Druk Neytshul, a private weekly dzongkha newspaper shut down this month, after nine years in the business. The paper cited financial and limited dzongkha readers as some of the reasons.
It is the 5th private newspaper to shut down over the years.
According to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, the advertisement has been one of the main sources of revenue for the paper. But with only a few subscribers and poor readership, people are reluctant to advertise in their paper.
“Moreover people are more interested in english paper compared to dzongkha. The printing cost of one newspaper is around Nu 16 but we have to sell it at Nu 10. Despite that people are still reluctant to read dzongkha newspaper,” Kipchu, the Deputy CEO of Druk Neytshul, said.
The paper only had eleven agents supplying 65 copies altogether. They also supply more than 200 copies to other dzongkhags as well but only a small number of people buy a copy.
“When we first started our business, there were thirty-five employees and since there were not many papers, the business went well. However in 2013, business started going down. We have tried our best to keep our business alive but it did not work,” Deputy CEO Kipchu said.
Last year, the government approved a 50 per cent subsidy for the private papers in the country for two years. However, the Deputy CEO said it was still difficult to sustain the business.
Following the subsidy, Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) had notified that the private English newspapers to print a minimum of 1,200 copies of each publication while dzongkha private newspapers had to print a minimum of 600 copies.
Since the establishment of the first private newspaper in 2006, the country has witnessed five private dzongkha papers come into being so far.
But now with the closing of the Druk Neytshuel, there is only one private dzongkha newspaper left Gyalchi Sarshog.
