|
Bhutan The Media
In 1986 a weekly government news bulletin,
Kuensel, was
reformatted under the same title and also published weekly
as
Bhutan's only newspaper. Published by the Ministry of
Communications' Department of Information, Kuensel
had a
total circulation in 1988 of 12,500 and was published in
Dzongkha,
Nepali, and English. Indian and other foreign newspapers
also were
available. Bhutan's low literacy rate, however, means that
the
majority of the population is not affected by the print
media. Oral
tradition is very strong, however, and radio broadcasts
are widely
listened to.
Bhutan Broadcasting Service, established in 1973 and
given its
current name in 1986, operated under the auspices of the
Department
of Information; it offered thirty hours a week of
shortwave radio
programming in Dzongkha, Sharchopkha, Nepali, and English.
There
was daily FM programming in Thimphu and shortwave
reception
throughout the rest of the nation in the early 1990s. In
1991 there
were thirty-nine public radio stations for internal
communications.
There were also two stations used exclusively for
communications
with Bhutan's embassies in New Delhi and Dhaka and
thirteen
stations used by hydrologists and meteorologists. There
were no
television stations in Bhutan in the early 1990s, and a
1989 royal
decree ended the viewing of foreign television by
mandating the
dismantling of antennas. The government wanted to prevent
Indian
and Bangladeshi broadcasts from reaching Bhutan's
citizens.
Data as of September 1991
|
