles to survive and retain its relevance. This ends up undermining the independent check-and-balance role of the fourth estate in defending democracy.
All this may look discouraging, but the internet, like all technologies, has always been a double edged sword. The only way out now is to compete with the entertainment-filled social channels and information pages masking as news sites, by focusing both on the content and the medium.
More than ever before, the medium is the message.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">The new news age</a>, Sonia Awale

Monopoly on information

The theme of this year’s Himal Media Mela is ‘Trust and Introspection’, highlighting the need for journalism to reinvent itself and regain its credibility for impact.&nbsp;
We face much of the same issues in Nepal and worldwide as we did last year: political disarray and a looming economic crisis at home, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Sino-US Cold War, and more evidence of record breaking heat that is an ominous sign of climate breakdown.&nbsp;
The only difference is that this year, all of these crises have got worse.
In Nepal, we have more or less the same leaders, the same disputes, the same reactive media content that we have seen over the past two decades. Besides trying to find a new role for journalism in the age of AI, Nepal’s traditional press also has to turn the gaze on itself.&nbsp;
Because of its relentless emphasis on the negative, journalism tends to make citizens cynical. Despite our disillusionment with politics, Nepal’s human development parameters have improved, voters showed in last week’s by-elections that there is a groundswell of support for reform, and unlike other countries in the region Nepalis are still free to complain about how miserable we are. Nepal is a relatively open society, and to a certain extent there is rule of law.
Let us hope we can build on this in the coming decade of the 2080s BS. But imagine how much further we might have been if there had been a peace dividend after 2006, better governance and transparency in the years since.
And now the country faces the twin challenge of the Himalaya being both a climate and geopolitical hotspot. The media landscape has also changed drastically in the past year, as it has the world over. Mobile internet has spread further, bandwidth has expanded. This has led to shorter attention spans, and a mass migration of users to social media platforms. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Across the world and the region, there are ominous signs of democracy in retreat. In the past year, the independent judiciary, the legislature and the executive have all been further weakened in the world’s largest democracy to our south. And to the north, we have the Great Firewall of China. &nbsp;
At a time when we need a robust and independent media to tackle global crises like climate collapse and the steady depletion of freedoms, the press as we knew it is weaker than ever before. The legacy media now also includes digital portals, and both our business models are collapsing. Independent journalism is even more vulnerable to political and corporate pressure, undermining our public service role.&nbsp;
Newspapers, tv stations and portals in Nepal do not compete with each other, we compete with Google and Facebook and independent content providers.&nbsp;
Nepal’s media industry, supported by private sector advertising, was the amplifier of every sphere of development: health, education, business, science, culture and heritage, the arts and technology. That role has eroded.
And all this is happening as news competes with entertainment for collective attention. The publishing industry is no longer a one-way street from newsrooms to doorsteps. It is an eight-lane highway of interactive websites, apps and comment threads. And now, we are all hurtling into this long dark tunnel called Artificial Intelligence without knowing what is on the other side.
Maria Ressa calls this “toxic sludge of anger and conspiracy a pipeline of hate, a hyper socialisation, and the tyranny of trends”. How is media going to survive algorithmic radicalisation to manufacture customised mass persuasion? Facts do not matter anymore, fact-checking doesn’t seem to make a difference when codes make us distrust everything and everyone. Traditional mass media is no longer the gatekeeper. Everyone is now guarding their own doors and windows.
Over Wednesday and Thursday, the Himal Media Mela will hear from practitioners and supporters of media from Nepal and the region on how journalism can keep up with these changes, be meaningful, and survive into the future.&nbsp;
Readers and viewers will not come to us, our content has to go where they are. If facts do not change things, we have to tell our stories better. We have to be explainers and share how we do the stories we do, and why they are important. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Excerpted from Welcome Address to Himal Media Mela on 3 May 2023.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">The new news age</a>, Sonia Awale

