Making of a new media culture

Some State-owned media institutions have already evolved into public service media says Karu Paranawithana:

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

A lawyer, politician, diplomat and administrator, Karunarathna Paranawithana has distinguished himself as a writer and a journalist.

He has authored several books on media and journalism, including Sivuweni anduwe deshapalanaya (Politics of the Fourth Estate), prescribed as a reference reader in mass media by various universities.

Paranawithana holds a BA degree from the University of Colombo and a MA in International Relations from the Bradford University, UK.

Having held several key positions in State media institutions, he later served as Sri Lanka's Consul General in Toronto, Canada. In January, he was appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Paranawithana spoke of the achievements and challenges of a six-month old government, the maximization of media freedom in a country that had a' white van' culture, commitment to capacity building of media institutions and journalists and the journey towards a more liberal media culture.

Excerpts:

Q: What are the highlights of your 100- day media reform program?

A: There were big achievements.

First of all, we managed to introduce a free and fair media culture. That culture rejected intimidation of journalists. There were no disappearances and no bribe-taking. Journalists also enjoyed maximum freedom in their professional activities and that's a huge achievement.

We also liberalized State media institutions. These institutions were completely biased and were in a very pathetic situation under the previous regime. We changed that landscape significantly.

When we look at ANCL newspapers now, they are balanced, professional and readable. A similar transformation has taken place within SLRC and SLBC. The SLBC was all about 'giving voice to violence.' Every morning, we were treated to verbal attacks against sections of society and individuals. It discredited humanity. We ensured a dignified media culture and these institutions are now civilized.

We also initiated several welfare programs for journalists. We reactivated a scholarship scheme and introduced a duty-free motorcycle facility. On the instructions of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Ministry has commenced a mega housing project for journalists. A plot of land has already been reserved for this purpose and it is now Cabinet approved.

The Ministry is maintaining a very cordial relationship with the privately-owned media as well. Not a single case of bribe taking for telecasting in the State or private media, has been reported.

Q: How do you view the impact of liberalizing the media, in terms of increased professionalism?

A: Transparent and balanced reporting was the expected outcome and it has already happened.

Unfortunately, liberalization itself doesn't serve the purpose. There should be professional journalism as well. There is a lacuna there. We have to train professionals in journalism. Professionals should enter the field. Professionals won't practice sensationalism, follow ethics and do courageous journalism. A much higher degree of professionalism is still to be achieved. Then only can we ensure transparent and balanced reporting.

Q: Do you follow existing models in public service media? What are your plans for the future?

A: I strongly believe public service media. In a liberal economy, media is also an industry. But in an advanced democracy, the government encourages both public service media and community media. Still these are new things to us.

There are some newspapers that are heading in that direction. I believe State media institutions should also be public service media institutions.

The proper mechanism is to allocate public funds for their maintenance. But unfortunately, we can't run SLRC and SLBC with Treasury funds alone and this requires the inclusion of commercials. We also need to promote community media networks which are community- owned, funded and operated. This too is a new concept here. I strongly believe in community radio and newspapers. We can see the convergence of social media with traditional media. We have to invent our own models in public service media.

Q: Are there any constraints preventing State media from being as efficient as private media? Is it due to the absence of quality people or failure to tap available resources?

A: There are some problems in State and private media both. We can't say the State media is ineffective. Sometimes, they are more effective than the private media. If you look at the situation in private media institutions, they also have lots of problems. The laws applicable to private media are archaic. There should be some State sector media reforms as well. Some of the State media institutions are old. The modernization should include not just content but technology as well.

Lot of investment is necessary to improve the situation at the SLBC and SLRC. These institutions are required to ensure an element of public service which the private media is not required to do as their model is more commercial.

The SLRC has to telecast some educational and governmental programs through which the institution cannot earn money. Sometimes, they can't compete with private media institutions commercially. Every public institution has a lot of employees.

We can't simply lay off staff. That will create another problem. A responsible government can't kick people out from their jobs. We have to go ahead while maintaining and developing human resources. We are addressing these issues.

Q: What are the future prospects for English language newspapers in a country where the majority readership are Sinahla and Tamil? Don't you think that greater facilitation could change the situation for the better?

A: Actually there are several English newspapers here. The problem is with the English readership being small. We have to encourage English readers from school level onwards. Then there can be an increase in English readership. Most of our English newspapers are fairly good.

This change requires government facilitation. English education has to be improved first. We have to expand the horizons of the reading public and encourage English readership.

Q: A key promise of the Maithripala Sirisena Government was to enact a Right to Information law. What happened?

A: Everyone was hoping that RTI would finally become a reality. Ministries of Media, Public Administration and Justice worked hard to achieve this goal. There was also a working committee and we revived an existing RTI draft.

Within a short period, we have had consultations with stakeholders. Unfortunately, it faced the challenge of a political storm. We were able to introduce parts of RTI law through the 19th Amendment. That is part fulfillment of a pledge but that is not enough.

The next step was to be the presentation of the draft RTI bill in Parliament. There were some controversial debates on various aspects of the 20th Amendment at that time. There were serious divisions among political parties on that single piece of legislation. There were also some No Confidence Motions presented to Parliament.

As a result, much of the focus fell on those issues. Even though they all agreed to the introduction of a RTI law, President Sirisena decided to dissolve Parliament. At the time of dissolution, the thinking was that the RTI bill should be presented to the new Parliament.

Q: This government has taken many positive steps to free the media. But the draconian Press Council law was reactivated last week without any consultation. Why was this done?

A: I also saw expressions of concern by civil society and media personnel. The government has not reactivated the Press Council. It had been there but not deactivated either.

What the government has done is to appoint some members. There were some members in the Council already. But it had to fill some vacancies which were vacant due to retirement of some members.

We need to think of a fresh mechanism for democratic media regulation. We have not abandoned that policy.

Q: The government invited exiled journalists to return. Is there any program to tap their talent and re-accommodate them?

A: Earlier, exiled journalists couldn't even think of returning to their country. Some of them have come back and already started their professional work in their own places. It is not only journalists who had to flee. There are others who are living in foreign countries due to the situation that prevailed here.

After the political change, they have also returned. It is not the government's duty to offer them jobs or houses. However, it is the duty of the government to offer them security and the freedom to live here.

I had the opportunity to meet them and they stay in touch with us. Whatever possible assistance, with limited resources, we will provide. I frankly told them that there are no special provisions available to assist them. But what we do guarantee is a conducive environment for them to come back.

Q: There were to be many investigations into murders and abductions of journalists. Except for high profile cases, we haven't heard much about other investigations. What is the present status of these investigations?

A: Three weeks ago, the President instructed the authorities to initiate inquiries and expedite them. That is the task of the law enforcement authorities. I don't have much information about the investigations and they are not supposed to give such information as well, while inquiries are on. What I can say is that investigations are being conducted.

Q: The general practice during elections is for parties in power to abuse the State media. Will this trend be followed?

A: I am quite hopeful that it will be different this time.

We as a country have some bitter experiences in this regard. There was a lot of public opposition to the abuse of State media by the previous regime. But prevention of abuse should be applied to both State-owned and privately-owned media outlets.

The Election Commissioner is very keen to ensure media do not violate election laws. He is monitoring the media constantly.It is the duty of the leaders to not abuse the media. We should use media to get the message across. One can't campaign without effective use of the media.

It is the duty of the media to maintain professionalism, ensure unbiased reportage and provide a platform for divergent views.

They should prevent the abuse of media from within and outside.

Law alone cannot prevent the abuse of media. Institutional practices are important. This Ministry is keen to help maintain that vital balance during the election period.