Four private newspapers withdraw from circulation audit
The papers claim the draft advertisement policy, on which the audit is based, is not transparent and it threatens their survival
Four private newspapers have withdrawn from the print media circulation audit on the grounds of dissatisfaction with the draft advertisement policy and also after their request for deferment of the circulation audit was denied by the Ministry of Information and Communication.
The papers that have withdrawn are Bhutan Times, Business Bhutan, Bhutan Today, and The Journalist.
The papers had requested for the deferment on the grounds that without finalizing the draft advertisement policy and not incorporating the concerns of the private media, it would not be appropriate to have a print media audit circulation.
“We don’t even know the advertisement policy well,” said Kaka Tshering, Managing Director of Bhutan Times.
The main concern of the four private papers is that without even the draft advertisement policy being finalized and views of private papers not being given credence the audit circulation in its current state could be used to deny advertisements to the private papers favoring one big player at the expense of the other media houses.
The Bhutan Today MD, Tenzin Dorji, clarified that the private papers were not withdrawing because their circulation was lesser but because the only yardstick to evaluate papers should not be circulation.
Private papers also raised the issue that the market was already deciding who should get the advertisements with Kuensel getting around half the total advertisement pie and there was no real need for a government agency to further reinforce that.
In terms of advertisement revenue, Kuensel generated Nu 4.3mn in the dry month of October. The other six private papers combined generated 5.7mn.
Owners of the private papers said that 80 to 100% of the revenue earned was spent back on just running the operations and at times some papers even had to run on a deficit.
“Kuensel has been there for 40 to 50 years and is well established but we are just one year old and so at the point the government should be supporting the private media. With this current approach our sustainability is at stake as the ad policy only favors one paper,” said Sonam Gyaltshen, the CEO of The Journalist.
Business Bhutan CEO, Tshering Wangchuk, said, “The circulation audit coming in before the finalization of the ad policy creates suspicion in the minds of the private newspapers. Without the ad policy in place it is unclear as to how the circulation audit will affect the distribution of government ads. And Circulation should not be the sole parameter. There are others like news content, Dzongkha standard and coverage etc.”
He said it was imperative that, first and foremost, the ad policy be finalized in close consultation with the stakeholders. This way, possibilities of manipulation and ultimately corruption can be reduced but at the moment the overall process of activities is not very transparent.
Editorial Advisor to Bhutan Today, Tenzing Rigden, said, “There is nothing to hide in a small society like ours where we even know about each other’s private lives and as most of us print at Kuensel the figures can be known right away. However, circulation audit without defined parameters cannot lead to the growth of a vibrant media and it will lead to a skewed growth with some thriving at the expense of others.”
The draft advertisement policy earlier was strongly objected to by the private media not only on the grounds of the early audit circulation but also its stipulation to have content based on GNH principles to get advertisement.
“This is very shocking as we have not learnt in journalism colleges to do our work as per GNH principles but rather the journalism course teaches us to report the truth without fear and favor. The media can support the rationale of GNH but not the bringing of GNH unnecessarily into the picture,” said Tenzing Ridgen.
Another unpopular clause is that advertisements can be withdrawn from papers on various grounds including if the content is baseless, personalized, malicious, scurrilous, obscene reports or those repugnant to morals.
“The media already has code of ethics to address such issues but such a clause could be used by unscrupulous officials to punish the media,” said Rigden.
Editors of the private papers also said that under the current system the very survival of the fourth estate and hence a genuine democracy was at stake.
“We will have no fourth estate in the future because the fourth estate is not one or two dominant players but the fourth estate is a plurality in the number of media outlets which served and informed different sections of society like a business paper for the business community. This will only better inform the people and help policymakers in Thimphu to make right policies,” said an editor.
Jurmi Chowing, the editor of The Journalist, said, “We have asked for deferment right now because private media houses are currently in a weak situation and we need more time.”
Bhutan Observer, which had originally asked for the deferment, has decided to be audited but still shares the same reservations on the advertisement policy. Kuensel, the largest and oldest paper, has decided to be audited and feels that the audit circulation is necessary to know the reach of the papers and hence give a better idea to agencies on where to place their advertisements.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, during the meet the press session on Thursday, distanced himself from the current draft advertisement policy saying it was only a bureaucratic process and the final decision would be taken by the government ensuring that it would not harm the growth of a vibrant media.
By Tenzing LAMSANG in Business Bhutan on November 27, 2010