How do you cover the news when the government censors newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV broadcasts; arrests and harasses reporters; and cuts off phone and Internet service? Nepal's journalists reacted to the muzzling of the press by King Gyanendra on February 1, 2005, with both the simplest and most high-tech solutions.

At the sanitarium Kellogg promoted a vegetarian diet, claiming that since humans and primates had similar digestive tracts, people should follow a natural diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. Kellogg concocted healthy alternatives to vary the menu for patients. Kellogg found that by steaming—rather than grinding—wheat and putting it through rollers, he could make wheat flakes. He served these flakes to patients as a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. Another favorite among the patients was Kellogg's mixture of oatmeal and cornmeal together, which he baked into a biscuit and then ground into bits. He called it granola.

Immediately following the king's seizure of power, Royal Nepalese Army officers began acting as editors, approving and vetoing stories in newspapers and on television, and for six months soldiers enforced a ban on all political news at FM radio stations. Soon reporters became 21st-century town criers by reading news bulletins—and Nepal's constitution—via loudspeakers on rooftops and in open-air "studios." And when the king allowed Internet providers to resume service on February 8, many journalists found an outlet for their views in the blogosphere. At a site called United We Blog for a Democratic Nepal, writers presented a full range of news, photos, cartoons, and interactive commentaries—plus cricket scores for sports fans.

Newspaper and magazine editors sometimes responded to their predicament with biting humor. The Kathmandu Post mocked censors' demands for uncontroversial material with an editorial about sunny weather and the next day published musings about the value of socks in society. In a widely celebrated piece, the editors of the weekly Nepali Times used the metaphor of tree felling to comment on the destruction of democracy and civil liberties:

"The sudden epidemic of tree-felling along Kathmandu's streets is drastic, misguided and not consonant with the needs of the population. In an increasingly congested valley, foliage provides both utility and aesthetics. It gives us fresh air that allows us to breathe freely. . . . Tree-lined boulevards and parks are the mark of any civilised society and the colour of leaves and bark have associations in the human mind with the very evolution of the species. Take away the trees from our sight and senses and our very existence suffers."

(From Nepali Times, February 4-10, 2005.

—Shelley Sperry