Journalism — a battlefield for today’s journalists

Speaker compares journalists to soldiers, who sacrifice their life for the profession

KARACHI: Journalism is like a battlefield for today's journalist - you have to pay for being honest and loyal. With this adage, a seminar, titled 'Challenges to the Journalist', was organised on Saturday by students of third year, mass communication, University of Karachi, highlighting the sufferings of a journalist.

Guest speakers for the event were AH Khanzada, the general secretary of Karachi Press Club, Abul Hasanaat, editorial consultant on The Express Tribune's city desk and Owais Aslam Ali, the chairperson of Pakistan Press International.



"Journalist are like soldiers who sacrifice their life for their profession," said Ali. He emphasised on the life of a journalist and depicted the hardship they face in the line of duty.

According to Ali, there was a time when there were hardly any security concerns for journalists but this peaceful time changed suddenly after 2002. "We are living in a time where if a reporter is true to his profession and criticises a politician, he is blamed for blackmailing," he added.



Referring to the effects of the war on terror on journalism, Ali said that it seems like we are particularly divided and only speak when our own lives are under threat. He gave the example of how news channels or agencies speak up only for their journalists being threatened or beaten. According to him, hardly any criminal has been convicted for killing a journalist as the family usually has to take back the case due to threats and other reasons. "I believe the journalist community is very powerful and can start a mechanism that can help us follow up the cases," he said. "Moreover there should be some safety training programmes for journalists."

Hasanat discussed media ethics and the role of electronic media during his talk. According to him, the inculcation of good manners is something that one learns from the family. "That's why, in our time, we were never required to learn about ethics as we had already been taught about them at home," he said. "Why have we forgotten about ethics while reporting nowadays?"

In particular, he talked about media handling issues of personal matters of public figures. "We forget that they are also humans," he said, adding that we should put ourselves in their shoes and then pass comments about their personal lives.

He criticised how the media did not perform its function of informing the people properly. "Audience should be informed about important issues like the Local Government Act but it seems that rallies are more important," he said.

Khanzada thrilled the young audience with powerful words. Touching the issue of difficulties in the profession, he said, "Woh yahin se laut jaye jisay zindagi ho pyari [He who fears for his life, must return]."

"I must give credit to the students of mass communication that by organising this seminar, they have actually started a new discussion about the concerns of journalists," he said. "And this discussion will not end here, we will take it everywhere."

He gave hope to the audience. "Karachi Press Club is always the voice of journalists and will remain so forever," said Khanzada. "You are the future of journalism. Together, we will take journalism to new heights and I promise that the Karachi Press Club will always stand with you."

After the discussion, the students launched their magazine, titled 'Sketches', which covers the profiles of different journalists who are former students of KU's mass communication department.



Professor Tahir Masood, a former chairperson of the department of mass communication, was also present at the occasion. "Media has a great responsibility as it provides awareness in the society," he said. "But the media, these days, has lost its credibility." He added that working journalists and media houses should work for the betterment of the media departments in different universities because the same departments help them earn their bread and butter. "A healthy society depends on a healthy media", he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th,  2015.