Kathmandu, Aug 11: Experts in the media sector have emphasized on the need to amend the existing regulations to make news service of the RSS more effective and relevant.
Speaking at a policy dialogue on ‘Current Status and Legal Provisions related to News Agency Journalism in Nepal’ organized by the Nepal Journalism Development Society here today, they said that the RSS news service has been a backbone for most of the current media outlets, and emphasized that the laws should be amended and implemented to make RSS services more effective.
Speaking at the event, RSS Executive Chair Dharmendra Jha said even if the state should not run the media it should run a news agency. The news agency should be promoted as a medium to publicize state affairs.
Stating that the RSS has diversified its services including audio, video, mother tongue, and photos, he said that it has been providing services round the clock since the past one year.
On the occasion, Advertisement Board Chair Laxman Humagain emphasized on the implementation of the RSS Act enacted in 2019 BS, while emphasizing good governance within the media as mentioned in the Advertisement Code of Conduct 2079 BS.
General Secretary of the Federation of Nepali Journalists Ram Prasad Dahal said news agency journalism should be promoted based on the existing laws.
Media professor Chiranjibi Khanal said that the formation of RSS board of directors should be reformed to meet international standards.
Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Tribhuvan University, Dr Kundan Aryal, said that private news agency should not be discouraged in a democratic system of governance.
Former president of the society, Kedar Khadka, suggested that legal arrangements should be made to welcome private news agencies in the country.
Chief of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, Jagat Nepal, said that a law should be formulated to organize news agencies, as the demand for them has increased due to the collapse of large media outlets in the country.
President of the society, Madhav Tiwari, shared that although a dozen news agencies are currently operating in Nepal only three have received official permit from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.#nepal #rss
