Taranath Dahal
The government registered the Media Council Bill at the National Assembly on April 25, 2024. The bill which was brought five years ago was rendered nil with the expiry of the term of the Lower House (House of Representatives). The revised bill is now under discussion at the Legislation Management Committee of the National Assembly. However, the bill is currently facing wide criticism for its controversial provisions concerning press freedom and credible journalism. Freedom Forum has always been vocal, demanding amendment to the bill since its registration.
FF believes the proposed Media Council as per bill should be established as an independent and autonomous body for strengthening independent, fair and accountable journalism practice. Media Council, as envisioned in the bill, aims to be developed as an ombudsman to monitor, protect, and promote press freedom, and to address the grievances of mass media consumers. It will also formulate a professional and ethical code of conduct to regulate all forms of media and editorial content.
The proposed bill, however, fails to replace the existing Press Council Nepal with a reliable and independent Media Council. It has incorporated the provisions contrary to constitution’s spirit and preamble which guarantee ‘full freedom of press’ freedom of opinion and expression and right to information. The provisions are explicitly mentioned in constitution’s preamble, and Articles 17, 19 and 27. The present Media Council Bill has such provisions that clearly indicate government’s intention to make the Council just its tool, which is the most worrying concern. FF demands correction on it. With this view, FF also submitted a 25-point suggestions for the amendment and improvement of the bill to the lawmakers. Consequently, the lawmakers registered total 27 amendments on 13 clauses of the bill.
The bill having six chapters and 137 sections is to govern the structure of media council, appointment and dismissal of officials. Council’s fiscal and administrative autonomy are also mentioned. The proposed Media Council should be led by a triangularly balanced structure that involves a person from legal background as a Chairperson and experts and representatives from media sector, and representatives from media consumers as members. But, the proposed structure is biased; and the appointment process is control oriented, giving a high hand to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, thereby making the Council its appendage.
Hence, the proposed Bill poses a threat to press freedom. Its irrelevant and objectionable provisions for formation of Media Council warrant correction. The Media Council should be an independent content regulating body so that it would be capable to motivate and promote self-regulation of media. It is worth reminding that Nepal’s National Media Policy has a clear mention for self-regulation of media, but the new laws and policies fail to adhere to this fact. Thus, serious and adequate discussions on this issue is imperative. The National Assembly’s legislation committee had also discussed the old Media Council bill which was tabled five years ago. But the present bill fails to include suggestions furnished to the previous parliamentary committee meetings. It shows the government is still trying to adopt a ‘repressive media policy’.
The legislation committee has again started consultations on the bill where FF was also invited since the beginning. Notably, the committee respects FF’s continued lobby and advocacy regarding the bill. During the meeting, I also presented detailed suggestions for improvement in the bill. Let’s hope the committee will address the amendment proposal and correct the bill accordingly.
Media Council should be established as an important entity for fostering an atmosphere for reliable and accountable press capable of fighting against the emerging challenges in this digital age. FF is always ready to extend collaboration to this end. Nowadays, we are engaged in a discussion with the lawmakers on the bill. It is positive that they seem deeply concerned towards the bill. Likewise, the government should also be receptive to the opinions and suggestions coming from the parliament and media sector for quality improvement and amendment of the bill.