Duality of media freedom

Wednesday, 4 May 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

PRESS Freedom Day is a unifying cord that runs through the media industry; it is a day when the grievances and challenges of the industry are laid bare. It is a day when media professionals around the world take a step back and ask themselves some hard questions.

Media freedom in Sri Lanka remains a controversial issue, not only because of external threats and suppressions, but because of the internal constraints that make it even weaker and gives an uncertain future to the industry. On the eve of Press Freedom Day, which fell yesterday, Networking for Rights (NFR) in a statement called upon local and international democratic forces to focus on the right to the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka as one of the most important issues that needs to be re-established. It remarked that “the Government of Sri Lanka must address this issue urgently by introducing political and legal reforms in accordance with international standards”.

The NFR said what has been acknowledged by many – that decreasing professional standards is one of the covert ways to make suppression more effective. The statement notes that media professionals in Sri Lanka are paid the lowest in South Asia and have little or no union assistance since they are banned in private organisations. The lack of proper working environment means that new talent is reluctant to enter the industry and many leave mid-way. Not recognising educational qualifications, lack of a standard payment rate, little recognition and non-conducive working environment results in undermining the industry significantly.

Taking these circumstances into account, media researchers have also suggested appointing a watchdog to monitor media and public relation organisations so that what, how and why they report subjects can be understood. In many instances the context of reporting goes unnoticed and many media personnel are unaware of why they report what they do and focus on the angles that they find interesting.

Defining these aspects would also assist the media to understand their vulnerabilities and work harder towards impartial and unbalanced reporting. Continuous on the job training is required for such an endeavour. Moreover, when reporting on issues, journalists should be provided with the infrastructure to travel to areas such as the north and east to gather accurate information rather than publishing solely what the Government says.

Media freedom is a basic right of the people. To be informed is to be empowered; therefore when the media is disempowered, society as a whole suffers. Nonetheless, there are many public and private institutions that claim to work for social good, but do not communicate with the media to increase transparency. Obtaining and publishing data is often a laborious and time-consuming process leading to inaccuracies and counter allegations because officials are not willing to give information to journalists.

For media freedom to increase, these are a few of the important issues that need to be addressed. Assisting journalists to do their job and respecting their rights is an essential facet of establishing a strong fourth estate. Media freedom is essential to develop good governance, freedom of expression and democracy; thus it is in the best interests of everyone to support a responsible and professional media with the freedom to write things right.