The ''Bhutan Times'' is

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

's first privately owned newspaper, and only the second in the country after the government owned and autonomous ''

Kuensel (; ) is the national newspaper of the Kingdom of Bhutan. It was the only local newspaper available in Bhutan until 2006 when two more newspapers were launched. The government of Bhutan owns 51% of while 49% is held by the public. is publi ...

''. Its first edition, with 32 pages, hit newsstands on April 30, 2006, with a high-profile interview of

Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (born 21 February 1980) is the fifth Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan. His reign began in 2006 after his father Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated the throne. A public coronation ceremony was held on 6 November ...

, the young

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of Bhutan, who had recently been designated to succeed his father as king in 2008. The creation of a free press within Bhutan is recognized as an important step in the ongoing transformation of Bhutan into a democratic society. The weekly paper came out on Sundays until December 2007 when the management decided to become a bi-weekly paper. Bhutan Times came out on Wednesdays and Sundays for a period before reverting to only being published on Sundays. The private newspaper is run by a group of young reporters and editors. At its peak, the paper employed 98 people, but , that had decreased to 10. Another private newspaper called the ''

Bhutan Observer The ''Bhutan Observer'' was Bhutan's first private bilingual newspaper. It was launched as a private limited company by parent company Bhutan Media Services (BMS), and began publishing on June 2, 2006, in Thimphu. Its Dzongkha edition was called ...

'' was launched later in 2006. In 2009, its editorial staff resigned en masse due to disagreements with the paper's leadership, prompting concern from the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

References

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External links

"Two private newspapers to start in April", Kuensel Online
(archived 5 June 2013) Newspapers published in Bhutan English-language newspapers published in Bhutan Dzongkha-language newspapers Newspapers established in 2006 2006 establishments in Bhutan