Kunda Dixit

Media mêlée in the age of AI

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237d69c7e80680e0c7351jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="746" height="560"/><figcaption>Photo: MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA</figcaption></figure>The freedom of press is like a rubber band, you have to stretch it to make it work. Likewise, media independence can only be protected by its maximum application.That is why we have to make a distinction between day-to-day reporting and investigative journalism. In-depth coverage requires patience, difficult and dangerous work, time and resources.Attending a press conference or transcribing a media release alone will not protect press freedom. It is also difficult to justify standing up for the independence of media if it is partisan, or succumbs to clickbait.An investigative journalist’s job is to expose wrongdoing. After that, the other institutions in a democracy are supposed to take over: law enforcement, the court system, elected leaders.In Nepal and across the world, even in countries with long traditions of pluralism, tolerance and rule of law, democracy today is in retreat. When all three pillars of democracy (legislature, judiciary and the executive) are tottering, it is up to the fourth estate to prop up the superstructure of  state.It does this by being impartial and fair, and shining a torch in the darkness where those in power hide secrets that are in the public’s interest. Freedom of press is not just the freedom of a journalist, we in the media are just custodians of the citizens’ right to information.The best test that investigative journalism is impactful is when it speaks truth to power, and it rattles those that weird it. Presidents have been forced to resign after exposés by investigative journalists in the United States and the Philippines.In the past 25 years, the Centre of Investigative Journalism-Nepal (CIJ-N) may not have ousted a prime minister here, but it has constantly rocked the boat, exposed wrongdoing and injustice, and afflicted the comfortable.It is not easy doing investigative journalism in Nepal. The country may not be small, but it has a small elite in which the centres of power, businesses and media owners overlap. Everyone knows everyone else, and they often scratch each other's backs. This is why the art of media questioning is not as developed in Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131140/637237d99c7e80680e0c7352jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Already suffering from shrinking readership due to the proliferation of social networking platforms, the legacy media was hit by the Covid pandemic. Lately, the rise in fuel and food prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further undermined the media’s advertising and sales revenue.The collapse of the media’s business model has coincided with the crisis of democracy in our neighbouring countries and around the world — at a time when investigative journalism is needed more than ever to widen the media’s independence.Nepal’s broadsheets do not compete with each other, but with Facebook. Television channels should not be thinking in terms of TRP anymore because their actual revenue rival is TikTok.The world’s biggest and oldest democracies treat the rule of law as sacrosanct, but by manipulating the internet with troll armies and bot factories, demagogues are getting themselves elected. Fanning populism, ultra-nationalism, racism and hate speech make an explosive potion to mobilise citizens disenchanted with traditional politics.Trump may have been defeated, but Trumpism is alive and well. In the Philippines, history has come a full circle with Bong Bong Marcos getting himself elected by weaponising the social web.About India, the less said the better. It is a lesson for us in Nepal not to take our freedoms for granted. One of the last remaining independent television channels, NDTV, was bought by a Modi crony and the world’s third-richest man, Gautam Adani.The legacy press must become much more savvy in using internet platforms, and if necessary, even borrow some of the tricks of the trade. The mainstream media must be in the business of immediately correcting falsehoods, rumours and ‘alternative facts’.Newsrooms must have the digital visual skills so that investigative stories are not just told, but shown. Journalism has a new role and responsibility: to analyse, interpret and explain raw, live information on the net, and to offer solutions at a time of spreading cynicism and despair worldwide.The old media is not dead yet, and we need it more than ever to tame a wild new media that is reaching adolescence.Kunda Dixit is publisher of Nepali Times. Excerpt from a keynote presentation at the 25th Anniversary function of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Nepal on 2 September 2022.

