Daily Times

This week the Society to Protect Journalist hosted an event to discuss the challenges faced by journalists around the world. At an event titled, ‘Free Speech Outside the U.S.’ in Washington D.C., the Daily Times, Pakistan, Editor Raza Rumi spoke of the dangers journalists faced in Pakistan.

Addressing an audience of journalists, activist and members of the public Rumi said, “in the last 2-3 years’ media freedoms have been under attack, they [journalists] are censored. But it is not like the old military coups, it is far more sophisticated.”

Rumi explained, that journalists are being increasingly intimidated when reporting on stories.

“There are red lines that can’t be crossed, including religion or the government,” he said, “because the religious extremists and others are reading the papers.”

He said his job has changed from restructuring articles and checking grammar to “policing.” Thus, ensuring that none of the “red line” topics are mentioned.

“I check is the article criticizing any state institution or religious radical…that there are no articles or pages that will offend anyone.”

He explained this change in his editorial role was imperative to ensure the safety of the staff and the paper.

He described the changing nature of journalism in Pakistan how in years past; the government would support the papers with advertising revenue; however, now this too has changed.

“In the past few yearsmedia support bygovernment advertising has stopped. The support for media is no longer there. It is facing a very difficult time” Rumi said.

Previously the Pakistan Government commissioned advertising space from media to help bolster their revenues. But now.” it is being used as an instrument to gain control over the media content.” Rumi added.

When Rumi became a journalist over a decade ago media landscape was liberal. “it improved around 2008 – when democracy returned to Pakistan, the civilian spaces opened up and television channels became far more liberal. Iit was an open playing field with more freedom” Rumi said, whose career trajectory spans from: a newspaper journalist, Television anchor, Media academic to a well-known author.

With the new digital boom, the number of people who use the internet through their mobile phone in Pakistan has skyrocketed to around 70 million. Therefore, the state passed a law containing some of the digital media freedoms.

The intimidation of Pakistani journalists spans across the media spectrum; including social media. Last year 4 bloggers were detained because of their posts and then told to leave the country.

However, Rumi stressed, “The curtailing of media freedom is happening all over South Asia not just in Pakistan.”

From Bangladesh, Myanmar to India, reporters are harassed, arrested and even murdered for their work. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 45 journalists were killed because of their jobs. Reporters without borders reported more journalists were killed because of their work during the first nine months 2018 than the entire year of 2017.

War zones like Afghanistan and Syria continue to be the most dangerous countries for journalists to work. But press- freedom organisations warn of increasingly deteriorating conditions in countries where a free press was once a beacon of civil society.

Rumi explained the recent attacks on journalists in the U.S. demonstrate how press freedom is vulnerable all over the world. “But the U.S. has a system that will protect journalists unlike the institutions that are seen in other parts of the world.” He highlighted, referring to the recent incident whereby CNN journalist, Jim Acosta who was barred from the White House. CNN instigated legal proceedings; all American media organisations formed a coalition demanding Acosta’s re-entry; the coalition included Republican-leaning Fox News. The White House eventually capitulated to re-allow the entry of the journalist – a huge feat for American journalists for freedom of the press.

Cortney Radsch, the advocacy director for the Committee to Protect Journalists said:”In the past couple years, we’ve see a deterioration in the environment in which people work, both in terms of people in prison and journalists killed.”

Also speaking at the event was Washington D.C., based Turkish journalist Mahir Zeynalov. He wrote about the massive crackdown on Turkish journalists and is renowned for his work on Turkey.

He described his experience in Turkey. “there are many fake journalists” he said “they take bribes and kickbacks and give journalists a bad name,” he continued “Journalists are disliked and they have a bad reputation for being dishonest.” He said.

He explained Turkey’s media popularity with the public has fallen. The Turkish public is split. “Those who say what the government does matters and those who don’t like journalists and dismiss what they read about the government,” Zeynalov said.

Rumi stressed how journalists around the globe are under attack. “We are locked in an age of strong dictators, and their first point of attack is the press; as the press is a threat to them. Therefore, they [leaders] try to discredit them [media]. They influence the public with their messaging; later when the press reveals any corruption the public view the media revelations as ‘fake news.’

“Those in power, when they have something to hide they go after the media,” Zeynalov said.

Speaking on the recent killing of Arab journalist Jamal Kashoggi, Rumi said, “there are hundreds of reporters and journalists in the Arab world who are detained and killed, but we never hear about them.”

Both the Journalists called on greater public support for Arab journalists, activists and intellectuals at a time when press freedom is under threat. They stressed that although the appalling circumstances of Kashoggi’s murder have captured international condemnation; the murder matches an increasing trend of barbaric treatment of journalists across the Middle East.

Published in Daily Times, December 7^th 2018.