November 23: Editors of some leading media houses have stressed on institutionalizing the existing media houses rather than adding new ones in the current market.
Speaking at a panel discussion programme on Media and Entrepreneurship organised on November 22, Prateek Pradhan, editor-in-chief of Baahrakhari, said that starting a media house is an easy task but operating and expanding it is very difficult in Nepal.
Citing an example of the rise in number of media outlets in the recent days, Pradhan said, “Building enterprise is fast in Nepal but institutionalising it is an arduous task. On top of it, it is very difficult to find investors for the media sector in Nepal,” shared Pradhan.
Besides Pradhan, editor-in-chief of Karobar National Economic Daily Kuber Chalise and Editor of Republica Subhash Ghimire also expressed their views during the programme organised by Nepal Entrepreneurs Hub in coordination with Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal (SEJON).
The discussion was focused on the challenges for media entrepreneurs and also the role of media in promoting and disseminating stories and facts about the entrepreneurial sectors of Nepal.
Pradhan added that politics can play an important role by setting a rule of law for the ecosystem which includes media, entrepreneurs and investors. Besides this, media professionals and journalists in the Nepali media sector should also be focused on long-term goals rather than using media as a platform for certain targets, shared Pradhan.
Pradhan suggested to the entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs that starting their venture with a vision and operating with sustainable approach will definitely help them gain attention.
Similarly, Chalise shared that rather than increasing the number of media outlets, the existing media houses should have a regular revenue stream so that they can operate professionally.
He viewed that in course of promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs, media can only play a role to give platform to sustainable businesses. “Media cannot establish any entrepreneurs or enterprise. We search for good businesses which have been creating impact and which are sustainable and viable for coverage,” Chalise shared. Media coverage cannot make anyone or anything popular. Rather it depends on the long-term vision and implementation of the owner which makes their venture well-liked, he shared.
Subash Ghimire, editor of Republica National Daily, said that the media should play a major role to educate and make people aware about the economics so that the common people can also understand the importance of economics and business news and articles in their daily life.
Talking about the challenge for media, he shared that the general mass is vulnerable to fake news appearing on social media and the credibility of the mainstream media outlets is getting reduced.
Addressing the entrepreneurs and start-ups, he said that though various start-ups have been coming in the ecosystem, many of them are not being able to address the immediate needs of the people due to the high cost they charge for their products and services.
“Media is always looking for real impactful ideas and ventures. So, start-ups should also be crazy, dedicated, patient and professional enough to approach themselves for coverage in the media,” he shared.
‘Media and Entrepreneurship’ is the first session of the programme under Spark Week 2017, which is being organised on the occasion of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2017. The programme will be held from November 22 to 26. The five-day programme will include various sessions including media and entrepreneurship, importance of making ideas viable, investors’ perspective and policy and capacity enhancing activities for entrepreneurs.
