Speakers on Wednesday stressed for developing in-house training facilities for media persons and a mechanism for safety of journalists to enable them to provide accurate information to public.
It was the prime responsibility of media house as well as the government to develop a mechanism for training media persons, their safety and pay them reasonable salaries to ensure better standard of reporting, they said while speaking at the 4th National Media Conference organised by Individualland Pakistan in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FnF) discussed some of the most vital contemporary issues that the Pakistani media is facing presently.
The event was attended by senior journalists and members of civil society organization from across Pakistan. Speakers also said that senior journalists and editors need to educate their juniors about journalist’s ethics and norms.
Senior journalist and Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami said that electronic media is showing what the public wants to see. “Our public is more interested in celebrity divorces so channels have to comply,” he said. He said that there is a dire need of workable of code of conducts for journalists and effective training of journalists.
Participants said that there is a need for an effective code of conduct for journalists with the consultation of stockholders. The government wants to implement a selective code of conduct, which is not acceptable to media houses and affects the quality of journalism, they said.
There is a disconnect between media owners, editors, bureau chiefs and the working journalists. And it not only affects the quality of reporting but also the state of journalism in Pakistan, according to Muhammad Ziauddin, a senior journalist.
He said that senior journalists need to train their juniors and media houses need to play their due role to develop media ethics. Since the inception of Pakistan, no government has made any efforts to evolve media ethics.
Individualland Executive Director, Gulmina Bilal Ahmad, said, “Media houses have to invest in their staff for training and give protection to them, instead of NGOs. The responsibility lies with the owners but unfortunately they do not comply so NGOs have to step in.”
Digital Rights Foundation Executive Head, Nighat Dad, was of the view that “Social media is an effective tool for media groups and should be welcomed by every practitioner.”
She further highlighted that, “The implementation of Cyber Crime Bill by the state is limiting space for citizen journalists.”
Individualland also awarded the Shaheed Irshad Mastoi Conflict Journalism Award to four journalists for balanced conflict sensitive reporting. The four journalists hailing from Baluchistan and KP were awarded shields and a cash award of Rs 50,000 each. Presidents of the Press Clubs of 18 districts of Pakistan are participating in the two-day media conference and they appreciated the establishment of the award.
