Freedom Forum has come to know that Press Council Nepal blacklisted an English language daily, The Himalayan Times, and its online edition www.thehimalayantimes.com for the news reports published on the daily. Earlier on May 27, the Council had sought clarification from the newspaper after a complaint was filed regarding news on a trekking company- Himalayan Adventures and the associated climber.
The newspaper argued despite its fact-based news reporting, the Council sought series of justifications and finally blacklisted it reasoning it wrote a one-sided reporting.
Freedom Forum is concerned over the Council’s action against the media. The Council has right to monitor the contents and seek clarification over published contents but blacklisting the media for news report is against the media’s right to press freedom. ” Press Council Nepal is not a judicial body to act this way. It needs to act as an ombudsman and make monitoring process of news content transparent,” asserted Taranath Dahal, Executive Chief at FF, Taranath Dahal.
