Dasho Dasho (Dzongkha: དྲག་ཤོས; Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Drag-shos'') (lit. Excellent One) is a Bhutanese honorific that is bestowed upon individuals, along with a red scarf kabney, by the Druk Gyalpo. In common practice, however, ma ...

'' Kinley Dorji (

Dzongkha Dzongkha (; ) is a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman language that is the official and national language of Bhutan. It is written using the Tibetan script. The word means "the language of the fortress", from ' "fortress" and ' "language ...

: ཀུན་ལེགས་རྡོ་རྗེ་; Wylie: ''Kun-legs Rdo-rje'') was Bhutan's first trained journalist who became founder, then

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

of ''

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 ...

,''

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 national

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

. In 2009 he became Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications, a position he held until 2016.Wangdi, K, 2009, ‘The man with a pen and purpose’, ''Kuensel'', March 28 Dorji was sent to Australia by the Fourth King to study journalism in the 1980s, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from

Mitchell College Mitchell College is a private college in New London, Connecticut, United States. In fall 2020 it had an enrollment of 572 students and 68 faculty. Admission rate was 70%. The college offers associate and bachelor's degrees in fourteen subjects ...

, now Charles Sturt University, situated in country Bathurst. He also completed a Master of Journalism at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York, and, in 2007, was awarded a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

for his development of media in emerging democracies. In 2019 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

for his contribution to global journalism. When Dorji left ''Kuensel'' in 2009 to take up his government position, journalist Kencho Wangdi paid homage to his leadership:

His editorial was a staple for a generation of educated Bhutanese and it mirrored, with all its problems, the growth of Bhutan. He walked a fine line between criticism and appeasement of the government and many a time was caught in between...The changes came slowly and cautiously but always forwardly…He was ''Kuensel’s'' intellectual conscience...He loathed a sensationally written story, or even a headline. He wrote in one of his editorials: ‘All of us who professionally use the media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarise that society. We can brutalise it. Or we can help lift it to a higher level.

He published Bhutan’s first book on Literary Journalism, titled ''Within the Realm of Happiness'', which includes 13 personal essays on Bhutanese culture. Dorji has been a strong proponent of

Gross National Happiness Gross National Happiness, (GNH; ) sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index used to measure a population's collective happiness and well-being. The Gross National Ha ...

(GNH) as an alternative for

Human Development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body ** This includes physical developments such as growth, and also development of the brain * Developmental psychology * Development theory * Human development (economics) * Human Develo ...

. He lives in Thimphu with his three children and wife, Siok San Pek-Dorji, the founding executive director of Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy. Now retired, Kinley maintains many roles in the community, including editor-in-chief of ''Druk Journal'', director of the Bhutan Trust Fund Board, director of the Youth Development Fund Board, a member of the UNESCO National Commission, and a member of the Council of Royal University of Bhutan. On 9 December 2006,Apfanews
/ref> Dorji was awarded the prestigious Royal Red Scarf by the Fourth King, the Bhutanese equivalent of a knighthood, which conferred on him the title ''Dasho'' (Sir).

References

Scouting in Bhutan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English-language writers from Bhutan

External links

From Bathurst to Bhutan and beyond: meet Andrew Denton and Kinley Dorji
Bhutanese journalists {{Bhutan-bio-stub