The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) is in the process of drafting Media Council’s Charter. The Minister of MoIC, D.N. Dhungyel, said the ministry is serious about establishing a Media Council in Bhutan to help media houses and it professionals work without hindrance.
Lyonpo D.N.Dhungyel said Bhutan’s position in the international index of media has dropped significantly, last year. “…There seem to be no independence of the Media, there seems to be no required support from the government to the media…”
The Minister said MoIC through the Department of Information and Media would like to give that independence to media and make sure that media functions independently.
Apart from facilitating smooth working atmosphere, the Media Council would also provide financial assistance to the Media houses. Lyonpo D.N.Dhungyel said the financial assistance the council provides to the media houses could be used as seed money. He said maybe they could also get some support from the Civil Society Organizations. “A part of the fund could be from the government as well.”
The Minister said there are other bodies such as Bhutan Media Foundation (BMF) and the Journalist Association of Bhutan (JAB). “Although they are doing their best it seems the media fraternity as a whole is not happy with what JAB or BMF are doing.”
He said the idea is to make Media Council an independent body. “…We feel that Media Council will be definitely able to do a better job.”
Once the Media Council’s Charter is drafted, the Ministry will conduct a consultative meeting with the Media and other stakeholders to seek recommendations. The charter will be submitted to the Cabinet as for necessary recommendations.
The Information and Communications Minister shared that if the Media Council becomes a regulation, it will not be discussed in the Parliament. But, he said if there is a need act, it will have to deliberated and endorsed in the parliament.
