Journalist wary of being in line of fire
Karachi:Friday’s bomb blasts have made journalists across the city apprehensive about security that is promised to them to in their line of work. Many complained that the PPP’s security was not “up to the mark, as promised.”
Journalists observed that the high level security expected at Sharah-e-Faisal was not enough to keep them safe, let alone the common man and PPP activists who had been singing Benazir’s praises all day.
Nazeeruddin, a photojournalist, who had lost two of his fingers during the PACC bomb blast in May 2004, said he had been apprehensive throughout the procession fearing a similar mishap would occur. He said that despite the tall claims, the security check was not as strict as expected and everyone was being allowed to join the rally without any verification.
“Suicide bombings were not a norm in Karachi until 2004 and we journalists had no idea how to deal with the situation or judge what’s coming next. We rush to the spot immediately to get our story,” explained Nazeer who admitted that he made a similar mistake in 2004.
Nazeer has been in the profession since 1986 and feels despite lack of insurance and training on part of the media organisation, the effort of journalists who brave conflict-like situations should be lauded.
On questioning some journalists why they did not maintain a safe distance as the foreign newsmen did, one young journalist (who did not wish to be named) said it is because they are not equipped with sophisticated media equipment.
“Foreign journalists have cameras with powerful lenses and they are trained to report in conflict zones. Here we learn from our mistakes because we don’t have training institutions,” he lamented.
However, Sabihuddin Ghausi, senior journalist and the President of Karachi Press Club is of the opinion that the challenges are not new to the profession. He said journalists are expected to brave conflicts and on-the-spot reporting is the ‘need of the hour’.
“You have to be at the spot and part of the crowd to get a different story but reporters have to be adequately trained for conflict reporting,” he admitted.
Ghazi Salahuddin, also a senior journalist, believes the challenges are different today due to the dominance and competition with and within the electronic media where in an effort to race against time, a journalist is willing to take any risk.
However, he felt that the responsibility of training and instruction lies with the media organisations. “We had pressures in our era (the 60s) too but we learnt to cope because the environment for reporters was far more enabling and we were intellectually driven by our seniors who guided us at every step,” he said.
Commenting on the death of a photojournalist of a private television channel in Thursday’s blast, journalist Amir Zia said the incident was not a surprise since the PPP had exposed their leader Benazir Bhutto for quite a long time.
“At times like these journalists are supposed to maintain a safe distance and calculate the risk instead of being sentiment driven. We are supposed to go to get a story not to become a story ourselves,” he said.
While it is being argued that the blasts were anticipated and the risks in the profession are inevitable, journalists insist that responsibility also lies on part of the government to secure the rights of the media person, especially at the time of significant events.
Source: The News
Date:10/20/2007
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