A quarter of Nepal’s population is now online and traditional media is being left behind
It started on the most non-serious date, April Fool’s Day this year. But four months later, Nepal’s latest online media portal,
Setopati, has shot up to become one of the most visited Nepali language site. Its brand of long-form journalism with in-depth coverage and analysis has shown that serious journalism is possible and it needn’t be in hardcopy anymore.
“We moved to the online platform because this is where the future of journalism is,” says Binita Dahal, one of Setopati’s reporters who left Nagarik last February. Dahal’s recent 2,700 word profile of one day in the life of heart surgeon Bhagwan Koirala got 110,000 hits in less than a week. She says: “The reach of an online news portal may still not match a newspaper’s print circulation, but the stories generate immediate feedback and create a huge buzz.”
Online journalism in Nepal got a kickstart from king Gyanendra’s military coup in February 2005, when media looked to cyberspace to bypass controls. The second wave for online media has come with the proliferation of cheap smartphones using 3G connections. A quarter of Nepal’s population is now online, there were 6.84 million internet users as of mid-June and nearly 2 million of them were on Facebook. Another factor that has boosted online readership of Nepali language portals is the large diaspora population.
"We are still in the learning-by-doing phase."
Binita Dahal
Setopati
As a result, publishers in the mainstream media are no longer looking at online journalism as a passing fad and have invested in pushing digital versions of their own publications. “We need to reinvent ourselves and our products so that young readers can be engaged on our sites for longer,” says Akhilesh Upadhyay, editor of The Kathmandu Post which has a presence in the www.ekantipur.com portal. “Newspapers and magazines have done well in the last two decades, but if we don’t make our online content strong we will be swept away by the digital wave that is gaining momentum in Nepal.”
In terms of numbers, the readership of Nepali language portals has grown exponentially in the past two years. Soon after it started, Onlinekhabar.com topped the list of Nepali news portals with an average of 160,000 unique visitors per day. Started by a group of journalism students in 2006, the portal’s traffic is mainly diaspora dominated. “The growth of online media has been encouraging, now all we need to do is tap into the readers’ pulse that is turning towards multi-media content,” explains Dharma Raj Bhusal who founded Onlinekhabar and edits it.
Appetite for multi-media content among internet users in Nepal has spiked as connectivity spread and bandwidth increased across the country. Nepal’s telecom companies and internet service providers (ISPs) paid Rs 3.76 billion to international carriers in bandwidth fees alone in the last fiscal year, up from Rs 2.58 billion in 2011-12.
"I spend more time online than reading books and newspapers these days. The technology overwhelms me all the time, but I am catching up one step at a time."
Akhilesh Upadhyay, Editor
The Kathmandu Post
However, not everything is smooth sailing in cyberspace. Although the readership has increased dramatically, online ad sales are still negligible. This brings up the issue of sustainability and could mean that the sudden surge of readership could be a flash in the pan as online news ventures come and go.
In fact, digital media experts say most Nepali news portals are still not using the full potential of online sites for interactive, dynamic, multi-media content. “It is hard to recall having come across any exclusive online journalism piece showcasing full multi-media potential available today,” says Dharma Adhikari of Media Foundation, a research and policy institute.
“I have embraced online since long, and I can tell you that the critical mass is here, if not to do the hard work than to show their presence.”
-Dharma Adhikari
Media Foundation
Senior editors say even younger journalists don’t come with digital and multi-media knowhow. And even if they do, young reporters and bloggers enter a rigid newsroom hierarchy where the gatekeepers have an archaic perspective on journalism.
“Publishers know the tide is turning, yet they are reluctant to invest in the medium and take advantage in the shift in readership patterns,” says Umesh Shrestha of www.mysansar.com, one of the most popular Nepali language blogs. Shrestha who used to work as a reporter and online coordinator for Nagarik says resistance from hardcopy colleagues to move beyond updating the website with newspaper content was frustrating. However, he is optimistic about the future of online journalism in Nepal: “This is the future, so investments will pour in to get ahead in the online race.”
"I think publishers will soon understand the potential of online media and take advantage in the shift in readership patterns."
Umesh Shrestha
www.mysansar.com
There are some Nepali reporters who have already moved on from traditional media to explore the potential of the new media. “New York Times’ Snow Fall project showed the potential of multi-media storytelling, Nepali journalists also need to start looking for innovative storytelling ideas online,” says Rajneesh Bhandari, who worked at Kantipur Television for seven years before starting out as multimedia journalist.
“Nepali journalists need to be encouraged to make full use of the online platform and take risk with innovative story telling.”
