"We've produced good investigative media stories but such stories have failed to make authorities and individuals accountable. No actions are being taken based on the findings of those stories," journalist Gaunle, who is also the editor at the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJ), Nepal, said at the program organized by the institution.
More than 80 journalists, including Kunda Dixit, Sudhir Sharma, Narayan Wagle, Chandrakishore, Deepak Adhikari and Ujjawal Acharya, exchanged their views on changing media landscape in Nepal and the use of new media to tell investigative stories.
In the seminar, investigative journalists John Bones from Norway and Eeva Simola from Finland shared their experience of investigative journalism from their respective contexts.
The participant journalists and media enthusiasts underscored the use of new media and data journalism for investigative stories. According to them, new media has brought both challenges and opportunities in Nepali journalism.
Although online media is quicker but it sometimes spreads rumors, according to Nepali Times editor Dixit. The online media reports are also simultaneously countered and checked for accountability.
Meanwhile, Wagle, editor for Setopati, expressed his concerns over the use of social media by Nepali journalists in the present scenario. "Journalists throw stones not words on social media. They appear more as protesters than reporters," he said, adding that such activities risk widening political rifts than resolving them.
But Tarai based political analyst and journalist Chandrakishore said that journalists have played a vital role in creating communal harmony through social media.
Dixit argued that activism and journalism are interconnected but again they are not same. The journalists should decide to stay on proper ethical ground.
"Journalist is also an individual with his or her own ideology. They cannot be barred from sharing their personal views on social media, but they should also be encouraged to use conscience while doing so," according to the editor of Kantipur Daily Sudhir Sharma.
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