Media as an economic force-multiplier
Democracies depend upon the media to maintain the sanctity of trust imposed by the people on any government. Without the media to exercise an effective check, authority has a tendency to go berserk in all senses of the word, combining misuse of powers with nepotism, favouritism and outright corruption. One of the greatest flaws of any kind of dictatorship, military or political and however benign, is the lack of fear among the underlings exposure, causing misdemeanours to multiply and culprits to flourish. Investigative journalism is in fact an institution within the institution of a free Press and given the bounds of many decades of repression and control, the flower of uninhibited enquiry may wilt but has usually survived. That is no mean achievement in Pakistan.
In a country where the radio and TV are government owned and controlled, the media is comprised of the Press alone. Recently the repeal of the “rusted sword”, the PPO, saw a measure of freedom emerge from under the shadow of Damocles. For decades, the Press has conducted almost a solitary battle for freedom despite the PPO’s shackles and the savouring of success is sweet indeed for our country’s newspapers and magazines. In the first flush of victory, it is easy to forget that the institution of investigative reporting needs to be carefully nurtured and enhanced.
The Government’s main argument about the repeal of the PPO was that it would open a window to outright blackmail. That no significant change in the nature of reporting has been observed since the day of the repeal is supportive of the arguments over the years that by and large the Press maintains its own unwritten code of conduct, practicing a decorum and restraint not apparent in other professions and disciplines. Partly this can be attributed to the background and upbringing of our major Press Lords but mostly it is a reflex attribute of education and culture.
By setting up the Press Council of Pakistan (PCP), the President of Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Mr. Arif Nizami, has institutionalized the voluntary gentleman’s attitude prevalent in the majority of the Press and Publications, while laying out clear parameters defining the role and conduct of the free Press as regards accountability on either side. The PCP sets a healthy precedent as it is “private sector enterprise” and not a government imposed “watchdog” committee. The way it evolves and functions should be of interest in other areas where such voluntary overseeing organizations need to be instituted.
There is no question that the media, in this case, the Press, must be used as a weapon for economic emancipation. Investigative reporting, particularly in such field that cover the areas where the public and private sectors cross paths, must become a major part and parcel of every newspaper and publication. This is necessary to ensure that the countless millions being siphoned off by vested interests is brought into focus, thereby denying the perpetrators of fraud and corruption the pervasive cloak of silence that they seem to enjoy. This can only be done if the enquiring journalists have (1) a clear idea of what they should be looking for (2) better than fair knowledge of the subject (3) good sources of information (4) no personal ulterior motive against the target of the enquiry (5) means for cross verification of facts and (6) the ability to disseminate the facts in an organized manner. There are many other factors associated like (1) the need to protect sources of information (2) the resisting of temptation of profit from the result of the media attention (3) restraint on hyperbolic in the placement of facts etc, etc. All this can only be done by the newspapers themselves selecting and training suitable persons in the field of investigative journalism.
In third world countries, government has inordinate control over public funds and an overwhelming capacity for mischief in this respect. Where it crosses the line into private sector the effect on the economy can be lethal inasfar as an inordinate volume of cash is siphoned off and either leaves the country for greener pastures or is moved into the black economy, a parallel empire over which there is no authority and which has a life of its own. In combination with drug money and illegal arms, it has lethal effect on the country as a whole. The gap between the affluent and the poor not only widens but the poor reach out to violence in utter despair as the only means for their solace, an automatic response to the frustration being terrorism, a sure recipe for anarchy.
Closed societies suffer the way of Gorbachev’s Russia and the US$ 58 billion deficit in the last Russian budget came about because fully 24,000 state controlled enterprises went into the red. The on-going trial of late leader Brezhnev’s son-in-law for corruption shows the reaches of its tentacles. In a more open society like ours, the media’s constant attention to detail make the potential for chicanery dangerous for the proponents. In a developing society, media can be hamstrung by the vacuum of yesteryears or even the need of a political government to reward the loyalty of its close supporters by economic plums. The role and function of the media becomes more pronounced in such circumstances and the first premise is to pass legislation to the effect that barring all sensitive tenders, mostly for and of the defence services, all public tenders should indeed be public i.e. the whole process of inviting tenders, the parameters laid down, the bid comparisons and the basis for eventual award should be open to media inspection. The principle should be that except for national security there should be no secrets and if there are valid reasons for maintaining secrecy this should be sufficiently explained to a Parliamentary Committee.
The media’s constant attention in the matter of public funds can result in (1) enormous savings on the one hand and (2) improvement of quality of work and service on the other. This has a force-multiplier effect on the economy commensurate to the quantum of funds saved which are thus made available for other tasks. No government, howsoever platonic in its pre-election stance, likes its accounts to be pried upon. More often than not it is to hide philandering and the only check for democracy is the media exercise of laying open the financials for public review, provide their own analysis, invite public observation and recommend action against malfeasance.
This becomes particularly true for public tenders involving construction, imports, services etc. Most of the malfeasance takes place even before the opening of the tender when the parameters and specifications are laid down to suit a particular favourite. This art was perfected in a government agency importing sugar, by the simple strategem of resorting to ambiguity in the definition of the quality of sugar, the date of opening, the modus of negotiations, etc. When questioned about the premise of an “open” tender as opposed to the existing modus operandi, the then Chairman of the particular corporation, a living example of corruption and nepotism, launched a reverse smear campaign against those requesting the enquiry. Strange as it may seem, he also attempted to use the media as an ally, wining and dining particular journalists, offering corporate advertisements as inducements (another example of misuse of public money) not to print any adverse material against him. In an advertisement-starved industry, such temptations are sometimes hard to resist but it is a matter of pride to record that this man’s machinations bore no fruit and barring an odd support in the media (speaking of the man’s “old world courtliness”), the major newspapers ignored his contrived display of statistics.
The media should not stop at criticism only. It is the only forum that members of the public can utilise to generate their feelings and the media’s role as an economic force-multiplier comes into prominence when it makes concrete suggestions for rectification of a fault or comes with fresh ideas and recommendations for economic uplift. It has a dual role, to educate the public as to various options and to encourage the government to adopt the best possible means, without motivated interest.
The media has played a tremendous role in the run-up to the elections, a fair and neutral stance which has ensured a complete democratic process to come to the brink of emerging. This is just the end of the beginning of the first phase, the true employment of the media can only emerge after the elected government comes to power. As this country has seen over and over again, there is usually quite a difference between rhetoric and deeds, it is upto the media to keep that gap small.
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