TRN should be voice of people: Communication Minister Karki

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Dec. 16: Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, has viewed that The Rising Nepal, Nepal’s first English broadsheet, should be the voice of the people.

Minister Karki said so while addressing a ceremony held to mark the 57^th Anniversary of The Rising Nepal (TRN) here today.

“TRN needs to be further developed for making it compellingly worth reading,” said Minister Karki, who is also the government spokesperson.

Extending congratulations and best wishes as the TRN turned 58, Minister Karki urged the Gorkhapatra management and TRN team to keep maintaining TRN’s legacy of being a trustworthy newspaper.

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As it is published by a government enterprise, it is usually taken as a mouthpiece of the government, but TRN should avoid praying to the government, he instructed.

The Rising Nepal is published by the Gorkhapatra Corporation, an undertaking of the government of Nepal.

The Minister urged the TRN team to present news and views in the newspaper in such a way that TRN is taken as a model for exemplary utilization of press freedom as enshrined in the constitution. “TRN can stand as a model in South Asia for the exemplary exercise of press freedom as enshrined in the constitution.”

Minister Karki also urged the TRN to play a strong role to check all the anomalies that may have cropped up in the name of press freedom.

“TRN should move forward considering how newspapers came and went in the world in history,” he said.

He said TRN should be worth reading for foreign nationals with an interest in Nepal.

Speaking on the occasion, the secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Dr Baikuntha Aryal observed that TRN’s layout has been appealing and that much improvement has been made in its app.

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He, however, urged for increasing the social media presence of both the content published in the newspaper and its online edition, risingnepaldaily.com.

Challenges have emerged with the changes in the situation, he said, TRN should keep focusing on truth, facts and fairness for positive vibes in society despite the fact that negative news sells fast.

“It would be better if we could manage for push notification in the social media for the news we produce about very important issues or events,” he said.

The secretary also appreciated the kind of exact and plain language used in TRN. “I understand this enables readers in all 77 districts to read the paper.”

On the occasion, the Executive Chairman of the Gorkhapatra Corporation, Bishnu Prasad Subedi, said that efforts were underway to fully update the organization and employees with the latest technology.

“We have initiated a smart journey. We are setting up a digital lab in the corporation so that we will archive all the published newspapers in digital form,” said the executive chairman.

Our main challenge is answering the questions of the audience as to why they should wait for about 24 hours every day to read The Rising Nepal, he said, emphasizing content quality and diversity.

He observed that TRN has a great role in promoting English literature and language in addition to media in Nepal.

Sharing that there have been positive remarks on the change of the layout design of TRN as well as the Gorkhapatra, the executive chairman said, “The design change was not only an effort but an adventure given the Gorkhapatra’s organizational structure and legacy.”

Referring to the dilapidated condition of the office building, he thanked the line ministry for support to get the necessary budget and expressed hope that the construction of the new building will begin very soon.

Lal Bahadur Airi, General Manager of the Gorkhapatra Corporation, viewed that the management was focusing on improving content in TRN and other publications of the Gorkhapatra Corporation as some progress was achieved in presentation and circulation issues.