Journalism has always been an interesting profession, but perhaps never as fascinating as it is today, with so many different directions it can take and so many ways it can be presented to the public. Nepal hasn’t one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the world, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of talented journalists in Nepal who are well-versed in their chosen field and who can provide insightful reporting on important issues in Nepali society.
Nepal has many wonderful journalists who have made great contributions to journalism in Nepal and abroad, both in print and on TV. In this blog post, we’re going to explore some of the most popular journalists in Nepal, who have made it their goal to inform and educate the public about the goings-on of this country.
10 Popular And Famous Nepalese Journalists Of All-Time
Here are 10 Nepali journalists you should know and follow if you want to keep up with the country’s latest news, political insights, and overall happenings inside and outside of Nepal.
1. Rishi Dhamala
Like him or hate him, but the fact is Durga Raj Dhamala, mostly known by Rishi Dhamala is the most popular and famous Nepali journalist who has increased the level of journalism in Nepal by working in several media outlets. He is the founder of a Nepali journalist association, Reporter’s Club Nepal. From hosting different debate program on television channels to writing articles in newspaper and editing his own online newsportal, he has been contributing very efficiently to the journalism industry in Nepal. His online newsportal Reporters Nepal is also one of the best online news portals in Nepal.
2. Bidhya Chapagain
Bidya Chapagain is a popular journalist in Nepal and has been in journalism for several years. She was one of the first women journalists to work on a mainstream national newspaper and has won several prestigious awards. Currently, she is a presenter of a television web series called Herne Katha which was started in March 2018. She has worked as a presenter and producer of one of the most popular debate program in Nepal called Sajha Sawal. She started this program in 2014 and quite in 2018. With this program, she started to gain popularity. She has over a decade’s worth of journalistic experience in radio, television and newspaper experience.
3. Rabi Lamichhane
Rabi Lamichhane is one of the most popular journalists of Nepal, and one of the very few media personality who had gained a massive fame in Nepal. Although now, he has left journalist and has started his political career, his influntial work in the field of journalism has made him one of the most popular and famous journalist of all time in Nepal. He is mostly known for hosting the longest-ever television talk show and Sidha Kura Janta Sang. On his show, he used to interview politicians, journalists, celebrities and took phone calls from the viewers. His show mostly follows up on complaints from ordinary people, chiefly victims of fraud or corruption, and confronts the alleged perpetrators on camera. Because of these, he has gained a massive popularity and fame as a journalist in Nepal.
4. Rabindra Mishra
Rabindra Mishra is a very famous formal journalist and political commentator. He has worked as an Editor-in-Chief at the BBC Nepali Service. He has been one of the most intellectual journalists of Nepal who has worked with Nepal Television and the leading English language daily of Pakistan named The News International. In 1995, he joined BBC Nepali Service as producer and later on worked on English-language flagship programs like World Today and Newshour. In 2006, he was appointed as the editor-in-chief of BBC Nepali Service. He is the person who is most responsible for the popularity of BBC in Nepal.
5. Gopal Das Shrestha
Gopal Das Shrestha was a Nepalese journalist and activist who created the history of English journalism in Nepal by publishing the first ever English daily newspaper in Nepal called The Commoner on 15 July 1956. Just after its two years, he was invited by the United States government, the Department of State to attend a study-work-travel program from a prestigious Medill School of Journalism, Northern Western University, Illinois. He was the first ever Nepali journalist to study, live and trained in the United States under US government funding. He further undertook another training program in United Kingdom working briefly with London Times. He is believed to be the first journalist who is very immaculate and an eloquent writer who wrote in native (Nepali) and English language equally well. He is the journalist who strictly practiced ethics of journalism in Nepal and became a role model to modern journalism. In his forty five years of illustrious and professional career, Shrestha held several media dignitary positions and played a key role in the gradual evolution of media from restrictive to the ‘free press’ of today.
6. Bharat Jangam
Bharat Jangam, also known as Bharat Mani Jangam is a novelist and freelance journalist from Nepal. He is best known for the book Kalo Surya. He is a creator of the “science of anticorruption” in the academic arena. His neo-science is based on modern problems of humans, which is approved Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. He is also a Hindu activist. He currently lives in Kathmandu, Nepal. He has also been conferred the title of “Father of Anti-Corruption Science”. He was an editor and publisher of the weekly newspaper Nepal Awaz for 3 years, from 1988, and made great contribution in the development and stability of the democracy in the country through journalism. He was also a regular columnist on political situation in Nepal and later it was consolidate in a book and was released in the name of Pachas Prasang in 1992.
7. Indra Lohani
Indra Lohani was one of the most popular and prominent journalist, lawyer, political talk show host and news reporter. He was mostly known for his popular political talk television show Bahas that used to air on Nepal Television and later on Kantipur Televison as Kantipur Bahas. After his sudden and unfortunate demise due to the cardiac arrest in January 2009, this show was stopped from airing. He had a great and influential career in journalism. That’s why thousand of people attended his funeral at the Pashupati Temple Cremation Area. His reports from flood-stricken parts of eastern Nepal, where he also participated in rescue activities together with Nepal Army, are considered as heroic by many. He is known to have made efforts to bring infrastructural development in education and other fields in villages and rural areas of the country. Even after his death his family has been contributing for social and religious causes, which they say is made in Lohani’s memory.
8. Uttam Kunwar
Uttam Kunwar is a well-known and award winning literary journalist of Nepal who has been the deputy editor-in-chief of Ruprekha, one of the most popular literary magazines in Nepal. For his anthology book of literary interviews Srasta Ra Sahitya, he won the Madan Purushkar in 2023 Bikram Sambat. During his editorship of Ruprekha, the magazine had become widely popular in Nepal. He is one of the pioneer of the history of magazines in Nepal. Apart from writing literary books, he had conducted many interviews between 1961 and 1996. Due to the cardiac arrest, he died on 30 July 1982 at the age of 44.
9. Vijay Kumar Pandey
Vijay Kumar Pandey is one of the most influential media personality and journalist of Nepal. He is best known for hosting one of the most popular program in Nepal Dishanirdesh in which he interviewed politicians and celebrities of Nepal. He began his career with the Nepal Television show Andhyaro Ujyalo in 1987 which was followed by many other television projects and talk programmes on radio like Sanibar Vijay Kumar Sang on Kantipur FM. He has been also worked as a founding editor of Nepal Magazine and has long been a columnist at Kantipur Daily as well as a consultant editor at Kantipur Televison. Apart from being journalist and TV presenter, he is also a writer who has written a book like Khusi.
10. Narayan Wagle
Narayan Wagle is undountely one of the most popular journalists of all time in Nepal. He has worked as journalist and editor at many popular newspapers in Nepal. He has served as the editor of Kantipur Daily until 2008. He has also worked as the editor of Nagarik News until 2012. Apart from journalism, he also had a wonderful career in literature. His first ever novel Palpasa Cafe earned him a massive fame and also Madan Puruskar in 2005. This novel became one of the best Nepali novels of all time, and was subsequently translated into other languages like English, Korean and French.
Conclusion: Famous Journalists Of Nepal
And with that we bring the list of 10 popular and famous journalists of Nepal to a conclusion. Every person on this list brings something unique to the table, and I hope that you enjoy reading this posts as much as I enjoyed writing them. There may be some other names that you may want to see on this list. So, let us know whom do you want to feature on this list. If you like reading this blog post, and find it informative, please share it with others.