Investing in investigative journalism

<img width="1250" height="1220" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722f889c7e80680e0c251fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>A <a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook page</a> started by a student to inform citizens about power cuts and political shutdowns has in 11 short years grown into Nepal’s most popular media enterprise.At a time when the mainstream press and digital portals struggle to survive, Routine of Nepal Banda (RONB) is not only a vital source of information for millions of Nepalis in the country and the diaspora but even makes money while doing so.Victor Paudel had just finished his SLC exam in 2011 at a time of unstable coalition politics and when parties would routinely enforce nationwide shutdowns. So, he opened the RONB Facebook page to provide the public information about the strikes, and its effect on ordinary citizens. It was an instant hit, and the bilingual page became a go-to source of information not just on  shutdowns, but also loadshedding timetables, resource for patients seeking blood donors, and even an effective lost-and-found platform for missing passports and other valuables. RONB’s followers grew exponentially in 2015 after the earthquake, when hundreds of thousands of families spent months in tents and found the Facebook site a prompt and credible resource readily available on their mobiles. It got another boost in the past two years of lockdowns, when home-bound Nepalis gravitated by the thousands to its Facebook page for the latest information on the pandemic. Today, RONB has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3.4 million followers on Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/routineofnepalbanda/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1.1 million on Instagram</a>, nearly 475k followers on Twitter, and his <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@routineofnepalbanda?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TikTok</a> posts regularly get half a million views. It also has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/RoutineofNepalBanda" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube channel </a>and a <a href="https://ronbpost.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">homepage</a> that looks more like a regular media portal. RONB is now registered as a private limited media company, and has spawned many imitators. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/paradigm-shift-in-nepali-media/">Paradigm shift in Nepali media</a>, Shristi Karki <img width="1250" height="939" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722f8c9c7e80680e0c2520jpeg.jpg" alt="">RONB perfected a formula of targeting Nepali youth with mostly user-generated content that is relevant and reliable, and complementing the reach of the mainstream press with photo, video and text submissions by thousands of citizen journalists all over the country. The brand’s rapid rise was possible because of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/election-infowar-goes-digital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spread of mobile data connectivity</a> in Nepal. The number of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/facebook-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook users in Nepal</a> has expanded from barely 1.2 million in 2011 to nearly 13 million today, although growth has slowed as users migrate to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/huge-uptick-in-tiktok-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TikTok</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube</a>. More than 90% of Nepalis today own mobiles, and 67% smartphones.RONB was not an overnight phenomenon: it has taken a decade of curating the content for positivity, relevance and credibility. Users prefer its snapshots of Nepali life and its interactive nature. Most posts have thousands of comments, and the sites look like a constant conversation in the Nepali public sphere. The RONB sites are especially popular among overseas Nepalis, who do not want to be overwhelmed with information overload, and prefer the news in easy-to-digest snippets. Feedback in the comments section often addresses Victor Paudel with the intimate “रुटिने दाइ”.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/">The message is the medium</a>, Editorial <img width="1250" height="988" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722f909c7e80680e0c2521jpeg.jpg" alt="">“For the past ten years, I have associated Routine of Nepal Banda with factual news,” says Avishek Bist, an engineering student in the UAE. “I know that this page takes its content seriously.”Users also seem to like its positive take on happenings in Nepal, at a time when much of the mainstream press is filled with news of corruption in high places, political intrigue and cynical op-eds. While the legacy media’s social media posts with links to stories may get a few hundred likes if they are lucky, RONB’s uploads regularly hit tens of thousands of likes and shares. RONB has seen a steady increase in its following ever since it started, and it does not show any signs of stopping, according to <a href="https://socialblade.com/facebook/page/officialroutineofnepalbanda" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">socialblade.com</a>. After ignoring it for a decade, Nepal’s business community, advertisers and politicians finally appear to be taking notice of its reach. RONB is now monetising its content, and accepts product placements through native advertising, although Victor Paudel has said in interviews that he is selective about brands that he promotes to ensure quality and reliability. The language also avoids hard sell, and most paid posts are subtle and read like regular content.Politicians also appear to have taken notice. Much of the success in mobilising young voters in Kathmandu to elect rapper-engineer Balen Shah as mayor has been attributed to video posts from his campaign trail. Past RONB posts on its Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube accounts show that the site actively promotes independent mayoral candidates like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/posts/?q=balen%20shah&amp;filters=eyJycF9hdXRob3IiOiJ7XCJuYW1lXCI6XCJhdXRob3JcIixcImFyZ3NcIjpcIjIxMzYxMzM1MjAwNDc5OVwifSJ9&amp;epa=FILTERS" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Balen Shah</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/posts/?q=harka%20sampang&amp;filters=eyJycF9hdXRob3IiOiJ7XCJuYW1lXCI6XCJhdXRob3JcIixcImFyZ3NcIjpcIjIxMzYxMzM1MjAwNDc5OVwifSJ9&amp;epa=FILTERS" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harka Sampang in Dharan</a>.Nepal’s mainstream parties appear worried about the rise of the independents in local elections, and the impact this is having on provincial and federal elections in November. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur <a href="https://www.setopati.com/politics/274639/?fbclid=IwAR3mB6eBLlJA1k3c-B-WCcb_nRO5Ff7hY9anxLPlxvyV2WFn4zlw_EkajO4">Deuba’s wife Arzu last month accused RONB of being in Balen Shah’s payroll</a>.“How much did Balen Shah pay RONB for publicity on Facebook?” she asked at a rally of the youth wing of her ruling Nepali Congress party.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/protecting-free-speech-on-nepals-cybersphere/">Protecting free speech on Nepal’s cybersphere</a>, Sabina DevkotaNepali Times tried to reach out to Victor Paudel about these allegations, but he has not yet responded to our request for comment. A review of RONB posts in the past weeks have scant mention of some of the blowback that Mayor Shah has been getting for the eviction of sidewalk vendors, a <a href="https://youtu.be/-KkVrZ4hYLw?t=40" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">video clip of his slurred speech at a recent function</a>, and his controversial <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/131048" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcement to erect a statue of fellow rapper, the late Yama Buddha</a>. RONB appears to be doing a delicate balancing act to ensure revenue without sacrificing the credibility that has given it enormous following. Now that RONB is a media company, critics say, it would be advisable to stick to the strict separation of paid content and news. In a country with low media literacy like Nepal, paid content on Facebook can easily be mistaken for news, like a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda/photos/a.280658978633569/6324655277567212/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent sponsored post on RONB promoting a local college for its outstanding results</a>.  However, it is a case of letting those without sin cast the first stone. Nepal’s legacy press often mixes advertising with news, and there have been complaints of extortion by mainstream journalists threatening public figures with damaging content.   There are also positive outcomes from RONB posts. Avinash Gyawali’s career took off when he was barely 18 after his photo appeared on a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda/posts/2088447244521391" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">congratulatory post</a> in 2018. “Suddenly, my friends and family treated me like a celebrity, I was getting calls from distant relatives congratulating me for simply appearing on the Facebook page,” he said in an interview. Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/media-as-the-custodian-of-people/"> Media as the custodian of people</a>, Nepali Times  <img width="1250" height="1082" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722f939c7e80680e0c2522jpeg.jpg" alt="">As part of its positive news slant, RONB regularly features inspirational people like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/search/posts/?q=kulman%20ghising&amp;filters=eyJycF9hdXRob3IiOiJ7XCJuYW1lXCI6XCJhdXRob3JcIixcImFyZ3NcIjpcIjIxMzYxMzM1MjAwNDc5OVwifSJ9&amp;epa=FILTERS" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NEA’s Kulman Ghising</a>, or posts heart-warming profiles of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda/posts/6098937250139017" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">local tea-sellers</a>. However, questions arise when it carries upbeat posts like a recent one about about <a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda/posts/5951982941501116" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gopal Hamal</a> being an ‘inspirational businessman in politics’.Victor Paudel has said in interviews that he “triple-checks facts”, and it is indeed this careful fact-checking of user-generated content that has earned RONB its loyal following for accuracy. It will be interesting to see how RONB’s need to monetise will sit with its emphasis on credible information. RONB has a successful business model because of extremely low overheads, with Paudel reportedly still doing <a href="https://dwitnews.com/index.php/archive/article/routine-of-nepal-bandha?fbclid=IwAR0Mi50llUEgC5SdXK_ckn14GHfU9mE7tpJ3ehu57iNcetVBRW8kwoyDkow" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">most of the uploading himself with a small team</a>, while revenue from paid posts, sponsored content, Google Adsense and other social media income keep rising. So much so that Routine of Nepal Banda now regularly sponsors IT events, provides scholarships to students and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda/posts/pfbid02NEYP5qhTJMc3F7q6Juouvqh74ZkvcBwYZ2scF3qsUUhVnFrX8YjJYCg9XLSZhq4yl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">donates to a charity for treatment of burn patient</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/officialroutineofnepalbanda/posts/pfbid02NEYP5qhTJMc3F7q6Juouvqh74ZkvcBwYZ2scF3qsUUhVnFrX8YjJYCg9XLSZhq4yl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">s</a>.We may have to go no further than the way legacy media has tried to balance sponsored content with news to find out how RONB will handle its future role in Nepal’s cybersphere.  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/press-for-people/">Press for people</a>, Sahina Shrestha

