Media in Pakistan
By Ikram Sehgal
The fundamental ingredient making democracy possible is the flow of information – without which people cannot possibly govern themselves. The media (electronic, print, cyber and internet) ensures this flow of information.
If restricted, censored or hindered in any way the people will remain ignorant, ignorant of events, ignorant of their rights, their duty to the State, their needs and the role that they can play for the betterment of the society they live in and the country as a whole. The media play an extremely important role in transmitting the claims of social, economic and political movements to the decision-makers and the public. There are several possible interaction-channels between the media and public opinion. On the one hand, we expect the media to frame and report movements to influence public opinion. On the other hand, media coverage may also reflect the existing public attitudes towards the movement, meaning that the media are themselves affected by public opinion.
In my article entitled “Media As An Economic Force Multiplier”, The Nation dated Nov 08, 1999 I had written, “Democracies depend upon the media to maintain the sanctity of trust imposed by the people on any government. Without the media to exercise an effective check, authority has a tendency to go berserk in all senses of the word, combining misuse of powers with nepotism, favouritism and outright corruption. One of the greatest flaws of any kind of dictatorship, military or political and however benign, is the lack of fear among the underlings of exposure, causing misdemeanors to multiply and culprits to flourish”.
A truly independent media can be an effective trustee of future generations, therefore efforts should be made to empower media to become responsible for the benefit of the successor generations. Over the years the media has been shackled by the various governments that took over the reins of power, sometimes quite blatantly and sometimes subtly, rendering ineffective its reach and clout. Pakistan’s media policy is quite impractical and is tilted inwards as opposed to the requirement of being bold and courageous.
As such it has been difficult for the media to flourish in a healthy manner, its growth remains stunted and its influence still ineffective. The media presently enjoys more freedom than perhaps at any time in our short history, it is free to air its views and criticize freely, a wholesome and welcome change from traditions of yesteryears. Despite the change, the press still does not enjoy the type of freedom that is its right in a democratic set-up.
In the wake of America’s successful revolution in 1776, the makers of the US Constitution decided government would be accountable to the people. The people, in turn, could only hold the government accountable if they knew what it was doing and could intercede as necessary, using their ballot, for example. This role of public “watchdog” was thus assumed by a citizen press, and as a consequence, the government in the United States has been kept out of the news business. The only government-owned or government-controlled media in the United States are those that broadcast overseas, such as the Voice of America. By law, this service is not allowed to broadcast within the country. There is partial government subsidy to public television and radio in the United States, but safeguards protect it against political interference.
Nearly 60 percent of the world’s nations today are declared democracies, a monumental change from a mere two decades ago, nevertheless most have instituted press laws that prohibit reporting on a whole array of subjects ranging from internal activity and operations of government to the private lives of leaders. Some of these are well-intentioned efforts to “preserve public stability.” But all of them undermine self-governance.
Pakistan’s rulers used to believe that keeping the press under control, and denying access to information, was one of the ways to defend – and cover up – the country’s weaknesses. However, corruption and cover-ups are inextricably linked. The mass migrations referred to earlier led to a windfall for many bureaucrats in cases relating to properties left behind by Hindus. The exploitation of evacuee property for massive personal gains was the first instance of widespread corruption in Pakistan and that goes back right to the beginning. The press in Pakistan, perhaps believing it would be unpatriotic to expose corruption in the newly independent State, exercised self-censorship and refrained from any exposures.
Control of the press and flow of information, therefore, ensured that the web of corruption grew unchecked. The only exposures of government corruption became the official ‘white papers’ issued by each usurper about the government it had overthrown. Such attempts not only lacked total credibility; they created an environment of suspicion of all officially disclosed cases of corruption.
This is one of the reasons why political governments dismissed on charges of corruption have been later brought back into power by the electorate. On the other hand, some of our journalists and newspapers owe their existence to sensationalism in reporting thereby distorting the truth at will and destroying reputations of law-abiding citizens; they owe allegiance to none but to their own crass interests. This kind of reporting is not confined to Pakistan only, in the west (and elsewhere) profit-driven news organizations are under great pressure to boost ratings by sensationalizing the news: focusing attention on lurid, highly emotional stories, often featuring a bizarre cast of characters and a gripping plot but devoid of significance to most people’s lives.
The control of information and information technology is vital in the reconfiguration of power and politics. Globalization has had a tremendous impact on the way a dispute is projected by the protagonist and assessed by the user of the information. The media is not only important but also fundamental to the process of conflict resolution, accurate reporting brings pressure on the parties involved in any conflict to realize that the time is ripe settlement and any delay is likely to increase the costs of conflict.
The role of the media may not be as effective in Third World countries such as Pakistan in context of its interaction with Public Opinion and National Decision Making as it is in the developed nations because of problems like mass illiteracy and lack of development. While those who are uneducated do have the ability to make a choice, such choice may not necessarily be based on any intelligent strategy, discourse or analysis but rather it may be derived from their adherence to bonds of Biradari, Tribal affiliation or influence of the local landlord or the local politician of the area. In addition to illiteracy, widespread poverty has resulted in a further erosion of awareness in the people about the influence that they can wield.
The Pakistani media continues to contribute to the institutionalization and strengthening of democracy by promoting good governance, inculcating civic culture and democratic parliamentary culture as well as imparting civic education. They have exposed crimes and raised a strong voice against misdeeds of the national/international criminals, smugglers and terrorists.
They have played constructive role in arousing mass consciousness about universal concepts like democracy, human rights, good governance, civil societies, environmentalism, gender equity, disarmament, peace, etc. thereby providing knowledge about Pakistan’s endorsement to various international agreements. All this has raised the level of knowledge among the people.
The media is a bridge between the government and the opposition, between the government and the people, between people and their representatives and between national and global interests, it has unearthed the grievances of the neglected people in society. If the media in Pakistan is to become more effective as a tool that moulds and influences public opinion and national decision making, media executives such as reporters, newscasters, editors, etc. must undergo sustained education and training similar to other professionals in their respective fields.
E-mail queries and comments to: [email protected]
Source: The Nation
Date:5/8/2004
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