Reuters/Dawn Photo: Cameraman Takes Footage of Blast Site
In the latest Press Freedom Index 2009, compiled on the basis of questionnaires completed by hundreds of journalists and media experts around the world, Pakistan ranked 159 out of 175 countries. Although the country “has scores of privately owned television and radio stations, putting it on the path of an information revolution comparable to that experienced by India about ten years ago,” the media is caught in “a vice between the Taliban which has stepped up its attacks and the security forces who continue in their old ways of harassing journalists,” noted Reporters without Borders. Moreover, Pakistan’s press is “increasingly belligerent in its coverage of political and socio-economic problems, despite the huge risks.”
Given that Pakistan’s media revolution occurred not too long ago, such rankings reflect the increasing need for the media to critique itself and institutionalize responsible reporting. This past Friday, eight of Pakistan’s major electronic news outlets – KTN, Samaa, Dawn News, Dunya, Express News and Express 24/7, ARY, Geo and Aaj TV – announced that they had reached an agreement on a code of conduct on the media’s coverage of terrorism. According to Dawn,
After a two-week debate on the issue, representatives of these channels agreed upon certain rules in terms of a range of issues, including the broadcast of images in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, the need for time-delays on live broadcasts, guidelines for covering hostage situations, the airing of demands and messages by terrorists, and the training and safety of news crews and reporters.
Hajrah Mumtaz, over at Dawn, further asserted,
…the independence of the media is meaningless unless the media also take upon themselves the grave duty of honest and responsible reportage. While it is by no means possible to defend the arbitrary laying of curbs upon the media by a state or government – for that would amount to censorship – it is up to news organizations to themselves come up with methods that internally regulate the content of what is being broadcast or printed.
In July, Al Jazeera English’s The Listening Post provided an informative backgrounder on the rise of Pakistan’s private news channels. In 2002, former President Pervez Musharraf set up the Pakistani Electronic Media Regulatory Authority [PEMRA] to issue the first licenses for private radio stations and TV channels. For a population just 49.9% literate and where newspaper circulation is around 6 million, such a development was monumental. Moreover, noted Jugnu Mohsin, people who owned newspapers were allowed to own cable television channels, doing away with past laws against cross-ownership. Prior to 2002, Pakistan’s state-owned PTV was the only news channel broadcast on television. Today, there are around 50 private television channels and 100 licensed private FM stations. The proliferation of Pakistan’s electronic media in such a short span of time has meant: 1) the private media is “here to stay, the days of overt suppression are over,” noted journalist Ejaz Haider, and 2) a reflection on the media’s shortcomings must be undertaken by the media itself, not the government.
Both of these points are fundamentally important. Although Musharraf’s regime liberalized the press, he also attempted to muzzle these outlets following the 2007 state of emergency, when television coverage of demonstrations and criticism of the government were considered “inflammatory.” His censorship [both GEO Television and AAJ were even taken off the air], was met with immediate backlash, proving that the media had become an institution to be reckoned with. Al Jazeera correspondent Kamaal Hyder asserted in July, “Anyone who tries to curtail the power of the media is going to fail.“
Last week, the PPP-led government suggested the Pakistani press be more “guarded” in their reporting, leading many to bristle immediately, suspicious that caution would inevitably mean censorship. PPP politician and former information minister Sherry Rehman spoke to Al Jazeera last week, saying she appreciated the media’s concerns and noted, “They need to be made stakeholders in this consultation, because if we don’t do that, then there’s going to be polarization…and that will not profit either the government or the media or society.”
Rehman’s statement emphasizes this second fundamental point – the increasing need for the maturation of the Pakistani media, a process that needs to be endorsed by the media itself. Maria Ahmed of GEO Television told Al Jazeera that the media needs to institute a “self-critiquement mechanism,” which was manifested in last Friday’s resulting code of conduct for terrorism coverage. Such developments are a positive step towards increasing the credibility of the Pakistani media – whether it’s “self-editing” the use of graphic imagery and footage in the aftermath of bombings and violence, or ensuring that information relayed through news channels do not help hostage-takers or endanger the lives of the hostages.
