Bhutan gets first daily newspaper

THIMPHU: Bhutan, which embraced democracy recently has got its first English daily newspaper, promising to provide a new perspective to news and events for the citizens in the land-locked Himalayan country.
    
Bhutan Today, the first English daily launched in the country, is the third private newspaper after Bhutan Times and Bhutan Observer, which are weekly and bi-weekly respectively.
  
The country also has a state-run newspaper Kuensel, which is also a bi-weekly.
    
Launching 'Bhutan Today' on October 30, Information and Communication Minister Nandalal Rai said that the government was ready to support free media.
    
"Democracy means responsibility and journalists have an important role to play in making democracy a success," he said.
   
The language of the paper is made so simple that a personwho knows basic English can easily understand the content," said the daily's managing editor, K B Lama.
    
Being a daily, he said, the newspaper will have an advantage over other papers when it comes to urgency and breaking news.
    
"Bhutan Today was not to compete with other bi-weekly and weekly papers, but to complement each other. And we'll survive," Lama said.
    
Managing Director Tenzin Dorji said the newspaper will strive to provide a new perspective. "Our entry into the media is our country's commitment towards free speech, free press and free enterprise. This is one of the greatest gifts from the
monarchy," he said.
    
Bhutan witnessed its first democratic elections in March this year and underwent a smooth and peaceful transition to democracy.