Media should enjoy freedom but with responsibility in order to promote national harmony. This was the crux of a conference on 'Media Responsibility & Independence Index 2015', organised by IoBM in collaboration with USAID at a hotel, here on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Executive, Business Recorder, Arshad A. Zuberi, said that journalists should thoroughly investigate their reports before publication. "Responsible reporting always establishes the journalist's credibility," he added.
Zuberi said that an outright contradiction of news was like a slap on the reporter's face, which showed that he or she did not make the report with proper consultation and investigation. Senior journalist Amir Zia was of the view that in Pakistan media was enjoying complete freedom, as there was nothing taboo that could not be discussed here. "There have been some issues but whenever we are objective, professional and fair then I don't see any problem. Many journalists write for international media and they do not face any trouble. However, there are some restrictions on discussing certain matters not only in Pakistan but also in the western countries," he observed.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary General, All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS), Sarmad A Ali, said that the independence of media could be properly enjoyed if we used it with responsibility. He added that sometimes "ultra independence" created troubles. He was of the view that TV channels rushed for breaking news in order to improve their ratings. On the other hand, print media could be found more responsible, as it was more concerned with its credibility that had been achieved after a long struggle.
"Media enjoy paramount independence these days but it is done with lack of responsibility, especially in online media. Unfathomably, media mostly tell negative stories. Do we (consumers) really want to know more negative things only," he questioned.
General Manager Marketing, Dawn Media Group, Syed Ali Hasan Naqvi, said that it was easy to criticise electronic media but it needed time to gain maturity. Senior columnist Agha Masood said that from Malaysia to America there were some limitations in place. Uncontrolled independence should not be exercised and media needed to be regulated by their owners.
Senior media person Sabeen Agha said that media was perception maker and breaker, therefore, free media with responsibility was crucial to strengthen democracy. While introducing MRII in the concluding session, Head of Media Studies and senior Fellow Marketing, IoBM, Ejaz Wasay, said that the primary objective of developing the index was to establish a credible metric or measure that could be used to impartially monitor the standing of media in Pakistan at any point in time, in terms of two critical, inter-related aspects, ie Media Responsibility and Media Independence.
Comments
Comments are closed.