MEDIA FREEDOM IN PAKISTAN

Saturday, 12-22-07







Articles, Opinions and News
PAKISTANI NATION'S LOSS OF FREEDOMS
Free Media: Breaking the Clichés
Forward to a friend


Free Media: Breaking the Clichés
By Dr. Khalil Ahmad

Regardless of the nature of governments, be they civil or military, liberal or fascists, all of them to protect their rule and authority equally believe in the blockade of information to their citizens. While it is always the first measure military and fascist governments resort to, for civil and liberal governments, it is the last desperate measure. But in case of Pakistan, this scheme does not work in this order.

Here both types of governments take the advantage of the situation. If their rule and authority run smoothly without much hurdles, they allow the media to make use of freedom. Otherwise, they are as brute as the Brutus was to Julius Caesar. No norms, no principles, no values, and no rights fundamental or constitutional can deter them from such trampling of this basic freedom.

In the wake of November 3 emergency-cum-martial law, Pakistan suffered two great casualties: the judiciary became the first victim; the news channels survived a bit. But then after about a fortnight, they too fell dead, Geo, Aaj, ARY to name of a few. Thus the second lifeline of a civilized society was also cut off.

Ironically, it is the same government that made it a habit to boast of its policy of giving this freedom of press to the nation. It is the same government that at the end of the day snatched it back at one stroke. Doesn’t it mean that it gave this freedom to media not as a matter of principle, but sure as a matter of policy?

Now when this basic freedom is not available to the citizens either constitutionally or legally, it is high time that some of the clichés regarding the freedom of print and electronic media that have been made part of our political discourse especially after this March 9 must be analyzed and broke apart. This may help realize its importance and understand its significance for our right to live a life of our choice.

Still it is believed that the media should report objectively. It was the government side that used this argument aggressively during the last couple of months, and media shied defensively on that. But surprisingly many of the representatives from the civil society remain trenched on this position. They too argued in favor of objectivity on the part of media.

Without going into philosophical details, it may be maintained that objective reporting is next to impossible, and at the same time, even theoretically, is against the objectives of reporting. Karl Popper, one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century, nullifies the notion of objectivity as impossibility. We the humans always see things from some angle and report them by interpreting in our own way/s. Indeed, the mere act of reporting is but an act of interpretation also. No doubt, we can count the participants of a lawyers’ rally exactly objectively. But when we qualify this as a big or a small rally, the interpretation will be labeled as PTV- or Aaj- or Geo- or ARY-like, to quote only a few TV channels. So there are only subjectivities, no objectivities. Popper defines objectivity as the inter-subjectivities.

In addition, not everything happened during the occurrence of that rally needs reporting, though it can be done in a detailed narrative. Then, who is going to sift out what is to be reported and what is to be left unreported. The intelligence agencies’ guys too are bound to do that. Thus, it’s the reporters’ right or privilege to make the choice. Of course, they are influenced by their opinions while reporting. They must be, as Talat Hussain once said in his talk show: it’s their discretion to make informed opinion of what they observe and then report; no one can dictate them.

Another cliché that is abused most is that: media should be impartial. That it should favor none; or both parties. Is it possible? Can a TV channel or a Kashif Abbasi say that both Honorable Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and General Pervez Musharraf are right? Sure, that channel or anchor person will not go off air, but certainly viewers will not watch them. This is the cost. Also, can PTV be asked to be impartial? But who will, and who will shut down that Puppet TV channel!

Yet another cliché that bears the semblance of rationality cries for Constructive Criticism. First, no one, either he is criticizer or the criticized, has any right to qualify the criticism because this amounts to controlling the opinions of others with ideas regardless of their quality. Second, what other criticism will be more constructive than that which is negative. If taken in earnest, this lets one know one’s faults and provides an opportunity to remove them and be constructive. Sometimes, this cliché implies that the criticizer must formulate proposals for improvements or alternate solutions. But why? Doesn’t this mean killing the ideas in the bud? Also, doesn’t every piece of negative criticism without any proposal for improvement is pregnant with a positive solution? Terming an act of the parliament, such as passage of 17th amendment, as unconstitutional is saying in other words that parliament should act constitutionally.

Hence, freedom be that of media or an individual is not bound by such baseless ‘safeguards.’ The freedom that was claimed to be given to the media previously was always under siege and threatened by this sort of demands not only on the part of government but other powerful parties and groups also; no mention of underhand tactics to cow it. Actually, giving someone freedom and asking him not to do this and not to do that is unfreedom. Burdening media with the King’s kindness and then demand that it should not question its kingly acts is no kindness at all. We have two or more ways to follow and if we are not free to make our choice, it is not freedom. Philosophically, it’s a contradiction in terms. Socially, it is intolerance. Psychologically, it is a symptom of fear of losing something. Politically, it is limited slavery.

