Kathmandu, Sept. 28 -- When mobs stormed Kantipur Media Group (KMG)'s complexes in Tinkune and Thapathali on September 9, torching vehicles, vandalising studios, and injuring staff, it was not an isolated event. Nepal's press has long carried the burden of being both a witness and a target during moments of political upheaval.

"This is not new," says Bijay Paudel, chief editor of Kantipur TV. "We had already assumed some kind of attack could happen. It happened during the pro-monarchy protests in March 2025, during the 2006 People's Movement, and in 2004. Every time we speak the truth, someone gets offended."

Paudel was inside the Tinkune building when the attackers arrived. He remembers rushing colleagues downstairs, breaking open a lo...