Many Dimensions of Perversion and Self-Contradiction

The Top of Civil Service or the Chief Secretary gets a pay packet of Nepalese rupees of 33,000 per month. The Commander in Chief Draws 30,000. But in this vary country, some heads of a commercial bank gets a salary of 1.9 million monthly.

Instead of controlling general expenditure, why such things are being done?  There is a competition among commercial banks as to which of them pays most to its chief. In the name of bearing the loss of liquidity and economic losses, the common people are being put into hardship by rising interest rate to increase pay and  perks of the bosses.

In the government offices, lowest pay scale for Peons is 9,000 and 800. Besides this, they also get pension, or grants. But for the journalist who does intellectual work, the minimum pay scale is 5,000 and 200 in paper, for journalists, the pension and grants is the flower of the sky.

And how can journalistic World Progress here?

The article 12 of the Nepal Press Council clearly states that advertisements cannot be published in the form of news. This is also the code of conduct of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) but in the later period, a competition has started among the Journalists Belonging to Association to publish advertisement in that way. Not only that shameless advertisements making people victim of false beliefs are being shown. “If you put on this spiritual object, all of your problems will be solved.”

These false advertisements to make ignorant and superstrious people more ignorant and more superstrious are widely being carried out. “Your child do not lie if he uses pepsodent (toothpaste), it has been proved by research that if your child drinks complain, his or her height will grow at double speed.” These sorts of totally false advertisements to make a profit by making the people fool are being shown daily and nothing is being done.

In a country where police station is pelted with stones by Marijuana addicts in order to be given freedom to inhale Marijuna smoke, where police teams are chased away by opium growers, is it not necessary that code of conduct should be rather mandatory than optional?

Not only that, in the name of making money by means of advertisement, some reckless and harmful to the people advertisements are being published. Should these be not checked?
Like “GOLD QUEST” or “UNITY” if some comes to advertise that we will double your money and absconds after cheating the common people, should those who publish these sorts of advertisement be not made responsible? We have to follow this.

Nowadays every party and every group within party has its mouth organ to make false allegation and character assassination of the leaders of the other group even within own party.
On the district level, those parties who have resources within their reach each operate or patronize a FM Radio Station.

If you hear the news broadcasted by them, you will be convinced that there is nothing like the code of conduct for the Press in this country.

After 1990, those Political Parties who Fought for Democracy Namely Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) and the Newspapers attached to them began propaganda war to harm one another.
Ultimately the Multiparty Democracy was harmed. Journalists and the Leaders of the Parties who keep Journalists attached to them in their pockets by paying tips have still not learned a lesson.

Public health concerns every corner of the society. Nepal Medical Council has made provision that the doctors can not advertise. Their name plates also cannot exceed certain size. But the Media in Eastern Nepal are creating confusion to the common people by recklessly advertising the doctors and merchant clinics. False advertisements that such and such doctor working in such and such
hospital is joining our clinic in order to cheat common people are being done.

At the same time they are encouraging doctors to be irresponsible to the hospital they are working in. They sign in the Government hospital and come out to practice in private business. No one is caring to check it.

According to the article 4 of the Press Council Act 2048, if any journalist blackmails any one, the Press council on itself can make a complaint. Blackmailed by some media persons then commander in Chief Rukmangad Katuwal, the present commander in chief General Chhatraman Singh Gurung, Chief of the Armed Police Force Sanat Kumar Basnet, Former Minister Rabindra Shrestha, chairman of the Nepal Airlines Corporation Sugat Ratna Kansakar believing on the Press Council, made complaints with proofs. The Press Council’s investigation also confirmed the complaints against the persons. Audio tape of An editor demanding money from a police head constable is still in the possession but nothing could be done And the faith on the Press Council began to erode. Because of the Political Transition & in the name of Giving Priority to Peace Process & Constitution Making,The Council has never looked to more than six complaints in a month.

There are posts, there is power too but if the concerned persons are not ready what can you do?