RONB's media model, decade in the making

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/6372175b9c7e80680e0ba9e1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="334"/>All of us here in Assdom were pleasantly surprised this week to see that Nepal’s rankings in the World Press Freedom Index has improved by leaps and bounds to #76 from #106 one year ago. The list was released on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May by Reporters Without Borders, but it is not clear if Nepal did better this year because all other countries did worse, or if it was because we Nepalis have the same freedom as that enjoyed by the wild ass on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.Nevertheless, and be that as it may, what it means is that Nepalis are even freer now to complain about how miserable we are than we were in 2021. Putting this together with the World Happiness Report released by the UN in March that listed Nepal as the merriest country in South Asia, it can only mean one thing — that Nepalis are happiest when they are allowed to whine and dine.Cynicism aside, let us rejoice at the hard-won freedoms we enjoy to poke fun at Comrade Sher Budder Deuba without any fear of being led off to the gallows. Where else in the world would a reporter be allowed to breach security protocols by barging into Air Farce One to interview the prime minister of Nepal, and stream it live on his YouTube channel?But what I am much more concerned about is how come Sishi Dhamala could sneak into Business Class and imbibe free cocktails without an upgrade to Chyangra Class by the Erstwhile Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (ERNAC)?However, what this incident proved is that Nepal’s journalists will leave no stone overturned, will go over with a fine-tooth comb, will brook no quarters, will test the limits of their constitutionally guaranteed rights, to comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable, from the safety of their comfort zones, and let the potato chips fall where they may.Television talk show hosts have shown that when the argument during a live election broadcast gets heated, they will not shy away from drawing sword and challenging the interviewee to a duel on camera.Nepal’s press is so free that the Ministry of Disinformation and Newspeak does not believe in blaming the messenger anymore, it will try to jail them. Especially if they upload irreverent music videos on YouTube about corruption in high places.Nepali media takes its adversarial role seriously and uses its freedom to publish every hearsay fit to print. We do not take for granted the freedoms granted us in the Constitution, and will not hesitate to take to Twitter to lynch anyone who disagrees with us even slightly.We do not think twice about praising the 5-Party Coalition (Pvt) Ltd, we only think once. Thanks to these freedoms, we will kowtow when asked to only take a bow. We will always be prepared to print handouts in exchange for handouts. We will not accept envelopes from our sources — unless it has hard cash in it.And unlike some other professions, we are not the type to take the dough and run. No, we pocket the money, return the envelope, deduct 13% VAT and give a receipt, and adhere strictly to our journalistic code of ethics to loyally toe the party line in return.Unless someone gives us a thicker envelope.

