Independent media, safety, security of journalists

At a time when newspapers, known as the Press, before radio and television came into being, used to have an aura of their own during the colonial British period or the Pakistani regime. Admittedly, that aura started to fade in independent Bangladesh. What once in journalistic parlance was the Free Press has now been replaced by freedom of media for obvious reasons. Print and electronic media including news or online portals demanded streamlining long ago, particularly when social sites appeared on the scene at times with the mission of relentless rumour-mongering. The constitution of a media reform commission alongside other commissions on highly important areas of national life by the interim government could not come at a more propitious time. Now that the Media Reform Commission has submitted a wide range of recommendations for objective and independent journalism including safety of the professionals of the media and decent emoluments for them, let this fourth estate claim its rightful position.

For the media to attain that elevated status, a paradigm shift in the whole gamut of the establishment involving owners, publishers, media practitioners, restrictive laws, attitudes of political leaderships across the divide towards the media is warranted. The Media Reform Commission has specified in clear terms that biased politics and black money went into establishment of media houses in several cases and unqualified professionals infiltrated the profession on hawkish political considerations. With no commitment to society and the people in general, owners, publishers and party diehard followers have made a mockery of objective journalism. Thanks to political patronage by the highest authority, the henchmen in the garb of journalists created a most vicious environment of intimidation and self-censorship among the honest practitioners of journalism who had no intention of receiving any political favour. The media commission has taken pains to detect the points where things went wrong and rightly suggested redresses.

So far as the safety of journalists is concerned---which the media commission has emphasised--- it cannot be isolated from the law and order situation in the country. In fact, it is integral to the rule of law. No special legal provision can protect journalists unless society values human rights, individual liberty and the right to free expression. In this respect, the political culture of both ruling and opposition parties ought to set the standard. The public is likely to take cue from the political parties. Sure enough, journalists' avowed objective of maintenance of objectivity is inspired by personal integrity but in a hostile environment the voice gets muted.

The Media Reform Commission has recommended merger of the near non-functional Press Council and the Broadcasting Commission for formation of an independent media commission which will be responsible for overseeing 'media-house activities' including determination of eligibility of editors and journalists. Accordingly, radio, TV and the Bangladesh Sangbad Sngstha (BSS) should be merged under what can be called the Bangladesh Samprochar Sangstha or Jatiya Samprochar Sangstha (National Broadcasting Organisation) where the BSS will function as their news department. This is how the money spent on these three separate organisations can be economised. Divestment of big and medium media houses, ending cross-ownership and structured salary comparable to government scale are recommendations worth taking note of. The bottom line is to streamline media and build them as responsible and respectable institutions fitting for the fourth estate.