Reflections On Digital Landscape

It was twenty-six years ago when The Rising Nepal (TRN) entered the internet, the base of the digital landscape. A revolution has taken place in the digital landscape since then, with almost all news media houses having their online editions and transforming the way they presented the news. 

Most have adapted to the new age marked by the internet. It has brought drastic changes in the people’s habit of getting news and views. Gone are the days that people would wait for hours and days to get information about daily events and issues they wanted to know because news on events and issues of the day is available on the internet as they emerge.

It has been over twelve years since TRN launched its own domain to post news and views. As the one who has been in the TRN online edition since its inception to this day, this scribe has had experiences about its operation as the head of the portal. 

Then there were a few online news portals in the country, and now the number has increased to about 2,400. Then having two-digit views per news would also give satisfaction given the fact of the lack of accessibility of the internet across the country and people’s habit to seek news on the internet. However, now only five-digit views per news count as satisfactory and encouraging. 

Digital landscape

The country has also taken a leap in reshaping its digital landscape. According to the Nepal Statistical Year Book-2023, nearly 38 per cent Nepalis use the internet, while 73 per cent have access to mobile phone services. Nearly 62 per cent people are in the age group of 15-59. Some 2,514,510 households (of the total 6,666,937) use the internet, while 4,862,885 use smartphones. According to a news report (https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/11563) in The Rising Nepal, 4G users of Nepal Telecom have surpassed 10 million.

Regarding the use of smart screens or smartphones on a global scale, a recent survey showed that the average person spends 4 hours and 37 minutes on their phone every day. Even in this, age factor matters; the younger you are, the more time you are likely to be engaged in smart screens. Although no data could be found to see how many hours on average a Nepali uses a smart screen a day, it can be assumed that the period somehow matches with the global ratio. That means Nepalis also use smart screens for about 2 hours a day (considering the fact that only 38 per cent Nepalis use the internet), and the young use them for more time than the aged.

If we put together the data that 38 per cent Nepalis use the internet, 73 per cent have mobile access, and over 10 million use 4G services, the picture emerges, fully confirming that Nepal’s digital landscape is strong enough.

It is a prerequisite for anyone to have a clear picture of the landscape where one is working in order to be able to meet one’s objectives. As the state media outlet, providing truthful information and news is the basic objective of TRN. It has upheld its basic goal for nearly six decades. TRN Online has been doing the same, and for this reason, its readership has been growing ever since its launching.

 Reliable news and balanced views seem to be basic merits that have set TRN unique in the media landscape. For many, TRN is the benchmark to judge news items published in the other media outlets. TRN Online edition has been focusing on basing its news on authoritative sources and processing the information through professional integrity. Given resource constraints, including that of human resources, it has been challenging for TRN Online to provide news as events happen and issues come up.

 TRN Online also plays a role in checking the misinformation and disinformation by providing truthful news in time. It has to communicate the government’s message to the people and channel the people’s concerns to the government through news items. Moreover, being an English language portal, it also communicates with the wider international community about Nepal. This all indicates that TRN Online plays a very important role. However, the concerned authority seems lagging behind in grasping this fact and acting accordingly to strengthen TRN Online.

 Command perception

It is common sense that media shapes people’s perceptions. It also reflects people’s views. Similarly, by repeatedly presenting a specific issue or event, the media creates an image of the event or issue. In this sense, it is imperative that TRN and its online portal get some people to evaluate their works over the years so that they know where they are strong and in what they need to improve.

No doubt, TRN has a glorious legacy. It has been a source of reliable news. As said above, TRN’s presence in the digital landscape is not so weak if we consider the fact that per news view is a five-digit one. This is the legacy TRN Online has created in the last 12 years. But there are challenges, including the ones posed by resource constraints. At this juncture, on this glorious day of the launch of The Rising Nepal, December 16, everyone involved has to brainstorm on ways to maintain the glory and create outstanding milestones so that we command people’s perception and remain a model and a source of inspiration. We should note that, compared to 59 years ago, we have a big market within the country, as the size of the population with the ability to understand English has increased a lot.

(Tiwari is a sub-editor of this daily and the coordinator of its online edition, risingnepaldaily.com.)