The code of conduct also touches on the need to ensure the safety of reporters, a timely topic given the current conflict in Pakistan and the fact that the media has been barred from covering the military’s offensive from the front lines. The issue was also raised in a media symposium organized by PBS Frontline/World in September 2009. During the conference, Pakistani journalist/filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy [who produced Children of the Taliban] discussed the danger of reporting on the front lines, asserting that increasingly more reporters are “caught between intelligence agencies and the Taliban.” She added, “The Taliban have so many splinter groups – even if you get assurances from one group that you wont get kidnapped that doesn’t stop a second or a third group from kidnapping you.”
In her experience, Obaid-Chinoy learned how necessary it was to create a detailed “security protocol,” which would be sent to the news channel she was working for or a trusted person. In the event that she was kidnapped, the protocol would provide information on all her “fixers,” [people who provide translation, as well as on-the-ground expertise and contacts], so that her contacts could find out very quickly who had taken her away, “since the first few hours [in a kidnapping] are the most critical.” News agencies and journalists, she added, must also ensure the safety of their fixers, “because they bear the brunt of the access they’ve given you.”
In today’s world of 24/7 news coverage and high-speed Internet, we are frequently inundated with information. While the media’s growth in Pakistan is laudable, it also comes with a degree of responsibility and accountability. The recently released code of conduct is only the first step towards this idea of progress.
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the press freedom index is highly influenced by the reporting ABOUT pakistan, which is highly negative. being a follower of the pakistani media, i find it nonsensical that it could be ranked so low in the press freedom index.
i think that the self-created code of conduct is a very sophisticated step taken by the pakistani media.
Fahd, I also thought the ranking was pretty unfair given how “free” and vibrant the media is in Pakistan and is not reflective of this fact. Actually, last year, I organized a conference for Pakistani journalists for work and when I took them to the Newseum I remember many of them being very affronted by the fact that Pakistan on the map was noted as having “little/no press freedom.” We actually made a complaint with the museum tour guide!
However, this is Reporters Without Borders explanation in their methodology section:
“To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders prepared a questionnaire with 40 criteria that assess the state of press freedom in each country. It includes every kind of violation directly affecting journalists (such as murders, imprisonment, physical attacks and threats) and news media (censorship, confiscation of newspaper issues,
searches and harassment). And it includes the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for these press freedom violations.
It also measures the level of self-censorship in each country and the ability of the media to investigate and criticise. Financial pressure, which is increasingly common,
is also assessed and incorporated into the final score.”
Great post!!!!
Nice post.
I read a very telling comment on this development today in the paper. Basically, as the media is the ‘fourth estate’ or in pakistan as they like to call it the ‘fourth pillar’ of democracy it has a responsibility to society first and foremost. Anyway the writer of the article expressed that this is the first time in history that one of pakistan’s democratic institutions has self-regulated itself to hold itself responsible to society and in the interest of the people. Now, I am sure one can argue against that, but it is definitely one of the few occasions if not the only one.
For such a young media to take such a progressive step is indeed the first step in a maturing media and democracy. As Pakistan’s democratic institutions remain immature, a mature media can only help to strengthen and further develop the other democratic institutions. The decisions taken were in response to a public outcry over coverage of bomb blasts and militant attacks and over parliamentary discussions on possibly restricting media coverage of these events. Nonetheless, the media could have ignored it and cried foul if and when the government decided to intervene. Instead it took the high road and regulated itself. This helps to create a progressive and mature precedent in the development of Pakistan’s democracy and a bond of goodwill between the government and the media, who are so often at each others throats.
There are a few media organizations who chose not to join in the agreement and that is their right.
