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| Sunday, 7 May 2006 |
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Newspapers: The State of Play Sunday Essay by Ajith Samaranayake It is not in any spirit of self-congratulation that we claim that Sri Lanka (or Ceylon as it was called until 1972) has been possessed of a robust newspaper tradition. Both in form and content Sri Lankan newspapers are of a high quality while the excellence of the writing skills of some of our senior editors and writers (most of them now sadly dead) has been a byword in international newspaper circles. In Sinhala and Tamil (the national languages) and in English which still enjoys a dominant position among the elite the country has a variety of newspapers reflective of a wide range of opinion only a single group of newspaper being managed by the Government. In spite of the war which has for long ravaged the country there are newspapers operating out of Jaffna (the capital of the Northern Province) as well. Several factors have contributed to this robust newspaper tradition. The Colebrooke-Cameron reforms introduced in 1832 by the British led to the fostering of an English-speaking class which took a naive pride in being more English than the English themselves. From this class emerged both the English language journalists as well as their readership. Until very recently the English language cut across the Sinhala-Tamil barrier. The introduction of Free Education from Grade 1 to the university produced an intelligentsia which too until recently was bi-lingual. But whether they speak Sinhala, Tamil or English, Sri Lankans are highly politically conscious, jealously possessive of their civic rights and are inveterate newspaper readers, a habit which the introduction of television from the 1980's has not been able to kill. The reason for this high degree of social consciousness is the long tradition of universal adult suffrage, Ceylon being the first British colony receiving the right to vote. The first newspapers were begun by the British and naturally championed the cause of the administration and the powerful British planting interests the country being brought under tea cultivation on land plundered from the peasants. Principal among these newspapers was the now extinct 'Times of Ceylon'. However with the nationalist resurgence of the early years of the last century newspapers were begun in Sinhala raising the banner of indigenous language and religion. One of the earliest English newspapers was also started in Jaffna while the more prominent Sinhala newspapers of that early era were 'Sarasavi Sandaresa,' 'Lakmini Pahana' and 'Sinhala Bauddhaya' most of them owned by the individual editors themselves. However the newspaper emerged as an industry only with the advent on the horizon of D. R. Wijewardene, Sri Lanka's first newspaper baron cast in the mould of a Beaverbrook. He bought strings of small, struggling newspapers and established a vast newspaper empire straddling all three of the country's languages and publishing newspapers catering to interests ranging from cinema to astrology. He as a patriot who saw early the need for virile newspapers as vehicles of the campaign for political independence but politically he was a conservative and under his successors the Lake House newspapers as they were called consistently championed conservative interests which led to their being taken over by the United Front Government of the day. In time other newspaper houses emerged such as the now extinct Independent Newspapers, Upali Newspapers, Wijeya Newspapers, Sumathi Newspapers and the Leader Publications while Express Newspapers remains the sole Tamil-owned newspaper company. These last named five companies bring out a variety of newspapers and enjoy a high degree of freedom. In Sri Lanka generally the private press has championed conservative and right-wing interests and has been generally hostile to the country's Left and progressive movement which has failed to counter this hostility with newspapers of similar stature and influence. In recent times this vacuum has been filled somewhat by the emergence of 'Ravaya' and a few Sinhala magazines of a Left ideological bent. It is also tragic that in a country fractured by an ethnic divide the Sinhala language press has been reflective of Sinhala interests while the Tamil press is its opposite mirror image. However what is most disturbing is that even the English language newspapers which are read by both communities have of late become stridently Sinhala nationalistic. This means that the country lacks a via media, a forum for dialogue between the communities, a crucible for reconciliation. In Sri Lanka there is no censorship at all except during periods of civil emergency caused by the escalating of the war. Newspapers enjoy all the freedom bestowed by a liberal democratic order and are free to criticise the administration and expose its misdemeanours stretching all the way to the Presidency itself. Even the most intimate details of discussions at Cabinet are regularly reported in the Sunday newspaper columns. Only the law of libel and parliamentary privilege (prevailing in any democracy) act as a deterrent. A regulatory body named the Press Complaints Commission administered by the Newspaper Society, the Editors' Guild and the Free Media Movement attend to the complaints of aggrieved parties and settles them through consultation while a code of ethics has been evolved by the industry itself. A characteristic feature of the Sri Lankan press has been its metropolitan bias all major newspapers being published in Colombo although for a largely rural readership. The small size of the country perhaps precludes a provincial press but newspapers have to be more reflective of concerns beyond the capital city. In conclusion perhaps two observations may be opposite. Newspapers of all language streams should be more responsive to and reflective of the interests and concerns of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities and should act as fora for dialogue rather than engage in sabre-rattling or gung-ho journalism. Although it is the hope of all Sri Lankans that the National Question will be honourably settled however if there is a fresh eruption of war there will be the inevitable conflict posed before the press of national security and the public interest. (This article appeared in the souvenir published by the Ministry of
Mass Media and Information to celebrate World Press Freedom Day) |
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