The Bhutanese Media: In the Service of the Public

In: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Gross National Happiness. Thimphu, Centre for Bhutan Studies 2005, pp. 78-96

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Abstract

This paper attempts to establish a coherent role for the Bhutanese media as Bhutan seeks to create an enlightened society through the pursuit of Gross National Happiness. With the debate on the Constitution of Bhutan begun, the paper will discuss the implications of the freedom of media, freedom of speech, and the right to information that will be guaranteed. It will try to portray these vast concepts in Bhutan's context and look at the new freedoms – with their intricacies and contradictions – to find the lines of balance. The paper highlights two critical issues as the basis for the discussions and as foundations for the role of the Bhutanese media. The first is that the media must provide – in fact it must become – the public space for Bhutanese society. The second is that, given the powerful forces of state control and commercial drive that is shaping the global media, the Bhutanese media must not lose focus of its priority in providing – and in being - a public service. This paper provides a strong justification to instil the concept of public service in the Bhutanese media against the tide of media commercialism that has overwhelmed the global media.