Online edition of Sunday Observer

The long-awaited Press Complaints Commission commenced operations recently much to the applause of the local print media and those interested in media reform.

Devanesan Nesiah

Sam
Wijesinha

Manique
Mendis

Javed
Yusuf

The Commission was established in 2000 following the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility which envisaged the concept of self-regulation of the press where the press voluntarily regulates itself as is the practice in countries with established traditions of democracy and press freedom.

The Commission was jointly established by the Newspaper Society, Editors Guild of Sri Lanka and the Free Media Movement. Although the PCC was established in 2000, it commenced operations only on October 15 this year as the necessary groundwork such as obtaining funds and recruiting staff had to be done. It is however fully operational today and prepared to deal with any complaint coming under its mandate.

It is pertinent to note here that the PCC set up under the Companies Act as a non-profit-making limited liability company has no state stakeholding whatsoever. It is a fully independent body set up by the press for the press for its own good. Its funds will be met by the newspaper publishers which should ensure that its independence is maintained as is the case in other countries as well.

The Council of the Commission comprises 11 members including its Chairman, Sam Wijesinha, besides four media people and six non-media people representing a broad spectrum of civil society. The vision of its Chairman, Sam Wijesinha is to make the Press Complaints Commission an impartial body which people could appeal to without fear of prejudice.

He has stressed that the PCC should strive to eliminate delays, expenses and formalities and to give aggrieved parties a patient hearing. This formula is expected to spell success, depending of course on the co-operation it receives from the press.

Although most mainstream newspapers have subscribed to the mandate of the Commission, there are also those publications, largely vernacular tabloids which though enjoying a substantial readership have not as yet pledged their support to the initiative. It is however hoped that more and more such tabloids, especially those representing anti-establishment views, will subscribe to the objectives of the Commission with time.

Manique Mendis, Chief Executive Officer of the Press Complaints Commission explained that their mandate was limited to published newspaper articles that violate the Code of Practice adopted by the Editor's Guild and that any communications pertaining to an item published prior to the 15th of October when the PCC commenced operations will not be entertained.

Third party complaints will also not be entertained as such complaints have to originate from the aggrieved party and in case an individual representing a particular interest group were to make a complaint he would have to prove that he was personally affected by it. Mendis said that they have so far received about 25 communications though the majority of these went beyond the mandate as they pertained to articles published prior to their inception.

Most such communications were concerned with ordinary individuals who had been affected, though a few have originated from various organisations. They had also received around 60 inquiries from various individuals or organisations on how to make complaints besides those actually coming up with complaints, she revealed.

Mendis explained that the Commission has identified three steps it could take in addressing complaints, namely, conciliation, mediation and adjudication. The first step however consists of the officers verifying whether the complaint is a valid one and whether it could be entertained.

The Commission maintains three officers for the purpose of dealing with Sinhala, Tamil and English publications. Conciliation involves the Commission informing the editor of the relevant newspaper that a complaint of such and such nature has been received to which he might agree to publish a correction. Such a correction could take various forms, from publishing a Right of Reply to a simple correction or apology from the editor.

Mendis explained that although certain news items may on the face of it seem trivial, they could cause much damage to the aggrieved party, though to the editor it may well be a bona fides error which he would be only too happy to correct.

If such conciliation does not appear to be working after a time limit of three days within which period the editor has to respond, mediation will be resorted to where both parties would be invited to the Secretariat to resolve their differences.

Mendis explained that at this stage, they might even obtain the services of a few Council members to mediate on the issue depending on the nature of the case, since these Councillors represent various strata of society and might have some experience in the particular area under mediation.

If this too fails or if it is a very complicated case, it would go to adjudication by the Council where it would be heard by a panel comprising of a minimum quorum of three councillors, the majority of whom should be lay people representing civil society. The resultant judgment which may even run to one or two pages would have to be published in full. Such adjudication is equivalent to an award by an Arbitral Tribunal in terms of the Arbitration Act of 1995 and if this is not complied with, it would have to be enforced by order of the High Court for which purpose members of the public would receive the assistance of the Commission.

Mendis however said that the response they have received from editors so far has been very positive. Litigation could be costly to the complainant and embarrassing to the editor, and it is only reasonable that they should agree to a settlement. Although old complaints pertaining to items published prior to October 15, 2003 do not come within the PCC's mandate, they have nevertheless been forwarded to the editors concerned for their information as well as a gesture of goodwill towards complainants.

Some editors have even gone to the extent of giving the complainants a right of reply, although they were not bound to do so, she added. Mendis said that they have had people coming all the way from areas like Anuradhapura, Valachchenai and down south which only goes on to show how much grief some publications have caused to the affected parties.

She also observed that although there was a steady flow of communications coming in, there was still a need to create awareness of the Press Complaints Commission among the public. She noted that the print media was being very co-operative and giving them a lot of support in this connection.

Such a media campaign should be a continuous process, she stressed. Journalists have also shown a keen interest in the Commission. Journalists are interested in being professional and having a Code of Practice is an indication of being professional, she added.

