Can State-Owned Media Perform Watchdog Functions? A Case of Nepal

Abstract

The state-ownership of media is controversial in a democracy, as the government may wield influence and even compel state-media to become a mere mouthpiece. In many democracies, states operate their media as the public service organization and let them act independently. The state is a major player in the media sector in Nepal, but the Nepalese see state-owned media as serving the rulers, not the public interest. This chapter draws from international literature and employs a mixed methods approach of key informant interviews (KIIs) and content analysis to explore government influence in shaping news content in four Nepalese state-owned news media companies. Despite political transformation from the Rana oligarchy and the absolute monarchy to the democratic republic, state-owned media have remained under the government's tight grip and played a very minimal role to promote and defend press freedom in the country. In this chapter, I would argue that, no matter in an authoritarian regime or democratic rule, Nepal's state-owned media are more often government publicity tools than watchdogs of the powerful in accordance with the role of a democratic “fourth estate.”