To my friends in Nepali media, stay with us citizens

I posted this on Facebook and twitter:

To my #Nepal #media friends, its Time to start fresh. Please highlight other Nepalis rather than 601 & their Netas again. Do stay with us!

This is not a warning but a feedback. I believe this is what Nepali citizens are telling the media: The message is : Stay with us! (not with them)

Here is what I see. Nepal’s media is plagued with negativity, sensationalism and inconsistencies. It is obsessed with same old few incompetent personalities. Yes you may say this sells newspapers, that this attracts people. Sure it does. But the reality is that you are not ONLY running a business. You are also shaping the nation directly. Your opinions can take the nation forward or backward. Right now, citizens are losing trust in what they see in media. Once this trust is gone, they will move to some other medium, some other source.

Here are a few tips I suggest for you to win the citizens back while also inspiring them to serve their nation. Feel free to see this as a mere suggestion not a guide for you.
How about starting this trend by changing the concept of Headline News to address these?

  1. Positive, Positive, Positive.
  2. Prominently highlight actions on of our sports teams, artists, poets, citizens, social servers (how-ever flawed their record is). Even if they may not be as articulate as the existing politicians, let’s be patient with this lot. They are authentic!
  3. Rags to riches stories of Nepali.
  4. Entrepreneurs success and failures.
  5. Stories of street entrepreneurs.
  6. Risk-takers in different professions.
  7. Community activists stories.
  8. Community successes: Highlight them in headline news.
  9. Discussion transcripts between youths on sociopolitical issues.
  10. Mentor-ship events, Networking events and fund-raisers.
  11. Stories of Nepali uniting with each other on community to international level.
  12. Adventure stories in Nepal, e.g stories of Nepali traveling in Nepal.
  13. Have a regular column, show that talks about Historical wrongs. A forum to vent out how you and your community have been wronged where others are encouraged to just “listen and not defend themselves”. i.e Empathy programs
  14. A program to teach different ethnic languages to different ethnic groups.
  15. “How to build your community” tips highlighted in headline prime time news?
  16. Demystify government. A regular forum to learn how government bureaucracy works. How to use it properly. Where to complain, how to complain etc.
  17. “Doers – Not talkers” a hard-hitting analysis program where you vote on either some one is a talker or a doer.
  18. Promote leadership building programs that produce promising leaders in political, social service and entrepreneurship.
  19. Programs that teach citizens how to protest in a ‘bibeksheel’ way.
  20. Programs where politicians ask how to solve & school students come up with the solutions.
  21. Open source your content. Let people use it, improve on it. Put it all on You-tube or un-copyright it. Share and win!
  22. Change your moto to “Stay with citizens or become obsolete”.

Leave a Reply