Lessons from Leveson

Leveson Inquiry, set up in response to tabloid phone-hacking scandal in UK, may have found an agreeable middle ground.

The relationship between media and the government is always a delicate and fraught one. No one wants the government to be too assertive as that can lead to suppression and censorship but the media, too, can cause untold damage if it is given a completely free rein. The Leveson Inquiry, set up in response to the tabloid phone-hacking scandal in the UK, may have found an agreeable middle ground. The commission recommended replacing the largely ineffective Press Complaints Commission with an independent authority. The new body needs legislative sanction, something Prime Minister David Cameron is reluctant to give, but his coalition partner Liberal Democrats and the opposition Labour Party have embraced the Leveson Inquiry.

Though the media and political culture in Britain are obviously very different from Pakistan’s, there are lessons for us to be learnt. There is no doubt that the tabloid instinct needs to be curbed in Pakistan but it may not be the best idea to achieve this through government legislation, since the latter tends to abuse unregulated authority. Rather, efforts should be made within the industry to improve standards instead of having a regulatory body at all. Although, if there were to be one, a voluntary organisation like the one set up in Britain by the media itself would be a far preferable solution in Pakistan.

Our government and judiciary may also want to notice how the entirety of the hearings of the Leveson Inquiry were broadcast live on the internet with no discernible effects on security or national unity. Our own supposedly independent inquiries are not only shrouded in secrecy but their final reports are often also kept from the public. Even if our own media commission, constituted along the lines of the Leveson Inquiry, does not come up with a workable solution, simply conducting its proceedings in public would be a great boon for public accountability. No one doubts that the media here needs fundamental reform; now would be the best time to debate why and how this should be done.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2012.