Devanesan Nesiah, a prominent non-media member of the Council who has been in public service for over two decades last serving as Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Environment and Women's Affairs said that since the PCC was set up by the press and not from outside, it might work well though it all depends on the response it receives from the press.

He noted that as a lay person he felt that there remained much to be corrected in the local media situation, especially with regard to the ethnic conflict. Nesiah who is presently the Convenor of a social service organisation dedicated to promoting communal harmony noted that broadly speaking the Sinhala, Tamil and English newspapers had three different policies with regard to the ethnic conflict which was not at all healthy.

Even with the same management, one will find different editorial policies. Ideally, he noted, they should all have the same policy. Although political differences are legitimate, these should not be based on communal considerations.

The Sinhala newspapers should not reflect Sinhalese communal opinion and the Tamil newspapers should not reflect Tamil communal opinion, he stressed. The PCC, he pointed out had the potential to address this problem. The role of the press is critical, particularly in view of the peace process, he stressed.

Another prominent Council member Javed Yusuf, a lawyer by profession who is presently Co-Chairman of the National Peace Council said that he was quite optimistic that the Press Complaints Commission would work though its success would very much depend on the media institutions including those journalists who work in these institutions as well as the public who make use of it in a positive manner.

Yusuf who served a short stint as a journalist both locally and overseas said that he felt the PCC would strengthen media freedom in the country. The media, he pointed out was a powerful institution and with this power must go responsibility.

The government, he observed often feels that the media is not very well disposed towards them and attempts to bring in laws that seek to curtail its freedom. The PCC if it works well could well pre-empt such strong arm methods to control it, he pointed out.

The Sunday Observer also spoke to a few editors of some leading newspapers including those who have not submitted to the mandate of the Press Complaints Commission to get their views and suggestions.

Editor of the Sunday Island Manik De Silva observed that the PCC was a good idea and that they were willing to fully co-operate with it. He noted that his newspaper had always given the public the opportunity to respond in any matter where they had a legitimate grievance against it. He also observed that the PCC was particularly important in that it provided aggrieved parties a forum for airing their grievances with regard to the press without much hardship or delay. It would also ensure an amicable settlement between the parties concerned and avoid the delays and expenses of litigation, he added.

Editor, Lakbima (Sunday Edition), Sundara de Mel whose newspaper also subscribes to the PCC's mandate said that although the idea of a Press Complaints Commission was welcome some of its elements which have been borrowed from countries like the UK may not necessarily work here and that it would take time to evolve in order to fit into the local scenario. He also pointed out that there were those newspapers which have not as yet subscribed to the mandate of the Commission and that every attempt must be made to bring them into the fold of the PCC if it is to be truly successful.

The Lanka is one such vernacular newspaper that has not subscribed to the PCC's mandate. Its editor, Tissa Nimal Wickremasinghe in fact voiced concerns that the PCC being a private company formed by the newspaper publishers may have an agenda quite different to newspapers such as theirs which were more or less concerned about maintaining their independence. He observed that a culture of media self-regulation would need time to evolve and that this could not be accomplished in a hasty manner. He however added that if the PCC proved that it could be fair by all, they might even consider joining it.

Sivanesa Selvan, Editor of Tinakkural, a leading Tamil daily which is in agreement with the objectives of the Press Complaints Commission said that the PCC was a good idea as it would give the public an opportunity to air their grievances as well as prevent government interference in the press. He observed that his newspaper has been practising self-regulation for quite some time, giving all aggrieved parties the right to reply as a matter of policy.

He noted that if the PCC proved to be successful, it could well be an example to other countries in the region like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. These countries, he pointed out, do not have an independent press complaints commission as we now do here.

Hamza Haniffa, the editor of Al-Islam which voices the concerns of Muslims on a variety of issues said that although they have not as yet subscribed to the PCC's mandate, he felt that it was a positive development as it would give the public a forum for airing their grievances. He noted that there were still those newspapers that named the community of an individual involved in a crime which was not in keeping with good media practice.

He added that they would not hesitate to co-operate with the PCC if it proved that it could deliver the results.

Thus we find that although the idea of a Press complaints Commission has been received positively amongst most newspapers, there are still those who have their reservations.

It is upto the PCC then to prove its worth to the satisfaction of all concerned. How it does this will determine whether the venture towards a bold new media culture is a success or not.

A Journalist shall not knowingly or wilfully promote communal or religious discord or violence.

The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to a person's race, colour, religion, sex or to any physical or mental illness or disability. It must avoid publishing details of a person's race, caste, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability unless they are directly relevant to the story.

The media must take all reasonable care to report news and pictures accurately and without distortion.

Every reasonable attempt should be made by editors and individual journalists to verify the accuracy of reports prior to publication.

The press shall exercise particular care to respect the private and family life of individuals, their home, health and correspondence. Intrusions on this right to privacy without consent could be justified only by some over-riding public interest.

Every journalist has a moral obligation to protect confidential sources, until that source authorises otherwise.

A fair and reasonable opportunity to reply should be given to individuals or organisations in respect of factually incorrect statements endangering their reputation, dignity, honour, feelings, privacy and office.