Reporting responsibly

Here in Hunza, I find myself surrounded with many stories. The real test is making a decision about which story to explore. Sometimes while out in the thick of things, a bizarre series of events can lead one astray. Just this morning, I saw alerts running on leading news channels suggesting that authorities in Hunza had decided to blow up the spillway at the Attabad lake so that the lake could be drained. There was a temptation to call up the newsroom and provide them details of this report as news channels with so-called credible reputations were running the story.

Instead, I called up the district administration who informed me that this was nothing but mischief and misinformation. How on earth could explosives be used to blow up the spillway? The impact would disturb the debris of the lake and no one would be able to predict how the water would behave. Not surprisingly, this unfounded report invited criticism on the way media organisations behave at times. The administration officials thanked me for making the effort to verify the report with them, and when I called up my newsroom at Express News and Express 24/7 the confusion was cleared. This incident serves as a reminder that journalists can never forget their responsibility of reporting accurately.

When the Attabad crisis reached the airwaves there was a race amongst the media to bring exclusive information and some organisations lost track of whether their reports were credible or not. The locals on the streets of Hunza say the media created panic as to how the water in the Attabad lake would behave. Only after the water started discharging into the spillway at a very peaceful pace did they feel the worst was over. What has really surprised me is the wonderful local media here. A TV channel that relays information in the local language and a couple of newspapers cater to local information needs, as well as a few blogs managed by locals which have a following nationally.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2010.