Covid-19 pandemic severely impacts journalists

Kathmandu - Over 500 journalists across the country have lost their jobs owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a survey conducted by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), 700 journalists have taken unpaid leave while salary of 800 other journalists has been reduced after the outbreak of the pandemic. It is said that 1,500 plus journalists have not been paid for the past three months. Similarly, a total of 413 journalists have been infected with the coronavirus so far and five journalists succumbed to the virus.

Furthermore, 83 journalists are receiving treatment in different hospitals across the country. Amid the pandemic coronavirus, some media houses have even not provided the minimum wages to the media persons. This has created a severe discrimination among the working journalists, stakeholders shared at an interaction programme organised in Butwal on Friday. Worse still, many of the journalists have been told to stay in forced leave, making them jobless.

On the occasion, FNJ Chairman Govinda Acharya said that the act of media entrepreneurs to sack the journalists from their profession in this time of crisis was unjust, deplorable and inhumane. Acharya said that the media entrepreneurs should accept both the profit and losses after running the business and argued that the working journalists should be seen off with perks and gratuity as per the laws if the media outlets were to close.

He also warned that the media owners should not oust the media persons citing coronavirus, adding that the media outlets were making good income at the cost of journalists’ hard works. FNJ Lumbini Province Vice-Chairman Bharat KC and others also expressed their opinions during the programme. (Photo available)