Gorkhapatra trains journalists on election reporting

By Our Correspondent

Dhangadhi, Nov. 8: The Gorkhapatra Corporation (GC) has trained its reporters working in the Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces on writing election-related news. 

To enable its journalists to write accurate news about the upcoming elections, Gorkhapatra held a training in Dhangadhi on Monday where Gokarna Mani Duwadee, secretary of the Election Commission (EC), said that the media needed to play an important role to hold November 20’s polls in a free and fair manner.

“We expect your help in conducting the elections in a fearless and transparent manner and enhance their credibility,” he said.

Similarly, Dr. Baikuntha Aryal, secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said that journalistic content should not reflect political ideologies. “We all have our political preferences but it should not guide our work,” he urged.

Executive Chairman of GC Bishnu Subedi said that, as a state-owned responsible media, Gorkhapatra held a special responsibility to help the EC. “We are aware and sensitive to this,” he said.

GC General Manager Lal Bahadur Airi said that Gorkhapatra had a role to play in making the elections successful. “This training has been organised to fulfil that responsibility,” he said, adding that Gorkhapatra needed to be different from other media during the polls.

Shiva Kumar Bhattarai, chief editor of Gorkhapatra daily, also reiterated this view.

At the event, Gorkhapatra’s Chief Reporter Kedar Bhattarai and journalist Hari Bahadur Thapa trained the Corporation’s correspondents.