It’s great to see the media take a step like this and may help to restore some of the public’s trust in the media and reduce the animosity towards the media. Journalists around the world walk a tightrope almost everyday when it comes to ethical dilemmas and sometimes end up on the wrong side for many reasons, and are given an earful for it. But rarely are they commended for doing the right thing, which is more than often the case, because it is not obvious to the public when the right thing has been done. It’s nice to see people recognizing this step.
Now should this have been done earlier? Probably. Can you fault such a young media for not regulating itself earlier? Sure. But one must keep in mind how long it took print media in places like the US to regulate themselves and then this doesn’t seem all that bad.
Personally, I think the media needs to regulate in many other ways which are a lot more important than the coverage of terrorism or scaling back on graphic images. To be honest, the whole issue of graphic images is not an open and close matter. But that’s an entire issue in itself. Furthermore, the government also needs to start protecting journalists as you mentioned in your piece. That is one of the ‘pillars’ of a free press and that responsibility falls on the governments shoulders. They need to reciprocate and put laws on the books, or enforce laws that may already exist. And journalists need to be held responsible for libel, defamation etc. And the government needs to put mechanisms in place where the stifling or shutting down of the press becomes a near impossibility. So there is a lot of give and take still left for Pakistan’s media to fully develop responsibly, but as you said, it’s a step in the right direction.
@fahd…i think the problem with a lot of these rankings are that they also are very technical…they rate the laws protecting the journalists, protecting the freedom of speech and the number of journalists killed (of which pakistan has had the most journalists killed along with somalia over the past year) so the rankings become skewed. As we know that the way things work in pakistan, things are created and law and culture adapts to it in a reactionary way, therefore these rankings are flawed when considering the paradox that is pakistani society…so even though the pakistani press can talk smack about the government etc etc when it comes down to it they aren’t free because they get murdered or geo can be shut down in an instant. And no law is preventing that. so technically speaking we probably leave a lot to be desired when it comes to press freedom, but practically and in practice there is a fair degree of freedom. but as a journalist there are a few things in karachi which you really think twice before reporting, because the consequences are made abundantly clear.
is this opening the path to a more formal arrangement – a press authority of some sort?, with reprimands dealt by the editors themselves rather than the government?
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Saesneg- possibly, hopefully. Let’s see. The step taken was kind of reactionary, but let’s hope that this has opened the flood gates rather than just a small window.unfortunately, the vast majority of editors in this country only know print. Which is one of the reasons the ‘electronic’ (as its called in pakistan), rather the broadcast media has many of these problems. Two vastly different mediums run by the same people creates all kinds of issues.
a step…correction…an overdue small step inthe right direction
next the major media players should install
(a) an independent ombudsman in their organisation, and
(b) a chief ombudsman for the electronic media themselves
once such a mechanism is in place, the media will enhance their trust with the viewers as well as with the politicians
digression:
is there any agreement between them to define what a breaking news is?
lately, they treat both the assassination of a head of state or govrnment at par with a truck over turning on a highway resulting in one or two fatalities
@temporal … Geo TV was once showing the banner *News Alert* and guess what ? Salman butt had just arrived at the Allam Iqbal airport.. sheeh.
Great post!!
Media regulation has become an essentially important matter as it matures to a more powerful institution of the state.
I must say that this first step by the leading media outlets is commendable in reporting and broadcasting under certain rules.
However, at the same time, these regulations are absolutely insufficient. Pakistani media must also learn to step out of the cash-a-spice reporting style!! The space they give to past ghosts with no credibility whatsoever and their pathetic rants, is pretty effective in putting everything peaceful through a storm – and that too, without a proof most of the times.
It should be a rule that even an opinion upon the electronic media MUST be substantiated with some proof at least, not bullshit rant and pathetic shit-theories which may pose a threat to democracy itself.
Here’s a good follow-up piece by Dawn on the Press Freedom Index rankings: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/encounter/misjudging-media-freedom-in-pakistan-519