‘Press needs freedom from sensation’

‘Financial and extremist threats to press freedom have grown’.

LAHORE:

Pakistan’s media has gained a measure of freedom from the government, but now it needs to gain freedom from the sentimentality and sensationalism prevalent in our newspapers and news channels, said speakers at a seminar on Press Freedom Day on Tuesday.

Journalists should keep their emotions in check and give the people the objective facts, said Imtiaz Alam, secretary general of the South Asia Free Media Association, which organised the seminar titled 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers.

“The new media has empowered citizens to express themselves. However, our journalists need to be more issue-oriented. If there is no information to report, they should stop dragging issues, like they are with Osama bin Laden’s death,” Alam said.

He added that the media now had more to fear from clerics than the government in terms of press freedom. He also spoke about the need for better financial conditions to strengthen journalistic independence.

Political scientist Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi said that journalists needed to give more objective and comprehensive reports and analyses. “There should be a test of logic for journalists. One has to look at all dimensions of the problems rather than limiting the argument to one set of issues. And one should not neglect the comprehensive discourse. Journalism should search for truth that stands on its own,” he said.

Dr Rasul Bakhsh Raees, an economics professor and columnist, stressed the importance of professional training in journalism. “They do not get proper training at the institutions that play the role of a nursery for journalists. When they get into practical journalism they are unable to ask critical questions,” he said

He also stressed that journalists act responsibly. “Freedom comes with a big responsibility and it is a privilege that should be looked after rather than misused,” he said.

Columnist Ayaz Amir said the press was far freer today than when Pakistan was ruled by dictators like Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and Yahya Khan. “Those were the dark days for journalists that today’s journalists cannot imagine,” he said. However, he added, journalists were not paid enough, and sometimes their employers withheld their salaries. He also highlighted the difficulties faced by journalists in war zones like the Tribal Areas, where they were at risk of being killed.

Journalists Hussain Naqi and Asad Sahi and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chairman IA Rehman were also on the panel of speakers at the seminar. It concluded with a critique of journalism students’ works by members of the panel.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2011.