Bhutan Observer
Encyclopedia
The Bhutan Observer is Bhutan
's first private bilingual newspaper
. It was launched as a private limited company by parent company Bhutan Media Services (BMS), and began publishing on June 2, 2006, in Thimphu
. Its Dzongkha edition is called Druk Nelug, and the newspaper maintains an online service in English.
The newspaper employs about 60 people in editorial, commercial, administrative, and managerial departments. The editorial department has won several national journalism awards for the best editorial, best Dzongkha issue, best editorial cartoon, and the most valuable story on Gross National Happiness
. The former Executive Editor, Sonam Kinga, was one of several relatively young individuals to make an early entry into newly democratic Bhutanese politics
in 2007, winning a seat and leadership position in the kingdom's first National Council elections
.
As Bhutan has begun developing its private media sector, fledgling media outlets including the Bhutan Observer have faced scrutiny by public figures over novice reporting, misquoted sources, and viewpoint biases with the effect of presenting overly sensational and negative coverage in articles. Language of publication has also become a significant issue, as government language requirements strain publishers' budgets.
Amid concerns of the long term sustainability of the Bhutan Observer and other media's Dzongkha editions, the government in 2007 began to subsidize the translation of English language advertizements into Dzongkha, and granted exemptions from sales tax and import duties. The tax breaks were set to expire after a period of five years, but may be renewed. Both the Dzongkha Druk Nelug and English language Bhutan Observer are heavily subsidized by government advertizements within a marketing industry subject to significant government control on a policy basis. In 2011, nearing the five year mark and having neither approached sustainability nor obtained tangible government support, the Observer requested that the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) allow it to discontinue publication of Druk Nelug; that request was denied. The newspaper said it would abide by the government's decision, but that the Druk Nelug might be reduced to a symbolic publication due to its commercial infeasibility.
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
's first private bilingual newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. It was launched as a private limited company by parent company Bhutan Media Services (BMS), and began publishing on June 2, 2006, in Thimphu
Thimphu
Thimphu also spelt Thimpu, is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's dzongkhags, the Thimphu District. The city became the capital of Bhutan in 1961...
. Its Dzongkha edition is called Druk Nelug, and the newspaper maintains an online service in English.
The newspaper employs about 60 people in editorial, commercial, administrative, and managerial departments. The editorial department has won several national journalism awards for the best editorial, best Dzongkha issue, best editorial cartoon, and the most valuable story on Gross National Happiness
Gross national happiness
The assessment of gross national happiness was designed in an attempt to define an indicator that measures quality of life or social progress in more holistic and psychological terms than only the economic indicator of gross domestic product .-Origins and meaning:The term...
. The former Executive Editor, Sonam Kinga, was one of several relatively young individuals to make an early entry into newly democratic Bhutanese politics
Bhutanese democracy
Bhutan has transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a multi-party democracy. The development of Bhutanese democracy has been marked by the active encouragement and participation of reigning Bhutanese monarchs since the 1950s, beginning with legal reforms such as the abolition of slavery, and...
in 2007, winning a seat and leadership position in the kingdom's first National Council elections
Bhutanese National Council election, 2007–2008
The general elections to the National Council of Bhutan, the upper house of the new bicameral Parliament of Bhutan were held for the first time on December 31, 2007, though they were originally scheduled for December 26, 2007...
.
As Bhutan has begun developing its private media sector, fledgling media outlets including the Bhutan Observer have faced scrutiny by public figures over novice reporting, misquoted sources, and viewpoint biases with the effect of presenting overly sensational and negative coverage in articles. Language of publication has also become a significant issue, as government language requirements strain publishers' budgets.
Druk Nelug
The Dzongkha edition, Druk Nelug, is published in compliance with government media language requirements. While Dzongkha is the national language, it is not spoken natively among the majority of Bhutanese. Among the general population, Dzongkha abilities have improved, but still need development according to a Bhutan Observer editor. Despite language reforms and improved public competency, many Bhutanese find English easier to read, speak, and write.Amid concerns of the long term sustainability of the Bhutan Observer and other media's Dzongkha editions, the government in 2007 began to subsidize the translation of English language advertizements into Dzongkha, and granted exemptions from sales tax and import duties. The tax breaks were set to expire after a period of five years, but may be renewed. Both the Dzongkha Druk Nelug and English language Bhutan Observer are heavily subsidized by government advertizements within a marketing industry subject to significant government control on a policy basis. In 2011, nearing the five year mark and having neither approached sustainability nor obtained tangible government support, the Observer requested that the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) allow it to discontinue publication of Druk Nelug; that request was denied. The newspaper said it would abide by the government's decision, but that the Druk Nelug might be reduced to a symbolic publication due to its commercial infeasibility.