Ass s

Freedom of the wild ass

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217279c7e80680e0ba9d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"/><figcaption>Keynote speaker Ravish Kumar, senior editor of NDTV India. All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Ravish Kumar, group editor of NDTV India, opened the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/himal-media-mela-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himal Media Mela</a> with his keynote speech on the Connectivity in the Age of Disinformation, commenting on the state of media in South Asia, and across the world.Journalist Chandra Kishore, Chair of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, introduced the Ramon Magsaysay Award-winning television journalist, describing him as a beacon of journalism for people at the margins dominated by political and corporate interests.Kumar commented on the state of Indian media, describing it as a ‘militia without a gun’ that is in a class of its own even among the bad examples that litter the history of global media.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372172c9c7e80680e0ba9d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Kumar with Chandra Kishor, chair of Centre for Investigative Journalism Nepal</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372172f9c7e80680e0ba9d5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Welcome speech by co-publisher of Himalmedia, organiser of the Himal Media Mela 2022.</figcaption></figure>The journalist noted how the development of media technology had informed traditional and social media, and led to the evolution of a ‘WhatsApp University’ which spreads disinformation.“There is a myth that the information revolution went on to aid democracy around the world, and that might have been the case in the beginning,” he said, adding that the internet soon came to be dominated by the same corporate interests as traditional media.Kumar warned Nepal must be on constant alert for any contradictions and compromises that the press needs to make that will eventually take away the essence of the press and the meaning for the profession.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217339c7e80680e0ba9d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Panel 1: Election, Fake News and Media Literacy</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637217379c7e80680e0ba9d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Sama Thapa</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372173b9c7e80680e0ba9d8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Umesh Shrestha</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372173e9c7e80680e0ba9d9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800"><figcaption>Ramkrishna Regmi</figcaption></figure>“Across the world, the press is being weakened in countries led by those who are called ‘global leaders’, and those who pride themselves on being a free press,” says Kumar."Nepali media is one of the freer media today, and that comes with a responsibility to find methods to educate ourselves on how to be citizens,” said the award-winning journalist, urging the public to read, question, and fact-check every information that they come across.“Make the effort to find multiple sources of information.”"Just because some democracies are powerful does not mean they always deliver the truth it is the socio-political climate determines what the mainstream press and digital media platform choose to amplify.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217429c7e80680e0ba9dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Panel 2: Ethical and Responsible Journalism</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217469c7e80680e0ba9dbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Sona Khatik</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217499c7e80680e0ba9dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Prateek Pradhan</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/6372174c9c7e80680e0ba9ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption>Yubaraj Ghimire</figcaption></figure>“Those who own media are not involved in the struggle for press freedom,” said Kumar, “ The responsibility for media content lies not on corporations, but squarely on the citizens who bear the most consequences from it.”Said Kumar: “The self cannot be enslaved in the name of freedom,  which has its own pace. Sometimes freedom may seem absent or lost, but it always comes back.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217509c7e80680e0ba9dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637217549c7e80680e0ba9dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2731"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Kumar’s keynote speech was followed by a signing of his book (pictured above) The Free Voice: On Democracy, Culture and the Nation in English and its Nepali translation.

