Clean the dirt and the dirty will go away

Lists submitted by Ministry of Information to Supreme Court are interesting and present a serious problem.

Ethical journalism is in serious danger. The lists submitted by the Ministry of Information (MoI) to the Supreme Court are interesting and present a serious problem. The simple solution is to clean up the dirt so that the dirty can automatically be wiped out, i.e., the MoI should be abolished, as in the last 63 years, it has been unable to defend any state or government interest.

The MoI tried to confuse the journalist community by making the list controversial. For instance, they have mixed up individual beneficiaries with those who went on official visits. It was unfair on the ministry’s part to mention such names even though such tours are official and there is no secret in them. Secondly, journalists go on the tour after permission from their respective organisations.

The ministry also adopted criminal silence over clarification and categorical denials from some journalists named in the list. One journalist has written a letter to the secretary of information that the office either clarifies her position or she reserves the right to file a defamation case against the ministry. So far, there is complete silence from other journalists named in the list. One can only hope that if they were wrongly implicated, they will stand up. However, at the same time, they should not completely reject the list but inquire about those who have not yet given an explanation.

In order to eradicate corruption on the media front — at least to a large extent — I have several proposals to make. To achieve this, sincere efforts are required by media stakeholders like the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) and the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors.

The first suggestion 1) is to abolish the Ministry of Information. 2) If there is still a problem, the Supreme Court should abolish its secret fund, which should be audited every year and made transparent. 3) A powerful media complaints commission should be appointed immediately. 4) The advertisement control of the Ministry of Information should be handed over to an independent body of professionals with unblemished records as, over the years, successive governments have used it as a tool for blackmailing the media. 5) The APNS and the PBA should take the responsibility of journalists and their families killed in the line of duty. 6) Another proposal is that media houses should bear boarding and lodging costs of journalists if they want to send anyone on official tours. 7) Press clubs and unions should work off their own resources instead of depending on government grants. In this regard, they can work on quarterly souvenirs, sponsorships, etc. It is quite contradictory if, on the one hand, we fight for our rights with the government and, on the other, seek grants from it. Under no circumstances should press clubs take donations from political parties. 8) All journalists who are irregular employees, including district correspondents, workers in remote areas, conflict zones, etc, must be made full-time journalists. 9) Parliament should properly legislate for the welfare of journalists and appoint an independent committee for parliamentary oversight. 10) Finally, journalists must not maintain close friendships with politicians so as to remain free from bias and personal political agendas.

Until these changes are made, ethical journalism remains in serious danger.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2013.