The Forum for Development Journalism (FoDJ) and the Institute of Cultural Affairs organised the first phase of ‘Capacity Building Training on Development Journalism’ for journalists working with various media houses in Kathmandu Valley on Monday.

The training focused on development issues in the country and make them more effective in covering news. Professor at Tribhuwan University Tatwa P Timsina said the development journalism is not flourishing the way it needs to be.“The first thing is that

journalists should learn for time management and keep track of the ongoing development work in the country,” he said. Hari Ram Bhattarai, another facilitator of the training, said the coverage of development news have increased in the Nepali media.

“But there is a challenge of maintaining quality based on facts and examples. Playing with facts creates journalist’s brand image,” he added. Speaking at the programme, FoDJ Chair Gopikrishna Dhungana and Secretary of the forum Chandra Manu Bhattarai shared their experiences in bringing about a change in working procedure of the development journalism in the country. The workshop drew journalists from Radio, TV, online and print media.