Daily Times

The tragic news of Osama, the son of Pakistan Peoples Party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, getting killed in a road accident came while the latter was addressing a press conference on electronic media. A reporter told him, “khabar aiee hai keh apkay betay ka accident hoe gaya hai!” (It has been reported that your son has met an accident). Kaira showed great composure, ending the press conference by thanking the media people for their coverage. Another reporter then said, “Sunnay main aya hai death hoe gai hai.” (One hears he has passed away).

This is clearly no way to notify the next of kin. A basic principle in written as well as verbal communication is to build a buffer before delivering bad news. The appropriate way would have been for the reporter to whisper the information to the person standing next to Kaira who would then have conveyed it in a suitably sensitive manner. May be the word “accident” could have been avoided early on. Kaira might have been informed that that his son had been taken to a hospital. In a matter of 15 to 20 minutes, he might have the complete story. Also, the information might have been communicated in whispers and not shouted around.

The way the situation was handled speaks of poor ethics and poor professional standards. Saying that reporters grow numb in the line of work on account of the high frequency of receiving and transmitting bad news is no excuse. If any thing, the exposure, if not training, should teach them how to break bad news with appropriate sensitivity. It was not a question of reporting a random accident to a politician, but of delivering tragic news to a father.

A news channel should not seek to annoy the victims, infuriate the guests or be indifferent to the developing story

The electronic media in Pakistan has made great advances in terms of its reach and therefore the power over people. It’s about time news channels, which are ever mindful of ratings, pay attention to the training of their journalists and presenters. This is not the first time electronic media reporters have shown callous apathy to the bereaved. In trying to be the first to interview relatives of those who have lost lives in tragic incidents, many reporters simply barge into their homes and ask sensitive questions, sparing no thought for their feelings. A talk show host recently insulted Nasir Khan Jan, a video blogger, who had agreed to be a guest but did not agree with the host’s opinions. Earlier this year, a news presenter persisted in questioning a child about her father who had been killed in a police shooting in Sahiwal.

A news channel should not make standard practice of annoying the victims of tragedy, infuriate the guests or be indifferent to the developing story. The purpose is to present the news, to ask questions in a decent manner and to conduct a show in such a way that the message is clear to the audience. Those hired for news channels work need to receive training on how to be ethical and considerate when on camera and exhibit similar traits when they are off camera. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has a duty to lay down and enforce policies and procedures to ensure that journalists and hosts do not cross the limits of decent behaviour.

It may be argued with some justification that the right time for the exercise was in 2001-2002 when independent new media was in its infancy. However, it can never be too late to correct the wrong. News channel managements will do well to act in this regard on their own without waiting for authorities to coerce them. In the absence of a common minimum code of standards reporters and presenters will continue to ask inappropriate questions that demean, defame and disgrace guests and harm innocents.

The writer is an independent researcher