It is important to discuss whether the media should compromise on basic journalistic ethics at the cost of the market.
KARACHI: This is with reference to your editorial of July 19 titled “Media ethics”. Although it was in reference to the hacking controversy which has brought Rupert Murdoch’s News International to its knee, it is important to discuss whether the media should compromise on basic journalistic ethics at the cost of the market, and if so, to what extent.
Another important point raised in the editorial was about media managers becoming so strong that they dictate terms and at times do not care much for basic journalistic ethics.
This is also a time for soul-searching in Pakistan. The media revolution in our country is the result of a long struggle but in the process is that no one, except journalists, realised that it would give rise to cross-media ownership and the creation of monopolies.
As a representative of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, I had expressed our strong reservations before the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and had contended that Pemra should have been not a regulatory body but only one that issues licences. However, the other stakeholders were fine with the establishment of Pemra and the powers given to it and willingly signed its code of conduct. Interestingly, some of these stakeholders are now violating the code they themselves had signed.
The media should reflect the aspirations of the people by keeping them informed but should not become part of the story that they cover. Since it is rapidly growing and becoming ever-more effective, it is essential that media organisations develop a skill-based code of conduct and enforce it uniformly.
Mazhar Abbas
Published in The Express Tribune, July 23rd, 2011.
