Press Centre asks Advertisement Board not to reduce grant of public welfare ads

The Press Centre Nepal has asked the Advertisement Board of Nepal to correct its decision to reduce the grant of the public welfare advertisements to the media industries.

The general assembly of Press Centre Nepal Gandaki Province and Gorkha District Coordination Committee held on Sunday issued an 11-point declaration asking the Board to correct its recent decision to reduce the grant amount stating that the decision would have serious repercussions on the media and media persons.

The declaration paper issued by Press Centre Nepal Gandaki Province Committee's General Secretary Santosh Gautam has called on the three layers of the government to unveil policies and programmes for professional security and strengthening of the media sector that has suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic slowdown.

The Press Centre Nepal has also announced to take a lead to ensure timely payment for the media persons, implementation of the Working Journalists Act, hike in journalists' minimum wages, implementation of proportional advertisement system, capacity building of the journalists for the credible, balanced and dignified development of journalism.

Furthermore, the organisation has urged the stakeholders to remain responsible for the development of fair, responsive and accountable journalism, calling the progressive journalists to unite for the cause of freedom of speech and expression, rule of law and safeguard of the constitution.

The Centre has also welcomed the move of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) initiated for the membership cleansing and has urged the districts and other chapters to strictly implement the membership cleansing initiative.

The Centre has urged the journalists and mass media to focus on the issues of people's livelihood, good-governance, development, social justice and prosperity while asking the government to take the ongoing anti-corruption drive to its logical end.

The event inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha in Gorkha bazaar also discussed the agendas of existing situations, challenges and transformation of the media sector, among others.