VOL XI NO 154 REGD NO DA 1589

Thursday, April 22, 2004

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EDITORIAL
 
Responsible media for better governance
The media coverage indicates that the politicians are more important than the people. This trend has to be reversed. The people must be the prime focus in Bangladesh's papers and channels, writes Ekram Kabir
4/22/2004
 

          GOOD governance means to work for the collective betterment of the people. By good governance, we mean that public institutions function transparently, accountably and responsively to citizens' needs. Without good governance, the benefits of public programmes will not reach their target recipients, especially the poor. Without good governance, there would be a real danger about locally raised financial resources which will be not be used effectively. Without good governance, corruption will flourish. Without good governance, people will become increasingly disillusioned with their governments and politicians. All of these are applicable to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh today is often described as a living 'crisis in governance' due to "corruption", "lack of transparency" and "accountability". These factors limit economic potential and put negative impact on sustainable human development and increase poverty.

There have been a plenty of discussions and recommendations for implementing good governance in the country. Strengthen Parliament, strengthen civil society, reform the electoral system, reform political parties, establish an Anti-Corruption Agency, strengthen watchdog bodies and the judiciary and make IFIs/donors more accountable. All these are the suggestions by both regional and international specialists.
Here are a few points (which may sound excessive in some cases) about strengthening the media. As part of the Civil Society, the media should be good governance-friendly. Our catchwords on press freedom would mean nothing if exploitation and abuses by the people with power are not quickly drawn to people's attention and checked immediately.
Therefore, the primary efforts of the media should be to raise awareness, disseminate information about the linkages between good governance and economic and social outcomes, and help increase the process of good governance. The newspapers have to be a public voice. By strengthening the "voice" of the people - especially of the poor - we can go a long way in improving public performance.
The increasing access to multiple media - television, print, radio, film and the internet - has acted as incentives to journalists in Bangladesh these days. But objective conditions, including frequent assaults on journalists and attempts to block free flow of information are not conducive to the growth of the free press. First, free access to information must be ensured. But in our case, information is something that we always have to steal from a Secretary's table. Why do we need to do that? Because they don't provide us with the right information.
However, with "freedom", also comes responsibility. We have to talk about the "roles" and "responsibilities" of the people at the helms in fostering a economically and intellectually healthy society. We also need to point out the responsibilities of all the media - film, television, Internet, video, electronic and print journalism. There has to be a "Statement of Media Responsibility' through which the media should be able to take some decisions that deserve priority in the country.
This may sometimes go against our general ethics, but the collective advantage has to be thought about. For example, when Muslims and Hindus were engaged in a riot in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002, the chief news editor of the then Ekushey Television categorically told his team to avoid the words like "Muslims" and "Hindus" while writing the scripts. From the newsroom, the reporters just said that "people were killed when violence of the mobs erupted". For, they were fearing unrest among the people in Bangladesh, because it was a "Hindu-Muslim" issue and they feared trouble in Bangladesh when people hear this news. The CNE's decision may have gone against the thumb rule of a newsman - which is to properly inform - but for the moment, it also saved the country from undue excitement.
But this fear must be eliminated from the minds of journalists. Then again, it rests on the journalists themselves to bring about a change in people's mindset. It rests on them to remind the people that they must not get agitated when Hindus and Muslims are at loggerheads in India over a sensitive issue - for example - like Babri Mosque or Ram Temple. It is our responsibility to remind the politicians so that they do not exploit such issue in another country for their own petty political gains in their own country.
So, a responsible media will be a proactive force for a social change and will not only react to ongoing events but also tear at the heart of what it means to be a healthy society. It will actually assist the society in identifying and solving social problems. A responsible media will act as a representative of a pluralistic society to be sure that media control does not lie in the hands of a few. It should represent the voice of all. A responsible media will act to help legislators in the making of laws and their implementation.
Thus, the media can also work as a campaigner for better governance. The role of the media needs to be that of an activist working for a good cause. What type of activism? For example, media activism has played a role in preventing trafficking in women and girls in Nepal. A project in 1998 became quite well-known for utilising all means and ways of the media - print, audio and audio-visual media for disseminating the information and findings, accumulated following field investigations.
We should involve and empower civil society organisations in promoting people's causes. There was a unique effort by a daily, and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). They jointly held consultative discussions at the grassroots in different areas across Bangladesh. They discussed the "election" and "democracy" just before the October 1 elections in 2001. The media needs to come up joining hands with these organisations which already work in this direction. In the same way, civil society organisations outside the state (e.g. local councils, NGOs, unions, consumers, citizens' groups/associations) should also involve the media in their efforts to change people's lives.
In doing so, the media and civil society organisations may develop a special relationship. And gradually these organisations would be able to involve themselves in the work of much more important task, for example, parliamentary committees and in the work of parliaments, thereby strengthening and broadening the sectors like health, education, the judiciary etc. It would contribute to increased citizen's involvement, emphasising their welfare.
The media needs to lay more importance on what people are doing rather than what the Prime Minister is doing with a group of ministers who lack proper understanding of people's hopes and aspirations. The media needs to go ga-ga about making the men-with-power understand how much they have been depriving the masses whose mandate is the reason for their being there where they are today.
In this way, we should be able to develop a healthy communication, with creative and dedicated people coming to join the media. They should always remember that the state of affairs needs to be better and rulers need to be corrected where wrong is done. With this simple belief, there is a better chance for the media to participate in promoting good governance. The present media coverage indicates that the politicians are more important than the people. The trend has to be reversed. The people must be the prime focus in our papers and channels. If the people's needs and causes are focused on the front pages of all our dailies and headline news of the TV channels, this could be a major revolution by the media.

 

 
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