Pakistan's evolving media

Last week's agreement among Pakistan's key TV channels to voluntarily adopt a new code of conduct for reporting on terrorism represents a significant step towards maturity for the country's evolving private media networks.

In recent times, a range of stakeholders, from members of the ruling structure to opposition politicians, have all questioned the media's commitment to objectivity.

And yet, there is virtually no way to argue convincingly against the contribution made by Pakistan's robust media in promoting the cause of democracy, especially as the country makes a transition away from military control towards being a free and independent state.

Indeed, critics of Pakistan's media must remember events under former president Pervez Musharraf, who two years ago declared a nationwide state of emergency, and put curbs on the private media, among other institutions.

Musharraf failed to establish his grip on the country and staunch opposition to his rule eventually forced him to resign. Among the triggers of his downfall, one was the challenge to his rule by private TV channels.

Against this background, the adoption of a voluntary framework by eight TV channels to standardise their professional guidelines for terrorism-related coverage is a breath of fresh air. According to a formal announcement after key decision makers from this group deliberated on the way forward, they recognised that "the public's abiding trust in the media placed a heavy responsibility on news managers to further improve the quality of video news product".

The announcement went on to say, "The areas where the agreement was reached pertained to field and live reporting, viewer exposure to extreme and disturbing visuals, dead bodies, badly injured people, accounts of the emotionally distraught as well as eyewitnesses and real-time decisions on releasing information during war or in the case of hostage situations".

The outcome of this gathering must be encouraging for viewers in a country where private TV channels are among the key agenda setters.

The announcement also "called upon the government and the military to stop pulling channels off the air as such moves are counter-productive". This was a reminder of a key challenge facing the media, dating back to events such as the 2007 imposition of the state of emergency.

As Pakistan's private TV channels have evolved and gained a growing number of regular viewers, there has been a desire on the part of policy makers to adopt radical measures in times of crisis. The recent militant attack on the army's general headquarters in Rawalpindi and the subsequent broadcast of the exchange of fire between the militants and security forces prompted the authorities to pull the plug on at least one leading Pakistani TV channel. Though a desperate act in a crisis situation, such a response will simply not work in the long term. Resorting to such desperate measures too often will surely widen the rift between the public and private TV channels on the one hand and the Pakistani authorities on the other.

Going forward, there is a need to build on the consensus reached between the eight TV channels in the past week. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap permanently by translating the recent decision into a basis for a long-term policy shift.

What is required is a clear-cut debate seeking public comment and discussion on the way violence and terrorism-related stories ought to be reported.

But there is another relevant lesson that needs to be squarely embraced. Pakistan's increasingly liberated TV channels will only dominate the public discussion on vital issues as we go forward. Across the world, the winds of change have blown, to the extent that freedoms once granted cannot be retracted.

For Pakistan's decision-makers, pulling the plug on TV channels in the future will become an increasingly difficult option. Since the TV channels have begun discussing the need for safeguards and improved editorial standards, the best option for Pakistani authorities would be to become part of this process, rather than to remain on the outside as anxious observers.

- Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.