Pakistan’s transition
to democracy in recent years and its consolidation after the last general
elections has included an opening up of media space and greater levels
of information availability and consumption than ever. About three quarters
of the independent media in Pakistan have come into existence since the
last local government elections were held in 2005.
Media outlets and journalists have experienced the 2008
general elections, but most of them have not yet reported on local elections
that are due or on election reform issues. The coverage of election reform
process is critically important at this time, as profound problems were
identified in the 2008 elections, and local government election legislation
is currently being drafted and passed by Provincial Assemblies and schedules
of local elections being discussed.
The role of media in strengthening and consolidation
of a democratic culture, such as in Pakistan, is central to any reform
process and stakeholders agree that enhancing media capacities to report
on the electoral reform process and supporting a conducive information
environment in the run up to the local elections is important is a big
step in this direction.
To express this consensus and to lay out a roadmap for
Pakistani media’s support to electoral reforms and strengthening
of the democratic culture, Intermedia convened Pakistan’s first
ever national media leadership conference on support for democracy in
Karachi on November 4, 2010. This initiative was financed by Democracy
Reporting International (DRI) under a European Union project. Front-ranking
leadership from most major media houses across Pakistan, including TV
channels, newspapers and radio stations attended this landmark conference.
The conference, bringing together some of Pakistan’s
best media organizations and most experienced and influential media practitioners,
announced a National Media Partnership on Democracy by
adopting a resolution signed by all participants that read as follows:
“We the Pakistani media, comprising national
and local newspapers, TV channels, radio stations, news agencies and educational
broadcasters from both the private and public sector recognize that we
collectively and individually have a key role to play in strengthening
and consolidating democracy in Pakistan. In this spirit, we hereby establish
the National Media Partnership on Democracy. We commit ourselves to the
highest journalistic standards comprising ethics, impartiality, search
for objective and balanced information, investigation, thorough analysis,
and respect for a code of journalistic ethics, for reporting on (local
government) elections.”
This project was designed to follow up the media leadership’s
commitment and support for greater professional coverage of local elections
issues by engaging with the media practitioner’s community
to draft their own guidelines for reporting local elections.
This was done through convening of a conference of media practitioners
in Lahore on November 6, 2010 that drafted Pakistan’s first code
of ethics for reporting local elections in line with the commitment in
the declaration of the media leadership. The Lahore conference signed
the following declaration:
“In pursuance of the joint declaration adopted
by Pakistan’s first National Media Conference on Electoral
Reforms setting up the landmark National Media Partnership
on Democracy in Karachi on November 4, 2010, we the representatives
of national and local media representing television, radio and newspapers
in both the private and public sector have drafted this Code of
Ethics for Reporting Local Election, in Lahore on November 6,
2010, to serve as a guide to coverage of the next local elections and
issues related to the local elections.”
Over 15 senior media practitioners were invited to the
conference held in Karachi at The Marriott on November 30, 2010 aimed
at bringing together some of Pakistan’s biggest media associations
to endorse the Code of Ethics for Reporting Local Elections from Pakistan’s
four provinces. This Karachi-based activity was attended by a dozen organizations
representing guilds of radio stations, newspapers, news agencies, professional
journalism bodies, journalism education sector, press clubs (which represent
electronic and print media) and the broadcast sector regulator that enforces
policies for TV channels and radio stations.
The landmark conference discussed and debated the Code
of Ethics for Reporting Local Elections, drafted by media practitioners
representing some of Pakistan’s biggest electronic and print media
groups. The participants firmed up the Code of Ethics by making informed
amendments and followed up by formally endorsing it as Pakistan’s
first voluntary Code of Ethics for Reporting Local Elections.
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