The new communication minister is shaking things up. When Nepal Television recently aired an uncut interview of Maoist negotiator Krishna Bahadur Mahara earlier this month, many were shocked. The decision to broadcast it reportedly came right from the top: the new information minister, Kamal Thapa (right) is determined to move state media from being the government's propaganda arm towards greater independence and objectivity. "I have have given written instructions that news should be based on value, not on protocol. Let's see if this will be sustainable," the minister told us.

His official directives advised Radio Nepal, NTV, Gorkhapatra and RSS to exercise their own news judgement and not give into to pressure from senior government figures for coverage. "Minister Thapa has asked us to be give fairer news coverage," Rajendra Dev Acharya, editor of Nepal Television told us.

For state media, this has come as a breath of fresh air. "He is the first minister we've had with a liberal approach, our journalists already feel at ease working with him," said one senior print media editor. Thapa may be trying to ensure that state media can compete with independent private TV, FM and print media. "This is a very good opportunity for all of us, we have already started changing our programming content," says BP Siwakoti, deputy executive director at Radio Nepal.

However, some journalists are skeptical and say it will be difficult to change old ways of doing things. Said one reporter: "There was always political pressure for coverage, and managers were political apointees. Unless that changes, you won't see more independent coverage."

(Naresh Newar)