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Journalism: Impediments and
the Way Out
Written by
Mr. Qayyum Khan Milon |
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A journalist is a
professional who with his
mighty pen wages a ruthless
war on corruption and other
social odds, on infringement
or violation of human
rights, on hegemony and
subjugation, and presents
the accounts of an event
objectively.
In this regard he needs
unhindered access to the
source of information and
necessary cooperation of the
people concerned. If these
were guaranteed, there would
be a congenial atmosphere to
perform his duty duly. If
any one of these conditions
was absent, he would fail to
depict the actual picture of
an incident. As a result,
the people would be deprived
of their constitutional
rights to know the fact.
In a least developed country
like ours there are many
handicaps in the profession.
From the management’s side
or from that of the
administration these
impediments stand in the way
of giving the actual
picture. They arise out of
their respective policies.
Even if the least of their
policies is hurt, they come
forward visibly or invisibly
to suppress what actually
happened. They impose a sort
of censorship or cause to
adopt self-censorship by the
newsmakers themselves.
Therefore, the people remain
in dark about the actual
happenings, which is harmful
to society.
Today the journalists around
the world are divided among
themselves in respect to
their social conditions. The
journalists of the First
World (developed countries)
enjoy much more freedom in
their professional
activities. Those in the
Second World (developing
countries) can work less
freely in comparison to the
former. But most of the
journalists in the Third
World (developing and least
developed countries) cannot
perform their duties without
any impediment. They are
often intimidated for
projecting the fact. The
courageous professionals
endangering their lives
sometimes reveal the truth
and fall prey to the
killers. Thus these nations
lose talented journalists
every year.
There are groups of
organised Mafia, drug-cartel
and cross-border smugglers,
who possess clandestine
arsenals, in all most all
countries of the world who
always shadow the
journalists lest their
interest is hampered. So
mighty they are, even the
governments of the concerned
countries cannot suppress
them. In many cases the
government machinery keeping
top secrecy maintain liaison
with them for gaining
benefits out of their
misdeeds. Under such a
situation the newsmen are
not at all safe.
In Bangladesh and other
countries around, the
journalists are not always
free to tell the truth.
Sometimes the national news
agencies and state media
controlled by the
administration and the
management concerned narrate
the incidents in line with
their policies. So, the
working journalists there
become self-censored. Even
private newspapers, news
agencies and TV channels
cannot move beyond the
wishes of their owners. The
managements eye their
interest. So, none can cross
his periphery.
In India, where democracy
has got institutional shape,
most of the journalists are
not free to write their
reports in their own way.
They have also to keep eye
to the interest of their
government and the owners of
the news organizations. For
example, the PTI (Press
Trust of India) newsmen
cannot write what actually
happens in Kashmir. Similar
is the case with Pakistani
journalists. Those working
in APP (Associated Press of
Pakistan) cannot go beyond
the state policy, especially
in respect to Kashmir. On
the other hand, as democracy
has stumbled time and again
in Pakistan, the newsmen
were compelled to match with
the situation.
To tell the truth, the
Western media also are not
bias-free in depicting the
real picture. In a same
cause if a Christian takes
arms in his hands, they
narrate him as a freedom
fighter or at best a rebel;
but if a Muslim uses arms,
he is portrayed as a
fundamentalist and
terrorist. These are the
discriminatory pictures we
find almost every day in the
news items dispatched by
reputed news agencies like
Reuters, AFP and others. So,
most of the journalists
around the globe are not
free of bias.
In this age of
communications’
super-highway, everybody
somehow or other can gather
correct information about
the day-to-day happenings in
the world. Nothing should be
hidden for the sake of
well-being of mankind.
Bias-free journalism should
be encouraged. To perform
the duty unobstructed
security of newsmen must be
ensured. Access to the
source of information should
also be danger-free.
Only under these
circumstances a journalist
can increase his
professional skill by
utilising his wit and
opportunities, and having
maintained objectivity in
his writings he can serve
the humanity properly.
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