Why it’s imperative that Parliamentary correspondents are allowed to report from Legislature

By Chandani Kirinde

The term ‘Fourth Estate’ is attributed to Anglo-Irish politician and author Edmund Burke (1729-97), who supposedly used it in 1787 to refer to parliamentary reporters. Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but “in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”

Since, now and then, a lot of water has flown under the bridge and we can debate the quality of journalism in the current day and how much the Fourth Estate actually holds true to its role of placing raw facts before the public without sprinkling it with a heavy dash of opinions. But even with largely agenda driven media houses dominating the space, journalists have continued to do their job particularly during these challenging times in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

And this is true of Parliamentary correspondents who have been reporting from the Legislature since sittings began in August after the election of a new Parliament bringing to readers, viewers, and listeners, not only what transpires inside the Chamber but also reporting on committees and other aspects of Parliamentary news.

But since last week, Parliamentary correspondents have been barred from covering sittings with officials citing a heightened risk of COVID-19 as the reason for the measure.

It is correct that a Parliament correspondent who covered the debate on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution Bill tested positive for COVID-19 about five days later. About a week to 10 days later, four other correspondents also tested positive but there has been no contact tracing to support claims any of them were infected when they came to Parliament or they contracted the virus while reporting from there.

Parliament is a place with over 1,000 employees and there is strict adherence to health guidelines with temperature checks carried out at several entrances to the building, hand washing, sanitising, etc. It is only inside the Chamber where one can see some MPs without their masks on and social distancing is not always possible given the seating inside the Chamber, which is not ideal for the practice. 

Journalists face a high risk of exposure to the coronavirus given the nature of their work, which makes it impossible for them to sit in office and report, if they are to get proper news across to the public. Hence it is important they have access to Parliament and other places from where they can report. (The weekly Cabinet briefing has been put on hold for two weeks – after an experimental zoom session one week – thus depriving journalists of asking important questions related to Government business and decisions).

If one is to refresh the memory of those who may no longer remember, Parliamentary correspondents in the past three to four decades have reported amidst many challenges. When a hand grenade was thrown into a committee room inside the Parliament building 1987, there was only one Parliamentary correspondent inside the complex and today, he is among those infected with COVID-19 and undergoing treatment at a Government hospital. COVID-19 did not stop him from coming to Parliament and reporting from there and neither did a bomb attack or terrorist threats over the years. During the time of floods, Parliamentary correspondents got to the building, some in boats, some in armoured cars, so that they could do their job. Now for two sitting days, journalists have been told they cannot report from there but report remotely by watching cable TV, Facebook or through some other medium.

It does make the process easier for the journalists to sit in office or at home and report on what goes on inside the Chamber but remote reporting cannot get across to the public what actually transpires inside the Chamber, which is a lot more than someone standing up and making a speech. Opposition protests inside the Chamber during the 20A debate which included MPs carrying placards, one MP unfurling a US flag, etc. would have gone unreported if there were no journalists in the Press Gallery to see it for themselves and report on it.

The Government has repeatedly said the COVID-19 will not go away in a hurry and that we need to live with it. Journalists run huge risks to themselves and their families in the current situation, but many have chosen to face the challenge and report to work.

In such a scenario, closing the door of Parliament to journalists is unacceptable especially at a time when the Legislature itself is being seriously undermined with the newly enacted 20th Amendment to the Constitution taking away some of its powers.

With the budget debate, the most important yearly business of the House, scheduled for next week (17 Nov.), it is imperative that members of the Fourth Estate be there, to be the eyes and ears of the public. Otherwise it will be a matter of time that Parliamentary correspondents become another dispensable group and the crucial role they play in holding lawmakers to account and keeping the Parliamentary process transparent will be lost.