Every day 10.7 Million copies of Newspapers are sold in India. From April, 2009 to March 31, 2010 nine hundred and fifty complaints were filed in the Indian Press Council but of it, 180 were breaking the Press freedom by the governmental bodies and 770 were  for violating code of Conduct by the Journalists. Similarly from April 1.2010 to March 31, 2011 seventy seven complaints were filed against the governmental authorities and 308 were against the Press Totaling to 385.

Among them, News  Harmful to the females, old age people or children were more in number.

With the Development of  Information Technology, its misuses are also increasing. Four Cases in Nepal were filed within this year against Seven Journalists for sending obscene email or SMS under the Electronic ACT.

It is universal rule  that the news should be factually correct. But for many times, waiting for the confirmation can make you to loose the scoop or the first chance to publish significant news.

One example from the Cold War days. The Relation between USA and China was also hostile. In 1971 Dr. Henry Kissinger was the Foreign Affairs advisor to the President Richard Nixon. He started a tour of some Asian Countries. After visiting Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, on the 6th  July he reached New Delhi, the Capital of India and left next day for Pakistan where Kissinger was the guest of the then President Yahya Khan.

In the evening at 8 o’clock, he left the dinner hosted in his honor pretending to have stomach -ache. He came out to go the hotel to rest. But instead of rest, at 4 o’clock in the morning, he put on a sun-glass and hat on his head and reached to the Islamabad Airport along with the Pakistan’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Sultan Khan.

There, the people from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign affairs were Ready to escort him.

This scene could not remain hidden from the sharp eyes of the correspondent of “the Daily Telegraph” of London. He felt the eighth wonder when he saw the security personnel of two hostile countries mingling together. He began to investigate more. At last, he was able to send the news to the editor that the foreign Affairs Advisor of the American President left secretly to China on the plane belonging to the President of Pakistan. The correspondent was very happy and confident that he will get a great thank and buck-up from the editor of his newspaper for this Great scoop but next day, he was very sad to see that his great scoop was not even published.

The editor of the Daily Telegraph did not believe his News. Perhaps the editor thought that last night the correspondent drank much and drafted his news in the early hours of the morning in reeling hangover.

One scoop almost could have the same fate with us. During the Maoist Insurgency, News came from Secret source that the Journalist and writer Krishna Sen. “Wishful” was killed in the custody of the Mahendra Police Club. But it was not published believing that it may or may not be true. But when the news remained unpublished, the source of the news telephoned “are you scared or what ? “

It was very secret and serious information. In the next issue of the “Jana Aastha”, it was published.  It created a great hue and cry in the media field and uproar among the public. Doubting the authenticity of your source and hesitating to publish the news immediately can also kill a scoop.

Sometimes, hard but natural competition among the Journalists for the scoop can make you a laughing stock as happened in the cases of Rasendra Bhattarai and Anuja Bania.

But sometimes harmful non-existent news can create Rhitik Roshan scandle inviting violence for which, the country suffered loss and the nation was put to the shame. But due to dereliction of its duties by the Press Council, the tendency to publish anything even non-existent remains.

Only some months ago false news with dateline from Siraha was published that a two and half year old girl child is having mensturation. In a competition for scoop, when the President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav met Alok Bohara of Canada, the news was published that he met Alok Joshi of the Indian Intelligence without confirming easily. It is very encouraging that new generation is entering into the journalism but negligence is bad everywhere. Whether new comer or old timer. Sometimes back in the English news broadcast of Kantipur TV, one evening it was read out that “Rastriya Janshakti Party (literal translation in English may be the National People’s Power Party) issued a statement on current political dilemma”, but it was broadcasted National Manpower Party. It may be a small error and may not have harmed much but it was a national and international broadcast.

The Publication of the News and Views about Legal Cases going on in the courts and under police investigation can lead to the escape of criminals and influencing judgments. The Press Council should also give attention to it. You need to go through a trial to get driving license in spite of your capacity to drive. In order to be a civil servant, your degree is not sufficient. You have to pass another examination or the course categorized by the Public Service commission. In order to be a Military or a Police person, you should go service through nine months vigorous training. But you do not need any teaching, training or trial to become a journalist. Is it due to this also the growth of the responsible journalism is hindering? When will we look to this side?