A case for better regulation of parliamentary reporting

News reporting must be protected from those who would turn it into a circus, but it must never be silenced.

The premises of Nepal’s parliament are increasingly being transformed into a theatre of the absurd. The recent surge of unregulated content creators—armed with boom mics and mobile phones, in the Singha Durbar premises—has blurred the distinction between news reporting and targeted provocation. While the pursuit of accountability and well-functioning news outlets remains the cornerstone of a functioning democracy, the current descent into viral journalism threatens to undermine the very ethos of accountability, often backsliding into ad hominem to extract a reaction. In separate instances last week, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and former Deputy Speaker Indira Ranamagar found themselves physically cornered and bombarded with questions designed not to elicit information but to generate controversy for social media consumption. In one particular instance, Ranamagar was hounded despite being visibly ill, illustrating a total abandonment of basic empathy in the race for digital engagement.