“The role of advertisers is negatively influencing the quality of news. Media owners need to understand that citizens also have media rights. In the name of ‘infotainment’, the sanctity of news has been breached,” Senator Javed Jabbar, former minister for information and a Media Commission member, said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at the launch of a printed version of Report and Recommendations Appointed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on media sector reforms between January and June 2013.
Jabbar said the commission was formed in January 2013 and had two functions. The first was to make recommendations on the media’s role in elections. The second covered comprehensive reforms needed on the institutional level. He said the implementation of these required collective action by the parliament, media, advertisers, regulatory bodies, civil society and other stakeholders.
“There is a vacuum in electronic media with regard to authentic public service broadcasting,” Jabbar said. A transformation of the existing state-owned media into public-owned media was the need of the day, he added.
“Media also needs its own ombudsperson. The commission recommends that a media law review task force be formed,” he said.
Jabbar said self regulation should also be considered. He said a law was required to define self regulation.
Sidra Saeed, project officer at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a German non-profit organisation, said it was in the media’s interest to be professional and independent. To consolidate democracy, the focus should be on strengthening the institutional framework for media policy, she said.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Director I.A. Rehman said media regulations were under the influence of state driven institutions. He said the report intended to initiate a discussion on free and fair media. He said media and legal institutional mechanisms should be independent and strengthened.
Strengthening Participatory Organisation regional head Salman Abid shared Rehman’s views. He said that a national debate on reforms should be initiated, and continued towards more transparent democratic practices. He emphasised the need to promote media literacy so that people understand the freedom of expression.
University of Central Punjab Media and Communication Dean Mugheesuddin Sheikh emphasised the role of the state and government institutions to monitor media institutions and their content to ensure transparency. He said there was a need to build a connection between communication policy and cultural policy. Beaconhouse National University Professor Yasmeen Aftab said she appreciated the recommendations and said that Pakistani media had a glorious history. She said the lack of regulatory mechanisms had affected the quality of journalism, and created resentment among viewers. She said most media owners had a business approach.
Punjab University Institute of Mass Communication Studies Director Nosheena Salim said the responsibility to implement the recommendations now lay with the media and the government.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2014.