exclusively in dzongkha, newspaper number 7 launches tomorrow
The first independent Dzongkha newspaper, Druk Neytshuel, is all set to launch tomorrow amid concerns of a limited market
Will number seven prove to be lucky for the Dzongkha newspaper that will be launched tomorrow?
The answer remains vastly divided among the existing six newspapers all of whom feel that the market is already saturated in numbers. But Druk Neytshuel is here to carve its own niche and scoop out a market of its own.
The entry of the 24-page independent Dzongkha newspaper, the first paper not to have an equivalent English edition, comes at a time when existing English newspapers have voiced several times that they are not able to sustain the Dzongkha edition of their newspapers. But a young Druk Neytshuel team, headed by its 44-year-old proprietor and 30-year-old chief editor is confident to brave the tides.
Druk Neytshuel, a sole proprietorship, is owned by the chief executive officer, Singye Dorji, who says the newspaper stands more than a commercial venture and will aspire to defy the conventional assertion that a Dzongkha newspaper will not sell.
Singye Dorji said the paper will target people from all sections of the society. He justified saying the content has been meticulously planned to make the paper comprehensive.
“We spent about a year planing the content and concept of the paper,” he said showing a page designed for kindergartens with the first four alphabets of the Dzongkha language and four pictures it spells out. Similarly, the paper has dedicated space for entertainment, history, environment, business, culture and religion, and school syllabi.
The bespectacled chief editor and also the deputy CEO, Chungdu Tshering, who worked with the Bhutan Broadcasting Service as a reporter and producer for about three years, was a the PDP candidate from Samtse-Pugli constituency for the first election.
He said the newspaper will be different from existing papers.
“It will be different in four ways,” said the Dzongkha graduate of the Institute of Language and Cultural Studies (ILCS). “First, we will prioritize to use simple and vernacular Dzongkha to make the language easy to understand. Second, we will carry informative content which will not only feature news but cover every sector. Third, we will have a very reader-friendly design, and finally, we will have a definite focus with the primary objective to enable people to love the language.”
All the newly recruited 21 employees are also upbeat about the challenge ahead. One of the five reporters, Sonam Gyeltshen, 26, who has already written seven news articles in advance for the paper said he already loves his new found profession. A graduate of Tango Shedra (Buddhist College) who has also worked as a contract teacher, Sonam Gyeltshen said he wants to improve his proficiency in English and excel as a reporter.
Is Dzongkha edition a liability?
The managing director of Kuensel, Chencho Tshering, welcomed the entry of a competitor. “It will be good for Kuensel,” he said “it will wake up my Dzongkha editorial team to work harder.”
Currently, Kuensel employs the biggest Dzongkha editorial team among the newspapers with two editors and eight reporters with two bureau offices in Bumthang and Mongar. Nonetheless, the head of the oldest paper in the country said it is difficult to sustain the Dzongkha team and costs about Nu 2mn a year.
Given a choice not to have the Dzongkha edition, all newspapers said they will choose to forgo it. Today, the Media Act makes it mandatory for all newspapers in the country to have a Dzongkha edition.
The managing director of Bhutan Today, Tenzin Dorji, said maintaining a Dzongkha edition is a “total loss.” Apart from printing costs, the paper pays about Nu 30,000 a month in salaries to its two translators and one editor. He said he is unsure whether a Dzongkha newspaper will be able to sustain by itself. The daily comes up with a four page Dzongkha edition twice a week with its daily circulation of about 7,000.
The managing editor and officiating managing director of Bhutan Times, Kinley Tshering, said the company pays about Nu 35,000 a month in salary to have a Dzongkha translator and an editor. “The Dzongkha edition is a liability,” he surmised. The weekly has a circulation of about 6,000 and the Dzongkha edition is distributed free with the English edition.
Bhutan Observer spends about Nu 150,000 a month with five employees to sustain the Dzongkha edition. It sells its eight page edition for Nu 5 and publishes about 1,500 copies weekly apart from its English circulation of about 6,000 a week. The managing director, Tenzin Wangdi, said the coming of Druk Neytshuel means more competition in the advertisement market.
The editor of The Journalist, Gopilal Acharya, said all the existing newspapers were publishing the Dzongkha edition “half-heartedly” and welcomed the new paper. It spends about Nu 50,000 a week to sustain its Dzongkha edition.
With the new paper, Gopilal Acharya said the government should reconsider its decision for existing newspapers to publish the Dzongkha edition. “It is not serving any purpose,” he said.
The Druk Neytshuel CEO, Singye Dorji, agreed. “We can offer to be the alternative Dzongkha paper and the government can reconsider its rule to have Dzongkha editions for existing papers,” he said.
However, the information minister, Lyonpo Nandalal Rai, said all newspapers will have to abide by the Media Act and the clause for having a Dzongkha edition will not be revised as of now.
The challenge
The editor of Bhutan Observer, Needrup Zangpo, said the biggest challenge for the new paper will be to garner interest from the younger generation. He said people, in general, are not interested in Dzongkha and reiterated that the national language has a very poor readership base.
Existing newspapers also highlighted the lack of availability of Dzongkha advertisements in the market. “We get not more than five ads in a year particularly for the Dzongkha edition. The other ads are translated,” said Tenzin Wangdi.
The interim marketing head of Druk Neytshuel, Khandu Pem, 23, is bent on bucking the current advertisement trend for Dzongkha ads. “Clients are skeptic to give ads in a Dzongkha paper and say it has no readership,” she said. “But we are confident to change the popular notion.”
Chungdu Tshering said, “We have plans to attract readers and to get advertisements.” He added that the paper will approach all agencies, including the different government organizations, for support to sustain the paper.
The CEO, Singye Dorji, said the government has been positive in rendering its support for the Dzongkha paper. “The government has been supportive and the information minister has taken personal initiatives to encourage us,” he said.
Lyonpo Nandala Rai said the Dzongkha paper is a conscious effort to promote the national language. He said the onus of helping the paper should not fall only on the government but everyone should contribute to make it a success. He said the government cannot support the paper by providing any kind of financial package.
By Tashi Dorji in Business Bhutan
Also read this commentary by Business Bhutan