ASIA: Mix of Global Crises A Litmus Test for Media

      By Lynette Lee Corporal

BANGKOK, Mar 25 (Asia Media Forum) - The media have to look back and learn from the past if they are to be able to move forward and become effective agents of change amidst a mix of different global crises, media professionals and activists said here.

   They were part of the some 100 journalists and social activists taking part in the Asia Media Conference 2009, underway here at the Thai capital from Mar. 25-27.
   "The conference is happening in the midst of a perilous time, in the midst of multiple crises staring at us as citizens, as institutions as well as agents of social change," John Samuel, international director for ActionAid and editor-in-chief of Infochange News & Feature, said in his opening remarks.

   He said these four major challenges are the crises of democracy, economy, food and the environment, which are also the areas of focus of the conference, which has the theme ‘Media In Times of Crises’.

   Retracing the waves of changes in the socio-political order in the last half century, which saw the rise and fall of leaders and political, economic and social frameworks, Samuel noted that the media have gone through various 'shifts' in the past – and are going through the same now.

   "We need to celebrate the role of the media in creating social discourse and transformation," he said.

   It is especially important that journalists play their role of asking difficult questions in society in times of conflict or tension, said the United Nations Rapporteur for North Korea Human Rights Vithit Muntabhorn. "It does help to question (existing) norms," he said.

   But journalists definitely also become objects of attack when covering a war and this is where humanitarian law comes in to protect them, he added.
"Article 79 in the Protocol of the Geneva Convention protects the journalists as civilians in armed conflicts and war. War correspondents meanwhile are respected as prisoners of war," he said.

   Responding to criticism about the utility of these laws, Vithit said: "Rules are respected to a large extent even though there's a violation at times; there have been many lapses too."
   But this assurance perhaps does little to ease journalists’ concerns, especially in the light of statistics that show an increase in journalists’ killings in recent years. According to the International Press Institute's 2008 ‘World Press Freedom Review’, Asia has just topped the Middle East as the "deadliest region for journalists in 2008". Iraq led the gory list with 14 journalists killed last year, followed by Pakistan with six and the Philippines, India and Mexico with five each.

   In her brief commentary about the ‘Asia Media Report 2009: Missing in the Media’, which was launched at the conference, Filipino journalist Carolyn Arguillas of Mindanews cited some of these 'inner' crises in media, among them self-censorship, media killings, limited funds and the disconnect between media institutions on the national and the community levels.

   "As international news agencies are seen to set the agenda on what is news or not for the rest of the world, so too are media institutions on the national level seen to decide what is news or not for the rest of the country," she said, citing how national dailies generally ignore news coming from outside national capitals.

   But one good development, she added, is that "journalists in communities are now asserting their news agendas".

   From a larger point of view, Samuel pointed to the media's crisis of ideals, which have been taken over by other interests.

   Then, too, there is what Samuel calls the tragedy of the journalists' 'cut and paste' mentality. "In the 1990s, the sociology changed with the advent of the 'Wikipedia generation'," said Samuel, referring to the highly popular online encyclopedia. Also called the 'Google' generation, journalists and non-journalists alike have made it a habit to consult these online resources in lieu of the more traditional reading materials.

   "We don't have time to read anymore, to go to a village and interview people, to read books. We only (have time to) Google," he added.

   For Samuel, a journalist is a "vulnerable professional" who can be displaced any time by different forces, especially with the advent of the new media. But despite these clear and present dangers, every crisis "is an opportunity to change policies", he said.

   "As agents of change, we need to act, connect, and think beyond institutional boundaries,” he said. (END/IPSAP/LLC/JS/260309)