21 December, 2009 - Bhutan’s sixth newspaper, The Journalist, set up by the former editor and six reporters of Bhutan Times, hit the newsstands yesterday with its lead story on corruption.

The 24-page newspaper, costing Nu 10, will be published every Sunday with a wide range of investigative, political and business stories, said the editor, Gopilal Acharya. He and the six reporters had left Bhutan Times in October this year because of “persistent editorial interference from the management”.

Gopilal Acharya said that the paper will be a modest operation and investors would not be approached. “We want a compact newsroom with motivated journalists,” he said. “But we’re seeking help from organisations for interest-free loans.”

But so dire is the paper’s financial position that reporters claim to have produced the first issue using borrowed laptops, computers and cameras.

Some of their supporters also donated chairs and tables for the office. The head of the Bhutan media services (BMS), Sonam Gyeltshen, made the initial investment to publish the weekly and is now the marketing manager. “We’ll be paying him back for the investment and office space, so that the ownership remains with the seven journalists,” said Gopilal Acharya.

“This will help us function independently and practise our profession more responsibly.”

With five newspapers already in the market and no target audience in mind, Gopilal Acharya said that the paper would still survive financially.

“Bhutanese readership is very accommodating and we hope to set a standard for quality stories,” he said, adding that 5,000 copies were printed for the launch issue at Galing printers. The paper has four pages of a Dzongkha edition.

Until 2006, Kuensel was the only newspaper. There are now six newspapers competing with each other: two daily newspapers and four weeklies, including The Journalist.

It is an interesting period for media in Bhutan, said executive director of the Bhutan centre for media & democracy, Siok Sian Pek Dorji. “There are now six newspapers for a population of about 675,000 people. Most of them actually watch television for information,” she said. “The fact is that these papers manage to survive because of equal advertising, irrespective of the paper’s reach or audience.”

She said that it would take a few more years for newspapers to find the niche reader. “People have to understand the media better and the market needs to work itself out in terms of advertisement. Just now everyone’s surviving on government ads,” she said.

Many civil servants, Kuensel spoke to, said that, even with the five newspapers, they could barely keep up. “There are so many newspapers to read and the issues keep piling up. We don’t have time to go back to the older issues,” said one of them. “The papers have nothing different to offer. The Journalist would probably be the same – urban-centric.”

Gopilal Acharya said that the paper has roped in several experts from various fields as opinion writers and will be forming an editorial advisory board. “Within a year, The Journalist would have established its credentials in the market for accurate and good journalism,” he said.