Citizens should not be influenced by biased journalism: Communications Minister

Kathmandu–'The Rising Nepal', the English national daily being published by the Gorakhapatra Sansthan celebrated the 55th anniversary today. The publication of national daily had commenced on Push 1, 2022 BS (December 16, 1965). Barun Shamser Rana served as the first founding editor for the Daily.

In his address to a function organised to commemorate the Daily's completion of 54 years, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota expressed his concern over the influence of biased journalism among the citizen, insisting that mainstream media houses should ensure fact-based contents.

He took time to claim that some media houses seemed making efforts at misleading the masses by levelling fake accusations against the government in this or that context.

"Illusion is being created among the people as some media houses are reluctant to acknowledge the fact." He urged primarily mainstream media houses to pay attention to the dissemination of credible and fact-based contents.

"We do not ensure the presentation of facts, run after political rumours and those media houses guided by a biased perception lacking facts are in trouble due to own reason," he said.

Stating the government does not fear at all the criticisms over its activities, he urged the journalists, writers and columnists to criticise the government based on facts and not on fictitious basis. He expressed satisfaction that the news matter carried by the publications of the Corporation, including the Gorakhapatra, were now improved and readable, suggesting for furthering the density of the news. The Communications and Information Technology Minister suggested to the Corporation's journalists and employees not to waste their active time. He asked them to move ahead coordinating with the local government by tearing the falsehood directed against the government.

Corporation executive chair Krishna Murari Bhandari said continuous efforts have been made to improving the quality of news and making them readable.

"May be the job of the Gorakhapatra newspaper at one time was to cover up the wrong works of the government. But it is no longer so. We have changed that practice. We have not given up the critical conscience. We have moved forward becoming more responsible to the general public. It is not any party's or government's newspaper; it is the people's newspaper," he asserted.

Dr Taranath Sharma, senior journalist P Kharel, Jawahar Krishna Manandhar, Lokdeep Thapa, Bijaya Lal Shrestha, Aditya Man Shrestha, Devraj Dahal, among other personalities, were honouredon the occasion for making special contribution to the development of the The Rising Nepal.

The Rising Nepal is English language daily, a co-publication of the Gorakhapatra vernacular national daily, which has been informing the citizens about the national and international developments through news, write-ups and articles.