Media is regarded as fourth pillar of the state on which along with other three pillars the edifice of the state is built and strengthened. Conceptually that is the real role of all the four pillars.
While the other three pillars that is parliament, executive and judiciary relate to governance and dispensation of justice, the fourth pillar ie the media in its role as watch-dog against the government to keep it in check is also supposed to play a pivotal role in the formulating public opinion on crucial national issues, promoting national unity and integration as well as fighting against all negative and fissiparous tendencies within the society.
To enable the media to play the desired and obligatory role it is imperative to ensure freedom of expression, a right which is contingent upon the right of the people to know. Since the governments are formed with the vote of the people, it is their inherent right to be kept informed about the activities and policies of the government.
From that perspective media has a pivotal role in nation building. The classic example of media playing this role was a German weekly newspaper ‘Die Zeit’ published from Hamburg which lifted the morale of the crestfallen nation after World War-II and strengthened the process of revival by motivating the people to flock around the national leadership for rebuilding the devastated country.
However, the role of media becomes extremely destructive when it develops inclination to sensationalism, promotion of false narratives, fake news and becomes a tool in polarization of the society. Unfortunately, that is exactly the permeating landscape of media in Pakistan. The conduct of the media during the present political turmoil in the country clearly manifests that phenomenon. Some channels have been persistently engaged in tarnishing the image of the leadership of a particular party and dishing out unauthentic information about alleged corruption and some have been promoting the narrative of the vested interests.
Mutual rivalries between channels and media groups going beyond fair competition in the market of ideas and their descending into the realm of degrading dispositions towards each other are also a contributing factor to the overall irresponsible behavior of the media. The new entrant to the media mix, the social media, has played a very dirty role in spreading falsehood, disseminating fabricated news to malign political opponents and even denigrating the state institutions.
John Wilkes a radical and popular politician of London, a journalist and pioneer of freedom of press in Britain during the eighteen century writing in the first issue of his weekly newspaper “The North Britain” in 1762 said “Freedom of expression is the bulwark of all other liberties in Britain” This quote almost has a biblical sanctity for all the nations who value human rights and liberties and their significance in the nation building, especially those professing democratic dispensations.
In fact, freedom of expression and democracy reinforce each other and arguably are mutually indispensable. Freedom of expression is also one of the fundamental rights enunciated in the Declaration of Universal Human Rights of the United Nation. In conformity with that almost all nations signatory to the declaration and having written constitutions do provide constitutional guarantees for the freedom of expression.
Article 19 of the Pakistan constitution also reiterates the freedom of expression and speech in these worlds “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression and there shall be freedom of press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court {commission of} or incitement to an offence”
The constitutional provision for freedom of expression and media is in consonance with the internationally recognized role of the states to regulate all the entities within its territorial limits in such a way that they contribute to the strengthening of the state, its ideological moorings, national interests and the moral values of the society with a view to promote peace and tranquility in the country. In fact there is no concept of unbridled media freedom in the world and rightly so.
The media can defend its freedom and play its defined role only when it acts with responsibility. Nevertheless, it is also an irrefutable reality that the government has a constitutional duty to ensure that all the entities operating with the boundaries of the state, including media do not cross the Rubican.
One would like the media to self-regulate itself in a manner that while playing its role as a watch-dog against the government, it also serves the cause of the society and the state by maintaining its pluralistic disposition and disseminating nothing but truth. It must call the spade a spade and expose the elements who are working against the state interests for the sake of their narrow political agendas. Its motto should be Pakistan comes first.
The media owes it to the nation and itself. The incumbent government will also have to make sure that the media enjoys freedom of expression within the parameters of the internationally recognized ethical and professional codes of conduct and the social media is also regulated properly.
The media can defend its freedom and play its defined role only when it acts with responsibility.
The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.