Khanal's Resignation Issue
Media’s Power and Responsibility
Vijaya Chalise
Introspection
Similarly, the focus is mainly on maximizing readership or viewership than in delivering content in both the print and broadcast media. In a bid to win the race, TV channels will jump on to anything to flash breaking news. Thus, introspection or self-inspection by the media is urgently needed to uplift the professional standards. It is in the best interest of the media, and society as well, that news organisations subject themselves to intense internal scrutiny and avoid unethical journalism.
The recent controversy concerning Finance Secretary Rameswor Khanal’s 15-day home leave and rumoured resignation is a fine example of how the commercial media sensationalised the issue by taking sides, reinforcing prejudices, muddling the facts and presenting half-truths. Striking a balance poses a challenge as reporters run the risk of promoting propaganda if they fail to support their reports with complete information based on facts.
The basic principle that journalists must not allow emotions to manipulate what they write is often forgotten. For this, they need proper observation and fact-based evolution. Emotional as well as preconceived judgment is always misleading. For this reason, some big publishing houses as well as television channels have been accused of using the media to fulfill their vested interests, disseminate news to suit their own business interests and visibly take sides of political lobbies and foreign powers. For this reason, they have started to lose credibility.
It indicates that the professional norm of neutrality and objectivity as stated by the code of conduct for journalists is simply forgotten. To become objective and credible, the principle "tell the story as it is - not as the reporter (guided and insisted by the producer) thinks it should be told" should be followed as a guideline.
Take the example of Khanal’s resignation issue. After Khanal’s 15-day home leave and rumoured resignation, the media presented the news event which aimed at boosting Khanal’s image and defaming officials of the Finance Ministry, including Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari. The media, ignoring both sides of the story, disseminated the message to the public that the government, especially the finance minister and his party, was after an administrator who opposed the minister’s endeavour to call back the action taken against VAT defaulters who had submitted fake Value Added Tax (VAT) bills.
Minister for Finance Adhikari was quick to deny the accusation that Finance Secretary Rameswor Khanal’s resignation had come under pressure to take back action against the VAT defaulters. At a press conference organised in his office to make his position clear, Adhikari emphasised that he had strongly given instructions to take action against all the VAT defaulters as submitting fake VAT bills is a serious crime.
Without dispute, Finance Secretary Khanal is a professional bureaucrat of high morals, self-dignity, fairness and ability to deliver good governance. However, the media’s conclusion that none except Khanal in the Finance Ministry is professional, honest, clean and competitive is unacceptable. Conversely, Minister Adhikari himself is considered clean and a visionary amongst the finance ministers.
Similarly, Revenue Secretary Krishnahari Baskota was also a highly admired bureaucrat by the media as a clean, visionary and professional administrator in the revenue sector. Many more officials in the Finance Ministry could be termed highly competitive and honest.
One should not forget that abuse of information, circulation of false information and character assassination by the press are not the hallmarks of a free press. Freedom of such dimension might involve risks of abuse. We journalists and experts in other fields have often praised the role of the Nepali media and journalists as such. However, the question frequently raised by the readers and media experts concerning balanced and impartial news in the Nepalese media cannot be ignored.
Expansion of the media industry does not always mean that it protects the rights of the people and gives a voice to the voiceless. Therefore, it is urgent that apart from the Nepalese media making genuine efforts to maintain credibility and impartiality, the political forces must also commit themselves to refrain from influencing the media for their personal gains. A journalist cannot be impartial and accurate while collecting news in a situation where they are constantly under threat and hidden political interests of the media owners.
Credibility
The media in
(Chalise is a freelance journalist and writer)