Does this mean media is all free to do anything to anyone, including the individual citizens? Sometimes it appears so. Sometimes it acted in that manner. But, of course, principally no freedom is absolute. So is the freedom of media. It is bound by law, such as defamation, etc. Also as no freedom is without responsibility, freedom of media has its own responsibilities. It may manifest in self-responsibility such as ethical norms; or in legal responsibility. As for one example of self-responsibility, CPNE (Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors) has recently constituted a Media Complaints Commission where violation of journalistic code of ethics would be addressed to. For making media legally responsible, an independent judiciary not susceptible to any government or non-governmental influence, such as emanating from big media groups, is a precondition.

But, no doubt, prior to that we need a truly free media. That means a media which is all free to side with any party or group or government or anything whatsoever. It’s real freedom: let one newspaper or channel opts to be a Musawaat or a PTV. Or a Geo or an Aaj. Or let one channel be sided with the broader interest of the people. Or let another channel follow the dictates of the information market. This freedom also means media outlets are free to follow the demands of their business. Obviously, all these things go against the parochial interests of this government; that is why it was never so that media was given freedom in Pakistan. That is why the bit of freedom the media got by its own struggle and sacrifices has been pulled down dictatorially.

Isn’t it another way of ‘bombing Pakistan back to the Stone Age?’


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reader Comments: [post comment]

There are no comments. Click here to be the first to comment on this article.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Pakistan Think Tank Organization (PTT) or its members.

To become a Member of PTT, click here.

The PTT grants permission to cross-post original PTT articles on community internet sites as long as the text & title are not modified. The source and the author's copyright must be displayed. For publication of PTT articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: agamjd@gmail.com

www.pakistanthinktank.org contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

Invitation: All original articles are welcome for the PTT Articles Section, please e-mail them to: agamjd@gmail.com
Latest Articles
Amerika Khuda Nahin
Haroon-ur-Rashid, Express, {Courtesy: Lt.Gen Agha Jahangir Ali (Retd)}

Pakistan's future imperfect
Ali Dayan Hasan; South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Desist from foolish adventure
Dr Samiullah Koreshi; Ambassador’s Diary

The suppressed story of Indian proliferation
Dr. Jassim Taqui; Deputy Editor (IR)

Musharraf’s enlightened moderation
A H Raja,The writer is a retired Pakistan army officer and a defence and political analyst.

Free Media: Breaking the Clichés
By Dr. Khalil Ahmad , Alternate Solutions Institute

Newsflash: U.S. Troops Fighting Inside Pakistan-NBC News
NBC News and PTT Commentary

Pakistan’s foreign policy under Musharraf:between a rock and a hard place
Owen Bennett Jones, BBC World Service, and Farzana Shaikh,University of Cambridge and Chatham House

Policy Options Paper: Pakistan
Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, Council on Foriegn Relations, U.S.A.

The science of election-rigging in Pakistan
SAEED SHAH, Globe and Mail, December 21, 2007

A Macro-Analysis of Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan’s Open Letter
by Hassan Baig, Pakistan Think Tank Commentator and Thought Leader

Can the Anbar Strategy Work in Pakistan?
By Clint Watts, is a former US Army Infantry Officer, FBI Special Agent and Executive Officer of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point

Pakistani Advocate Hina Jilani Urges America to Expose Musharraf's Role in War of Terror
AP

Police tear gas Islamabad protesters to stop march in support of CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry
AFP

We will fight till the last breath for supremacy of un-tampered constitution of 1973 and rule of law: Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry
Email from Samad Khurram of the Student Action Committee

The hunt for Benazir's booty: The Robbers are Back Awaiting a Warm Welcome! Oncore Article
Stephen Grey and Rajeev Syal , Journalists, The Sunday Times, and The Pakistan Think Tank Organization

Aitzaz Ahsan: The Emergence of a National Leader
Yusuf Nazar, Distinguished Commentator

Time to Move Forward and Support Principles not Parties
By Dr Masooda Bano, Postdoctoral Researcher, Oxford University, U.K.

Appeal to the Civil Society Organizations’ Leadership - AZADI
Yousuf Nazar, Distinguished Commentator on Pakistan Affairs

Judge Yourself
Mariana Babar

Hence Proved Emergency in Pakistan was not futile
Kaptain Mirza, Kaptains Corner Blog

Fair elections not possible in Pakistan: HRW
Human Rights Watch

Villagers in Badar Ranjha, Pakistan, who read newspapers said Musharraf had declared the emergency to retain his hold on power
By David Rhode and Salman Masood

Eid Mubarak To All Our Members and Visitors
The Pakistan Think Tank Organization

Security Blunder!
Adnan Gill, Defence and Security Analyst, U.S.A.

[ see all articles ]

Home : About Us : Forum : Articles : Links : Manage : Contact Us ©2007 Pakistan Think Tank, USA. All Rights Reserved.