As the world marked the press freedom day, yesterday, Bhutanese journalists were not excited with Bhutan climbing 10 places in the latest press freedom index. Bhutan is ranked number one in South Asia.
Bhutan moves up to 84th position in the 2017 Press Freedom Index released by the France based international non-governmental organisation, Reporters Without Borders.
However, despite a jump in the last two years, mainstream journalists in the country argue the numbers does not match with the ground reality.
According to the Executive Director of Journalist Association of Bhutan (JAB), Needrup Zangpo, the Bhutanese media and people should not worry much or get too excited about the press freedom ranking.
“My experience from observing the press freedom ranking of reporters without borders is that it doesn’t really reflect the real situation in Bhutan. Over the last one year, we have been doing the same job. Realities have been the same. The way the media operates, the way the reporters work, nothing has changed I think.”
The president of JAB said despite mixed reactions among the journalist fraternity, the number should serve as an encouragement.
“The improvement in ranking should encourage us in the media to continue playing our role in shining light on the issues that are important to the people of Bhutan,” said Rinzin Wangchuk.
Journalists said that from a global perspective, numbers tell a different story but local challenges like sustainability of private media, and access to information are still hampering the growth of media in Bhutan.
