KARACHI: Journalism in Pakistan is fraught with many dangers and in an attempt to train its future crop of reporters and editors, the US Consulate Karachi, in partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), organised a panel discussion titled ‘Conflict of interest in journalism’. Journalists working in international newsrooms as well as reporting on high-stake stories around the globe were part of the discussion held at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) on Saturday.

Lam Thuy Vo and Wajahat Khan from Al-Jazeera America, and Azmat Khan with BuzzFeed News took part in the discussion, with Ethan Bronner, international managing editor of Bloomberg as moderator. The engaging conversation revolved around security concerns for reporters, gathering reliable and authentic sources, being paid to write as well as practising global media ethics.

The purpose of the discussion was to define the world of journalism as much more than just reporting the news; journalism is also about under­standing the world around us and inspiring others to action.

The panellists gave the world of reporting a more reductionist perspective. They stressed the need to break it down in simpler components to allow the inner voice of a journalist to determine one’s ethics.

Lam Thuy Vo, who is the interactive editor at Al-Jazeera America, shared her experience of upholding journalistic ethics. “Reporting on vulnerable and marginalised communities is twice as hard as there can be an unspoken understanding that these peo­ple might expect payment for the time they spend with you. This is a practice that reporters should steer clear of as such transactions may cloud your judgement,” she said.

“Nuance is important when reporting on such subjects and we must not allow the narrative to change to induce a certain emotion in our audience. These people should be portrayed as three-dimensional characters.”

Azmat Khan agreed to this statement as she shared instances where sources have changed their stories to satisfy what they feel journalists want to hear. “Not everyone may be truthful and it is important to factor that in your reporting.”

She seconded the popular axiom ‘transparency is the objectivity’. As no one is free from opinions and biases, to improve oneself as a reporter, “we must acknowledge the opinions we have about a particular topic and be transparent about them.”

Azmat Khan is an investigative reporter with BuzzFeed News who regularly reports on US aid given to different countries around the world. She spoke at length about the changing parameters of journalism and how it has become more accepting and diverse. For her, the role of the traditional journalist is evolving. “Reporters now need to have some experience of the populations they are reporting on. However, there is a line between being knowledgeable and being outright supportive of a cause,” she said.

“A calculus needs to be determined when supporting a cause personally as that may create a form of bias and compromise on objectivity.”

Wajahat Ali, calling himself part commentator part reporter, shared his journey from starting off as a blogger to stepping into mainstream journalism. “I followed my ‘spidey sense’ whenever I had doubts of whether I was compromising my ethics. Also, I made it a point to take a step back and audit myself by asking industry veterans who would sincerely guide me.”

Harnessing a more opinion-based narrative, Mr Ali then shared how, despite being vocal about certain issues on social media, he maintains professionalism to hear both sides of the story. “I feel it important to be fair when I am reporting on a conflict and give both sides of the story, regardless of my personal opinions.”

It was admitted at the discussion that professionalism in Pakistan tended to be compromised frequently. Mr Ali, however, insisted that circumstances in the country had made it harder for journalists to do their job due to the various conflicts of interest they faced.

Ethan Bronner from Bloomberg was an engaging sounding board and helped take the different topics discussed forward. He also shared his many experiences as a journalist having worked at The New York Times for almost 17 years. Mr Bronner has seen journalism evolve and commented on how newsrooms had become more inclusive and accepting towards diverse opinions.

The panel was part of a four-day journalism training summit where panellists shared experiences of working in diverse newsrooms the world over, and stressed the importance of developing higher standards in the field of reporting in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2015

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