Stakeholders Voice Concerns Over State of Mother Tongue Journalism

Kathmandu: Journalists working in the field of mother tongue journalism have said they continue to face major challenges in carrying out journalism in their mother tongue.

Speaking at an interaction program titled “The Status and Challenges of Mother Tongue Journalism in the Media,” organized by the National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities and coordinated by the Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities Journalists (FoNIJ) Federal Committee, the participating journalists urged the foundation to help facilitate mother tongue journalism, which they said remains extremely difficult and challenging.

Anita Gurung, a board member of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) Nepal, said that Radio Nepal and Nepal Television are no longer government media, but have now become public service media. She added that efforts are being made to strengthen the effectiveness of news and programs broadcast in indigenous languages.

At the event, Tara Prasad Wasti, Head of the Program Division at Radio Nepal, presented a paper on “News and Programs broadcast in Mother Tongues or National Languages on Radio Nepal.” Pushpahari Kyampa Rai, News Chief at Nepal Television, presented on “The Role of Nepal Television in Mother Tongue Journalism.” Kumar Bibekananda Mishra, Coordinator of the Multilingual Page at Gorkhapatra, spoke on “The Initiation of Mother Tongue Journalism in Gorkhapatra,” while Lucky Chaudhary, President of Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities Journalists (FoNIJ), presented a paper on “The Role of FoNIJ in Mother Tongue Journalism.”

Commenting on the presentations, former Editor-in-Chief of Gorkhapatra, Pushkar Bhakta Mathema, noted that while the status of mother tongue journalism in the private sector is rarely discussed, it is encouraging to see increased attention being given to the field.