RECENTLY, a spate of features and comments appeared in various snewspapers in which the coverage of the Iraqi War by Western newspapers and channels was criticized. The writers correctly berated the Western media for unanimously portraying the war as one of liberation. They very rightly contended that the Western journalists had largely failed in their duty to question the policies of their governments and instead had followed their directives rather naively, if not premeditatedly. The performance of the Fox News and CNN channels was particularly slammed.
One feels that these comments and features, however justified and understandable, by and large lacked context. As a result, an impression may have been created that Pakistani journalists are better than their Western counterparts. The writers of these critical items often ignored the glowing specimens of journalism, which were instrumental in bringing about change at the very top of the American political system. I refer specially to stories on the Watergate scandal, besides those on the Vietnam War.
Moreover, the writers largely failed to draw appropriate lessons from the one-sided portrayal of war by the Western journalists. One is compelled to say this because no story and no novel, even if written for the young, is deemed complete and worthwhile without a moral.
It follows then that merely criticizing the Western portrayal of the Iraqi War will not do. What we need to do instead is identify the errors committed by these journalists, find out why they committed the mistakes and then try to avoid the same. Otherwise, complacency will creep into our work, just as it has in the case of Western journalists.
We also need to see if the Pakistani media are seen in positive light by the world. Are they deemed to be free of controls and curbs? Are the Pakistani journalists looked upon us efficient professionals? A short answer to these questions is: Pakistani journalism is generally not accorded high regard.
Reporters Without Borders — a watchdog — recently drew up the First Worldwide Press Freedom Index. The index measures the amount of freedom enjoyed by the media in each country and the efforts made by governments to see that press freedom is respected. Under the study, questionnaires were sent out to people with real knowledge about the legal and behavioural situations obtaining in various parts of the world.
According to the index, which has been based on the responses by these experts, the United States has surprisingly been ranked 17th and the United Kingdom 22nd in terms of press freedom. The top honours in this regard have gone to Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada, in that order.
More tellingly, Pakistan has been ranked 119th in a field of 139. In comparison, Bangladesh was placed at the 118th position and Afghanistan at the 104th position. A simple conclusion which can be drawn, then, is that there is room for improvement in case of both the United States and United Kingdom but that Pakistan still lags far behind these two countries.
Pakistan’s low ranking should act as an eye-opener for the Pakistani journalists. It calls for introspection and also for constant vigil. Needless to say that we, as journalists, should endeavour to create an environment, in which nobody could say that we are not independent. Nobody should be able to point fingers at us, no one should be able to claim that we are in collusion with the authorities.
Just a few weeks ago, some local reporters were presented with cheques worth Rs5,000 each by Governor Ishratul Ibad for merely presenting themselves at, and then duly reporting on, a function presided over by him. Similarly, not so long ago some members of the Karachi Press Club were invited to Lahore by the then prime minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif.
Towards the end of the trip, each member of the Karachi Press Club’s cricket team was reportedly granted gifts worth more than Rs15,000. Incidents like these need to be condemned strongly, because failure to do so would result in journalistic suicide.
Then there is the issue of coverage by the Pakistani media of the conflicts in which Pakistani troops were directly involved. One such conflict was waged over Kargil.
After perusal of the items which were published, telecast or broadcast by the Pakistani media during this conflict, you may feel that many questions that were raised against the Western journalists, during and in the wake of the Iraqi war, could be raised against the Pakistani journalists. The reason: Pakistani journalists, much like the American and British newspersons, depended too much on official sources.
Yet another related issue is the self-censorship, which we as journalists regularly indulge in when faced with controversial or touchy issues. I am not referring here to taboo subjects involving religion and sex but to political issues that involve hardline regional parties. Almost every working journalist knows that stories on certain regional parties are regularly toned down and downplayed, if they go “too far” in exposing their wrong policies.
There are several other areas too, in which the Pakistani journalists exercise self-censorship.
The idea here is not to belittle the progress made over the years by the Pakistani journalists, but to raise a voice of caution against self-congratulation and resultant complacency. It is said that charity begins at home. Criticism, one feels, should also begin at home.
RECENTLY, a spate of features and comments appeared in various snewspapers in which the coverage of the Iraqi War by Western newspapers and channels was criticized. The writers correctly berated the Western media for unanimously portraying the war as one of liberation. They very rightly contended that the Western journalists had largely failed in their duty to question the policies of their governments and instead had followed their directives rather naively, if not premeditatedly. The performance of the Fox News and CNN channels was particularly slammed.