Rajneesh Bhandari,
Multi-media journalist
It’s not just established newspapers that are going digital-first, Nepal’s FM radio networks have also extended their reach worldwide through live streaming with integrated newsroom for text, audio, and video production.
Ujyaalo 90 national radio network’s www.ujyaaloonline.com integrates its radio content (see video) for online not just in text and podcasts, but also through video. “Our reporters go to the field and bring content for all three types of media,” says Gopal Guragain, founder of Ujyaalo. “The aim is not just to get ahead in the news breaking business through online, but to create dynamic content to keep the readers engaged and active.”
Recognising the growing presence of online news portals in Nepal’s changing media landscape, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists has formed the Digital Media Committee. Last week the committee organised the first national seminar to discuss the state of online media in Nepal and decided to draft a code of conduct for online journalists. A five-member committee led by Ameet Dhakal, editor of www.setopati.com, will prepare draft of the code of conduct and another 10 member group led by Arun Baral, editor of Onlinekhabar will make necessary recommendations to the FNJ Digital Media Committee to resolve legal provisions concerning online media.
"One can’t really predict how the technology is going to change so the best we can do is prepare ourselves to stay afloat during the massive digital wave."
Gopal Guragain
Ujyaalo 90 Network
Younger readers are moving to online, but advertisers are still stuck mainly with print. Advertising Association of Nepal has lumped online medium in the ‘others’ category since negligible per cent of Nepal’s Rs 3 billion advertising pie today goes to online.“Even after eight years in the business we still have a tough time convincing advertisers who are used to seeing the products on television and newspapers,” says Dharma Raj Bhusal of Onlinekhabar. Nepali news portals make up to $500 a month from Google AdSense, but have hardly any local advertising, which makes the business model for online media still iffy.
| NEPAL SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS |
| Facebook |
| Total Facebook Users |
1,890,820
|
| Facebook Global Ranking |
66
|
| Pentration of Population |
6.53%
|
| Penetration of Online Population |
79.59%
|
| Largest Age Group |
18-25
|
| Male Female User Ratio |
69% Male, 31% Female
|
| |
|
| Twitter |
| Estimated Twitter Users |
100,000
|
| Most Followed User |
Baburam Bhattarai with 25,000 followers
|
| Estimated 10,000 Active Bloggers |
| Source: Social Bakers, March 2013 |
Experts say the online revenue is a global one and will require serious study and business plan to address market needs. Says Ujjwal Acharya, digital editor at Annapurna Post: “Nepal’s online media is still in a trial and error phase, we are still trying to find a sustainable business model.”
This week, the online company Amazon’s founder Jeffrey Bezos bought the family-owned old media, The Washington Post. Such an aquisition may still be a long way off in Nepal, but old media here must also adapt to a more online readership or wither away.
“Advertisers prefer media that has large audience and as the online media will develop, they will turn to online media for obvious reasons.”
-Ujjwal Acharya
Digital editor
Annapurna Post
Ujjwal Acharya of Annapurna Post talking about the state of online media in Nepal
Timeline
1994
Mercantile Office Systems begins commercial email system
1995
Mercantile starts full online access operating via lease line through Nepal Telecom with 150 subscribers
The Kathmandu Post goes online on the University of Illinois website
1997
HimalMedia starts himalsouthasia.com
1999
Nepal Telecom launches GSM, telecom penetration 2 per cent
2000
NepaliTimes.com GOES ONLINE BEFORE HARDCOPY
Kantipur Publications starts KantipurOnline.com
2004
United We Blog BEGINS
2005
Spice Nepal, first privately owned GSM operator launches Mero Mobile
2008
NTC introduces broadband internet through ADSL
2010
Telecom subscribers reach the 10 million mark
2010
1.25 million interent users
2010
Ncell launches 3G Internet
2013
approx. 2 million Facebook users in Nepal
2013
6.68 million internet users, 6.25 million access internet through mobile handsets
Source: www.nepalivoices.com, www.nta.gov.np
Election fever
With elections due in November, media critics have their eyes set on the online media. In the run up to the constitution deadline there was a spike in postings and the internet became a virtual battleground as netizens engaged in debates on federalism based on identity. This time cyberspace will be an even bigger virtual battleground in the campaign period. “The most accessible medium is usually the most cluttered,” says Dharma Raj Bhusal of Onlinekhabar. “With the presence of party mouthpieces online this election is going to get nasty.”
But experts say this is where online media literacy will be tested as readers and users navigate the information clutter and try to separate facts from propaganda and choose between platforms. Online media may still reach a fraction of the readership, but because journalists depend on Twitter, Facebook and blogs, it has a multiplier effect.