Media as the custodian of people

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/6372170b9c7e80680e0ba9c9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>This year, Nepal leapfrogged to 76 among 180 countries, up from last year’s 106, in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/internet-in-everything/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Press Freedom</a> Index. Reporters without Borders ranked India 150, down from 142 last year. Pakistan slipped to 157.Nepal has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/himal-media-mela-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one of the freest media in a region</a> where the mediascape is increasingly constricted by state and corporate control. But this does not mean it will stay that way. Nepal has seen periods of direct <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/censuring-censorship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press censorship</a> in the past when successive governments tried to regulate the public sphere.The state has left the mainstream press alone, but there are ongoing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/gagging-the-press-in-installments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attempts to restrict freedom of expression</a> through draft bills and laws, often in the guise of controlling hate speech, fake news, or mis-and dis-information on the internet.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/digital-discrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Digital discrimination</a>, JB BiswokarmaTo be sure, Nepal’s cybersphere is rife with harmful and often manipulative interaction, misogyny, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-social-media-contagion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">misinformation</a>, incitement to violence, conspiracy theories, and content with toxic overtones. These have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/online-trolls-bots-snoopers-imperil-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">real-world implications for democracy</a>, as we have seen recently in neighbouring countries.But the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">internet is double-edged</a>. Social media provides a platform for the traditionally neglected and discriminated to be heard. It has leveled the field so <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/social-movement-through-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">everyone has a voice</a>. The downtrodden do not have to fight for access to the national press anymore.However, those voices are often lost in the long tail of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/digital-discrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital information</a> overload. Search engine algorithms still give priority to mainstream sites and blue ticks.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/internet-in-everything/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Internet in everything</a>, EditorialSocial media is now the primary source of raw information, serving as both a producer and a disseminator of content. This reliance on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/so-you-want-to-quit-facebook/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">social media</a> has also meant that, for better or worse, it has affected how journalists and their media outlets perform their job.For news publishers and readers, social media has decreased market entry costs and expanded reach. But at the same time, there is no distinction between the role of content creators and news curators.Whereas <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/journalism-is-not-a-crime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">journalism</a> draws a clear line between news and views, the same is not true for internet content. Still, most Nepalis do not draw a distinction between comments on Facebook and links to news pieces on the Facebook wall of mainstream outlets.Read also: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/himal-media-mela-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himal Media Mela 2022</a>On the other hand, print-centric attitudes pervade newsrooms. Many editors and reporter regard digital content as being of inferior quality, not as credible and not ‘serious journalism’.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Surveys</a> may show that the Nepali audience has high trust in print and broadcast outlets, but most get their news and information through the social web.Journalists often bemoan the rise of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTubers</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/huge-uptick-in-tiktok-during-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TikTokers</a> and other influencers, but rarely analyse why that is happening. On online social spaces, people now have the power and platform to discuss issues that are ignored by the mainstream press, and set their own agenda.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-death-of-print-is-exaggerated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s legacy media</a> still has one foot in print or tv, and a toetip on the internet. Most have not yet figured out whether their digital identity is a continuation of their traditional role, or a transformation.For legacy media to gain trust and traction in the digital space, it needs to shift focus from attention grabbing sensational headlines to credible insight, explainers, and a focus on what users want and need to make sense of what is happening around them. Call it public service media in the digital age.To maintain public trust and keep its numbers up, we need to engage with users, make news production more inclusive, participatory, transparent and human.Sahina Shrestha is Editor Online of Nepali Times.

Sahina Shrestha

Press for people

The Advertising Association Nepal, Nepal Media Society, ANFA, Media Alliance Nepal, and Nepal Beverages and Cigarettes Industries Association have issued a joint statement opposing the Nepal Advertisement Board’s ban on ads of alcoholic beverages in the print media.The ban is unlikely to reduce consumption, the statement say, calling instead for placements that do not actively promote drinking. As per global standards, there are next to no restrictions on the advertisements of alcoholic beverages. It urges the Board to reverse the ban to prevent further losses for the struggling media sector that derives its revenue from liquor adverisiting.

