Real empowerment

President Maithripala Srisena has decided to appoint a committee to take complaints of media personnel who may have been suppressed or restrained from carrying out their professional duties during the tenure of the previous Government. 

The effort, at least on the surface, can be seen as an effort to empower media and redress wrongs. Journalists who were threatened or assaulted during that time could appeal for compensation under the new Commission. Yet there are serious questions as to whether such a commission will really empower media as an industry and allow them to operate independently. 

For starters, Sri Lanka has seen serious levels of suppression over the last decade, pushing the country to among the lowest 20 countries in the world for media freedom at one point. Overt threats and even murder was seen during these long years and even though investigations into these incidents have gained new life they are nowhere near being resolved. 

These grave matters aside, this Government, much like those before it, continues media handouts. Under the previous Government, it was everything from laptops to houses and this Government has pledged to continue providing motorcycles at concessionary prices with promises of more in the future. These are broadly viewed by media personnel as being positive gestures of appreciation but they also serve to reduce the independence of the media and its ability to be impartial.

Media in Sri Lanka continue to be low paid, even by south Asian standards, and though little data exists about pay parity, an educated guess would put women’s salaries significantly lower than their male counterparts. Pay gaps are not endemic to Sri Lanka but little has been done to bridge the divide by employers. Journalists also work long hours but get little recognition for their work. Few of them are given competent on the job training or resources such as funds and time to work on quality reports.

Media personnel are trained to work on deadlines, so every bulletin or newspaper comes with entrenched work schedules that shackle journalists to simply handing in articles each day or covering key press conferences and events. There is little or no attention paid to investigative journalism and many journalists are not given the knowledge to understand complex ideas on finance, the economy or even finer analysis on issues such as nationalism or racism. The close link between politics and media in Sri Lanka make empowering media a critical struggle.

Media personnel would not need or lobby for handouts if they are given decent pay and good working conditions that empower them to buy their own laptops and motorbikes. This would also mean that political manipulation of the media would be controlled and the public interest protected. Under the present system the people do not and indeed cannot always trust media to inform them in an impartial and balanced manner because they are too closely aligned with politics. Such a close affinity also results in Government policies not being independently discussed or evaluated. 

Exhausted from dealing with this system, many journalists are prone to self-censorship, especially during the past few years, or move onto more lucrative industries such as advertising. Journalism is struggling to attract and retain talent; ultimately this will lead to the worst disempowerment of the industry.