Code of ethics for media need of the hour | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Code of ethics for media need of the hour

Pakistan Press Foundation

LAHORE: Although no business can run without investment, the same is true for media houses, but code of ethics was must to avoid any inverse effects of telecasting information.

These views were expressed at the Hameed Nizami Press Institute of Pakistan that organised a seminar on ‘Corporate Media and Risk to Democracy’ at HNPIP Auditorium near China Chowk on Tuesday.

Liaquat Baloch presided over while Parliamentary Secretary Rana Arshad and Dr Ijaz Butt were the chief guests on occasion. Speakers included analysts Fazal Hussain Awan, Mian Saiful Rehman and Salman Abid. HNPIP Director Absar Abdul Ali was the moderator.

Baloch said that all the state institutions should work within the ambit provided by constitution of Pakistan. The trend of the media outlets to earn money at the cost of killing information was wrong. He said the tilted news shed harmful effects on the democratic process. He said that personality worshipping in political parties led to decline of the democratic process. Monetary interests should not dominate the missionary spirit of the media houses, Baloch. He said that the US used the western corporate media and created a war environment there.

Lauding role of NPT Chairman and The Nation Editor-in-Chief Dr Majid Nizami for dissemination of Pakistani ideology, Rana Arshad said that the need was to adopt codes in every field of life. He said that all the state institutions should avoid confrontation with one another. Media houses should themselves frame code of ethics to avoid any diffident incidents at happened. Saifrur Rehman said that the corporate culture has become dominant in the society that gave birth to many ills. He said thast corporate media kill truth but promotes wrong activities just for money. He said that declined society was another factor that shook bases of democracy. He said the media houses should follow rules and regulation besides earning money.

Dr Ejaz Butt said that a businessmen opened media houses just to protect their interests. Instead of creating sentionalization, media should promote true democracy and real picture of the deprived. He stressed on the need for check and balance on media.

Salman Abid said that when media houses prefer the monetary interests on the mission they were supposed to promote, its credibility stands no where.

He said blind marketing through media outlets for wrong commodities misled people.

He said that the businessmen turned politicians and media owners cast harmful impacts on democracy. Fazal Hussain Awan said that all segments destroyed democratic process.

He said that in Pakistan some media houses, politicians and others wanted to become others agents. If democratic process was strong, no media outlet could harm it, Hussain held.

The Nation