Ban on alcohol ads

<figure><img width="1914" height="1078" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfd739c7e80680e0a0be5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>TOLOnews female presenter Beheshta Arghand interviewing Taliban spokesperson Mawlawi Abdulhaq Hemad on 17 August. Photo: TOLONews</figcaption></figure>Steven Butler describes it as “mass panic.” As the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator has been fielding “hundreds and hundreds” of daily pleas from journalists asking for help to flee the country.Butler, along with CPJ Asia research associate Sonali Dhawan and the organisation’s Emergencies team, are now in the process of vetting those requests.Many Afghan journalists told CPJ they are too afraid to speak on the record. To get a picture of what’s happening on the ground, I spoke to Butler and Dhawan via video about what they have learned. Their interview has been edited for length and clarity.CPJ contacted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid for comment via messaging app but received no response. CPJ also emailed the US State Department for comment but received no response; several calls to the US military failed to connect.When did CPJ begin getting requests for help from Afghan journalists?Butler: The requests for help from journalists who wanted to leave Afghanistan because they saw the Taliban coming started early this year. It was a trickle at the time and then it started to crescendo in July and increased by early August.We are getting hundreds and hundreds of requests for help every day now. Many of them are journalists and some of them are not journalists, they are just trying to find a way out. It has completely flooded our system. We are doing the best we can. We have four people working on analysing and looking into individual cases.We value our reputation for thorough documentation on everything we do and are applying our same standard to this — we are trying to document the cases as the best we can, because we are recommending them to the US government for emergency evacuation.What can you tell us about the <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=tAXPZ997p8VyLOXlEG5WpXOYJYccbznnQXx7atpHJ0Y9PHCkdDZJCw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3DtAXPZ997p8VyLOXlEG5WpXOYJYccbznnQXx7atpHJ0Y9PHCkdDZJCw&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828623000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGCqxZ-wUJ8YMOcX2o7uKDtOES31w">chaotic scenes</a> at the airport and what it means for journalists?Butler: As of Tuesday the area has been secured and there is a perimeter. Anytime you have a military perimeter you have a problem, because there is an outside and there is an inside, and the outside is going to be controlled by the Taliban in one way or another, so the challenge has been to figure out how to get people through an insecure situation on the streets of Kabul, how to get them checked in through this military perimeter including additional checks by the U.S. military, and then get them on to flights. We have had people that have failed to get through.Why are Afghan journalists so desperate to leave?Butler: As the Taliban have extended their control over the provinces, we have seen them close down media outfits and <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=3fUbZQcSQYFqWpL-dwGEB-4MS14XqK8R6sw7iAugpFl_CbEaiXS6YQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3D3fUbZQcSQYFqWpL-dwGEB-4MS14XqK8R6sw7iAugpFl_CbEaiXS6YQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH3U94F5cWgjTNsQM6z8fSoaio6Tg">substitute their own personnel</a>. That hasn’t always led to people being killed or put in prison necessarily, but nonetheless journalists in Afghanistan are concerned that they are going to be pushed out of their profession — at the minimum. There are a number of very prominent journalists who have been harassed or chased by the Taliban and who have gone into hiding.What specific threats against journalists are you hearing about?Dhawan: Journalists who identify as women and ethnic minorities, specifically the Hazara, are at particular risk. The Hazara are an ethnic minority group who were <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=8nGSPAHFTNAWHtl_cNVp0Wa-r7pbWq-QxXfogE0UCQrF2RSlaPPrhA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3D8nGSPAHFTNAWHtl_cNVp0Wa-r7pbWq-QxXfogE0UCQrF2RSlaPPrhA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHqhW6Cirn_7bswdFN_VSBwiX3r5g">subject to mass killings</a> during the Taliban regime in the late 1990s. Journalists who have critically covered the Taliban are also terrified.I spoke to a journalist who was covering the Taliban takeover of a northern province — the Taliban came to his home after his reporting and they chased him out of the home. He ran away and they fired shots behind him and he managed to escape and get to Kabul. In the days after he escaped, he continued to receive calls that said, “We will find you.” Another prominent female journalist told me she received threatening calls in recent days from the Taliban that said, “Your time is over.”One other case that I want to highlight is the <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=lWRvPuQPHAoqNEAFyEtUoE88mQd6fvQj2SodOxze7cJIZrvXGVTtwQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3DlWRvPuQPHAoqNEAFyEtUoE88mQd6fvQj2SodOxze7cJIZrvXGVTtwQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEJ6eWfIffJYNj3zyqYdhc_iL5VZA">takeover</a> of the TOLO News compound, which is arguably the most prominent news channel in Afghanistan, a 24-hour channel that has covered a wide range of events and produced very critical coverage as part of this post-2001 media boom in Afghanistan.The Taliban have interestingly taken over the compound but are still allowing journalists to broadcast, and female journalists <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=2P3ZTjVgDO-LEkXCst0KZnzUc0h--kDD3PboiZx6h-dO7MriTtIB8A" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3D2P3ZTjVgDO-LEkXCst0KZnzUc0h--kDD3PboiZx6h-dO7MriTtIB8A&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNELg6vESSGc2YbiIVZ45Td__kwZyA">actually came back</a> on the air today. But we are seeing that a number of women and ethnic minority journalists are continuing to be threatened and the Taliban are showing up at their homes. <figure><img width="2186" height="1168" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfd779c7e80680e0a0be6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid addresses the first press conference in Kabul on 17 August following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. Photo: VOA News</figcaption></figure>What is the Taliban presence like at TOLO News? Butler: It looks like the Taliban have stationed armed people around the outside of the compound mainly. When they entered the premises [on August 16] they took away government issued weapons from <a href="https://tolonews.com/pa/afghanistan-174313" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TOLO</a> security but they allowed privately purchased weapons to remain.People who have watched the recent news broadcast say it is much toned down. The women are appearing with headscarves and more conservative dress. It is really unclear what is going to happen and why the Taliban have taken what seems to be a softer approach to TOLO compared to other radio or broadcast operations in the provinces.Are they trying to create a kind of appearance for the international community because TOLO is the best known? That is one possibility. Have they changed? They say they welcome press freedom and they are allowing women to operate in certain professional positions. I don’t think that