Nepalese Journalists

Abstract

This article provides a profile of Nepalese journalists in terms of their opinions about traits of government and private media, influences on their reporting, press freedom in Nepal, and their professional benefits. The profile is based on a convenience sample of 132 journalists, in the major cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara, representing all the major newspapers, radio stations, and the government television station. Despite reports of the dismal condition of the press in Nepal and confirmation in this study of the low pay journalists receive and the barriers they face, journalists in Nepal seem to be optimistic about their freedoms and idealistic in the reasons for which they join the profession. At the same time, they are realistic about the pressures and influences they face as they report, about the importance of material benefits in their jobs, and, to some extent, even about the traits and roles they ascribe to private and government media. And while differences exist, particularly by whether they work for government or private media, in how they view all of these—ratings, roles, and reasons—the similarity of their responses overrides their differences.