Nepal: IFJ Report Shows Continued Challenges for Journalists

January 19, 2011

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today announces the release of a new report available in English and Nepali, the result of a 12 month project conducted in partnership with IFJ affiliate the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ).

Reporting for All: Challenges for the Media in Nepal’s Democratic Transition is the outcome of media monitoring, training workshops and focus group discussions with a wide cross-section of the country’s journalists.

“This report shows that Nepal’s democratic transition is far from complete with journalists and media organisations continuing to face key challenges in the current environment,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

Media monitoring assessed levels of editorial sensitivity towards key issues in Nepal’s democratic transition, such as the restitution of land lost and accountability for human rights abuses perpetrated during the decade-long civil war.

Training workshops conducted in the capital Kathmandu, Biratnagar in the country’s east and Nepalganj in the western Terai region, covered the key principles of conflict sensitive journalism and their relevance to Nepal.

A series of focus group discussions assessed the relative willingness and ability of various news organisations to address the key issues involved in the democratic transition.

The program concluded with a two-day roundtable discussion in Kathmandu involving senior Nepali journalists and other media stakeholders, which delivered a consensus on the main findings of the earlier research and focus group discussions.

The final report is available in English and Nepali from the IFJ Asia-Pacific website here. Printed copies in Nepali are being distributed within the country by the FNJ.

The project was carried out with the financial support of UNESCO.

The Reporting for All: Challenges for the Media in Nepal’s Democratic Transition report can be accessed at http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/pages/ifj-asia-pacific-reports.

ENDS

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