people are taking what they say at face value. There is a lot of skepticism given the documented <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=Qm8S0bLLVJ7VWAdng49e6NWxgMgLeRu8YDifWhwF3EytCs8gDPhfBQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3DQm8S0bLLVJ7VWAdng49e6NWxgMgLeRu8YDifWhwF3EytCs8gDPhfBQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHgoIizaupuirfDUabrDxt4LdLRDg">history of brutality</a> by the Taliban.What specifically did the Taliban say about press freedom?Dhawan: The Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=GTQHMjGHuQmSkAGZG2mdL8hgbEKDt4Najm_LKtnaY6TDn_wbiLITRw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3DGTQHMjGHuQmSkAGZG2mdL8hgbEKDt4Najm_LKtnaY6TDn_wbiLITRw&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFbY5li5mrgvjiJPdjQ-a5i3T2YNQ">conducted a press conference</a> and it really goes to show how brave Afghan journalists are because they were asking really tough questions, particularly about women in the country.He said the Taliban will allow all media outlets to continue their activities on three conditions, the first being there should be no broadcast that will contradict Islamic values, the second that they should be impartial, the third that no one should broadcast anything against the national interest. What we are seeing on the public platform is not matching the realities on the ground, because several radio stations in provinces, newspapers, and news outlets have <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=4Iz0EHIu5_DpwD3wuGtdDC-JY9cff80wRXnyIURB4EOTpk1LlP7ZbA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3D4Iz0EHIu5_DpwD3wuGtdDC-JY9cff80wRXnyIURB4EOTpk1LlP7ZbA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFhf6nM1WfeS3vuyfaHKJPHmVUVLQ">shut down amid fighting</a> as the Taliban took over.What is the Taliban trying to convey with these comments about press freedom?Butler: I would look on it pessimistically. Governments use this kind of double talk all over the region and all over the world to find ways to restrict what journalists do. It could well be that the Taliban have seen what other countries are doing in terms of rhetoric and are imitating it.It is a fact that democracy and press freedom are values that are universally spoken about but only rarely fully embraced. I think that we may see that pattern repeat itself in Afghanistan. Hopefully not. Hopefully they actually believe what they are saying, but we will have to see.You mentioned that female journalists are at particular risk. What else are you hearing from women?Dhawan: Most of the female journalists I have spoken to are absolutely terrified and have left their homes and gone into hiding somewhere. This is because there are several local reports of women journalists who have had their homes searched or the Taliban have showed up at their homes. And that is a particularly traumatising experience.A lot of women journalists who work in the fields of arts and culture or education are equally terrified. I know of several women journalists that work in these fields and are actively receiving threats from the Taliban. The Taliban did show up at the home of one very prominent journalist and said they would come back to her home and are looking for her.What other journalistic beats could draw the attention of the Taliban?Butler: Journalists have a history of their own work that lives on social media. I have been told that many journalists are now trying to scrub their social media profiles and deleting articles to try to hide that past. It is hard to say going forward what are going to be the sensitive issues, but journalists who were highly critical of the Taliban in the past could face a kind of reckoning.There’s a journalist I have been in touch with quite a lot. He and his wife were able to get out. But they are desperate now to get their families out. They say that the Taliban is going to go after their families because of their highly critical reporting on the Taliban in the past. I don’t know if that is going to be the case. I hope it is not. But they are convinced that their families will be killed.You described a “media boom” in Afghanistan after 2001. Can you say more about what is at risk of being lost at this moment?Dhawan: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/call-to-evacuate-afghan-journalists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Afghan journalists</a> have done incredibly thoughtful and diligent work over the past 20 years to build a thriving press. They have braved the dangers of a military occupation, the presence of militant groups in the country and they have reported critically during these extremely dangerous times.The precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan has led to a complete collapse of the government and security forces, leaving journalists at severe risk of violence. There are simply no avenues for journalists to seek protection from authorities and they are essentially relying on their own community, their neighbours, and family members for protection at this point.As much as there is a need for journalists to get out of the country and CPJ is doing its best to do that work, journalists who want to remain in the country must be allowed to freely report on the extent of a humanitarian crisis that is about to occur.Butler: The international community totally failed to create a stable democracy, but they did succeed in creating a thriving press. There was a lot of money – US government money, USAID, private foundation money — to support and get these operations going because of course a free press is the absolute foundation of democracy. It stuck.We had a <a href="http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i=C3l9uYxO5cc-ndmCYIfcz__Str-VhI1hJJ1tFo1n3uKsDH6ZjkofdQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://support.cpj.org/site/R?i%3DC3l9uYxO5cc-ndmCYIfcz__Str-VhI1hJJ1tFo1n3uKsDH6ZjkofdQ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1629510828624000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGQBEOeZRNkd6kUMGfd-GWYKvqQQQ">case</a> a couple of weeks ago of people being forced into an interview with a Taliban local commander and made to promise that they would broadcast the interview. They came back and refused to do it because it wasn’t good journalism just to broadcast one side, so they went into hiding in Kabul.They got some of the lessons of what good journalism consists of and if you look at TOLO News, all these news outlets, a lot of it is quality journalism. And, of course, the international press relied heavily on local journalists. This is really a remarkable achievement and it would be a terrible shame for it to disappear completely. It would be wonderful for some of that spirit of press freedom and quality journalism and reporting to live on even if the previous government, the collapsed government of Afghanistan, no longer exists.Is there anything else that has struck you from this past week that you’d like to share?Dhawan: I was in contact with a journalist who is being actively threatened by the Taliban. She has been messaging me every day, afraid for her life. She is sheltered in a hotel right now and I told her we are working with the U.S. government to evacuate her and will continue to provide updates about her case as soon as we receive them. She said, “I may not be alive by that time.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/afghanistan-abandoned/"> Afganisthan abandoned</a>, Aunohita MojumdarNaomi Zeveloff is Features Editor at Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This interview is reprinted from Inter Press Service.

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