LAHORE – Twenty-seven journalists and media practitioners from various print and electronic organisations assembled under the banner of a private consulting firm, Free Independent Responsible Media (FIRM), on Wednesday. The participant observed that media persons especially field reporters was under a lot of pressure. They said the pressure not only came from various media stakeholders such as advertisers and owners but also various segments of the society that muffled the media’s voice.
The reporters called upon the private media owners and ministry of information to take measures to improve the working conditions of the journalists and acknowledge the risks that the field crew embraces in the line of duty. The journalists demanded a complete insurance package for themselves and their families in case some casualty occurs during the duty.
The discussion also focused on the role of media in the emerging environment after which the journalists recommended the government take cognizance of the situation. The participants said that blind competition and a useless race to be the first had compromised the professional standards and had given rise to negative and immature reporting from the field. The workshop also recommended that the electronic media personnel should go through an intense training so that they might incorporate high professional standards in their reporting.
