Mahabir Paudyal
When Nepali journalists meet on the sidelines of press conferences or during coffee breaks, this is how they often open the conversation: euphemistically asking about how long they have not been paid their monthly salaries. This is the basic income that they need to keep up with work, to survive, to feed their families, and to educate their children.
Those getting paid every 60 to 90 days are the lucky ones. Those reporting 120 days put on a grim face, but those having to forgo a salary for 180 days or more look hopeless and say they might quit journalism altogether.
Exceptions aside, talk to journalists working in the private media about their salaries and most of them will share the same story: We have not been paid for so many months, we are totally broke.
To be an employee of a publication or broadcasting company that pays decent salaries on time sounds like a status symbol. Thankfully, some professional and accountable media owners and publishers still sustain the glory and prestige of journalism in the midst of this gloom.
Show Me the Money
Journalists in Nepal are facing a crisis that impacts their creativity and careers: They are not paid wages on time, or not paid at all for months on end.
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