Law Opinion
World press freedom day
Barrister Harun ur Rashid
On 3rd May, World Press Freedom Day has been observed across the globe. Press is the mirror of conditions of society and freedom of press is an essential component of democracy because press ventilates joys and sorrows of people of a nation.
Press has been called a “fourth estate” (fourth branch of government) in Britain from early days of democracy because the three other branches consist of representation from common people (temporal), from clergy (spiritual) and from feudal lords.
Democracy and Press
If one needs to find out the extent of prevailing democracy within a nation-state, one has to ask a simple question: Is press free or not?
Democracy is intertwined with transparency and openness. The press always plays a vital role in advancing democratic institutions. Often it has been found that the press is a harbinger of political change towards democracy and rule of law. The press is thus a vital link between the people and the government.
The former World Bank President James Wolfensohn once said “A free press is at the absolute core of equitable development”. Similar sentiment has been expressed by Nobel Laureate (1998) Amartya Sen who wrote a book “ Development As Freedom” (1999). In the book, the author robustly argues that the essence of development is to create an environment of freedom within a country.
Article 39.2 (b) of the Bangladesh Constitution guarantees “freedom of the press”. A free press is also the key to transparency and good governance. The press can facilitate the protection of human rights and the rule of law. By highlighting acts of commission and omission, the press makes the government of the day accountable to people at large.
Suppressed press by governments manifest that government have something to hide. Controlled press is counter-productive to governments because authorities will be in the dark about voice of people of their deeds and words. The more press is suppressed or repressed or subdued, the more governments are alienated from people's sentiments or views about their state of governance.
In the days of Internet and cable TV, control of press does not work. It may work in the country for a segment of people but those who have access to Internet and cable TV know what they have to know about events in the country and outside. The days of hiding information has gone.
The events of the whole world are at the feet of the press through the Internet. As Arthur C. Clarke said long ago that freedom of press would be determined not by governments but by technology. It has become difficult to control the press in the new information age. Even authoritarian governments have failed to control the press.
No country can suppress news. For example in 1971, Pakistan army ordered foreign journalists out of Dhaka to keep them away of the great massacre of 25th March on unarmed Bengali people of Pakistan army. On hind sight they now realize that action was a blunder and this view has been found in many books written in Pakistan by civil or military persons who were directly or indirectly involved in the crackdown.
In advanced democracies, there is hardly any portfolio of Minister for Information in the government. Britain has none, for example. This is because press is free and there is nothing for the government to say or do for press. What these countries have is the Press Code, a voluntary self-disciplinatory regulation and a press complaints body or commission.
What is news?
Graham Murdock offers an answer: “ It has to be an event. It has to be something that has happened, rather than a long process that has been unfolding over time. It has to have happened recently….It has to be an event that has some significance for the country as a whole.”
To quote Lippmann: “ The news does not tell you how the seed is germinating in the ground but it may tell you when the first sprout breaks through the surface. It may even tell you that that the sprout did not come up at the time it was expected"
Press freedom and ethics
Press freedom and ethics go together. It has been argued that freedom is not to be interpreted as a licence and therefore the press must have either voluntary or compulsory code of ethics for collection and dissemination of news and information. Ethical standard of a newspaper would arise on whether journalists have violated ethical standard in not disclosing their identity in interviewing people.
Press has a social obligation too by being truthful and accurate. Press must be transparent and open to create trust with the public. Free press is neither a gift from heaven nor a favour of the government of the day.
The press must be aware of its responsibility towards the community and the press realises that its freedom has a bearing on what is good for the community. Freedom is not without reasonable limits. The press must set certain ethical standards on issues, such as relationship with sources, relationship with advertisers, separation of comment and fact, respect for privacy, misrepresentation and deceptive or illegal practices.
In 2003, London's Daily Mirror claimed a great scoop--- that one of its regularly bylined reporters had obtained a job as a “ footman” at Buckingham Palace, where he had free access to the Queen. Palace officials had given only cursory attention to his curriculum vitae in which he had omitted his job at the Daily Mirror. There was a heated debate in Britain as to whether the reporter should have revealed his job in the newspaper in his submitted curriculum vitae. This brings to the issue of ethical standard of a newspaper to which all employees should comply with.
It has been reported that the code of conduct of the New York Times for its journalists including its editorial staff runs into 52 pages. In a competitive world, all journalists have a legitimate interest in the commercial success of the paper but that does not mean a journalist should ignore ethical standards in obtaining information or news or dealing with advertisers.
On the disclosure of the identity of a journalist, the code of the New York Times says:
“ Staff members should disclose their identity to people they cover (whether face to face or otherwise), though they need not always announce their status as journalists when seeking information normally available to the public.”
Another code lays down: “ Staff members may not pose as police officers, lawyers, business people or anyone else when they are working as journalists. As happens on rare occasions, when seeking to enter countries that bar journalists (Zimbabwe barred BBC reporters in the country), correspondents may take cover from vagueness and identify themselves as traveling on business or as tourists.”
It is reported that the New York Times treats advertisers as fairly and openly as its readers and news sources. The relationship between the New York Times and advertisers rests on “the understanding…that those who deal with either one have distinct obligations and interests and neither group will try to influence the other.” For example, if a writer on motor vehicles decides to test a car, the newspaper insists on paying the rent or its equivalent, of the car at a market rate so that the writer can provide an objective and impartial comments on the product.
The compliance of ethical standards is important for newspapers to avoid an appearance of bias or inaccuracy of news. It has been argued that the press may claim special rights and privileges based on their unique status as the “fourth branch of government” only when it complies strictly with ethics of journalism. The aim of the press is to have an informed society and it can only discharge its task by being truthful, accurate and open. In that way the press can promote democratic traditions in a country.
Conclusion
Members of Parliament and Press can be said to have a shared constituency. They have to be accountable to the public whatever they publicly do. In both cases, truth must be told. The Press should not revel in sensationalism and in the process, the public is left with incomplete information and half truth, often giving a distorted picture of reality.
The author is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
