Last week, Parliament authorized the government to review the mandate of BBS. I’m against the government meddling in BBS’s affairs. But our lawmakers feel that the country’s only TV station is underperforming. And that the government should intervene to give BBS vision and the means to achieve that vision.
So what’s the first move that the [...]
About a year ago, I’d announced that I was on Twitter, a social networking site that offers “micro-blogging” by allowing users to post updates that are less than 140 characters long. Twitter originally set a 140-character limit so that “tweets” would be compatible with the SMS messaging.
I’d also described how the Twitter experience could be [...]
The first annual journalism awards drew strong criticism from the media when a judge won the prize for the very category he was adjudicating.
This time, during the second annual journalism awards, the government was careful not to repeat last year’s howler. And they managed. How? By concealing the identity of the jury. The public – [...]
The second Annual Journalism Awards will take place on 3rd May, coinciding with World Press Day. Good.
But, like last year, the government is organizing the event. Not good.
It is in the media’s interest to decide, without government interference, how to recognize and reward good journalism. And, equally important, who to recognize and reward. So the [...]
Of the many reasons we may have to comment anonymously, fear of government reprisal is the worst.
Here’s how Kuensel introduced a contractor’s remarks recently:
An owner of an established construction company, who requested anonymity, fearing possible backlash from the government, said that …
The government must dispel such fears. The Constitution, after all, guarantees “…the right to [...]
The latest comment on my post about the prime minister’s office influencing Bhutan Today was by “mediawatch” who challenged:
Mr OL You got to do some explaining here! We are not convinced. TR has given his explanation and made his stand clear. Now Mr OL you need to put a brave face and give your reasons. [...]
There’s something strange going on.
I have already expressed my concerns that the prime minister’s office may be influencing the media. But what has recently been happening is worse: one newspaper, Bhutan Today, has started carrying every press release that comes out of the prime minister’s office as their own story, word for word, but with [...]
Business Bhutan, in their last editorial:
“A country like Bhutan would be happy to be adopted by Tata,” a press release from the government’s media cell quoted the prime minister as saying. Writing about that in his blog and opening up another debate the opposition leader took a dig at the media too.
“And to make [...]
The short entry about the appointment of Tenzin Rigden as the PM’s media advisor generated some long and heated discussions. Very good.
But now what?
First, the media must beware. By Tenzin Rigden’s own admission he has deep connections in the media:
… here are the facts – worked in Kuensel for 10 years; started and ran BT [...]
The Opposition Leader called on the Minister of Economic Affairs, His Excellency Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk, yesterday to express the Opposition Party’s concerns on the Royal Government’s recent policy decisions on tourism. The Opposition Leader reported that, after studying the Royal Government’s Executive Order of 13 November 2009 and consulting a wide range of [...]
Tshering Tobgay is a Member of Parliament representing Sombaykha Constitutency in Haa. He is the Leader of the Opposition Party in the National Assembly of Bhutan.
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