— Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee addresses the Conference of Editors from the SAARC countries in New Delhi on Saturday. Editor-in-Chief The Hindu N. Ram (right) and Media Development Foundation chairman Sashi Kumar are also seen.

NEW DELHI: A conference of editors from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations on Saturday called on governments to enable ``freer movement'' of journalists in the region by issuing multiple-entry, long-term visas to all bona fide presspersons without cumbersome restrictions on the areas they can visit.

The two-day conference, organised by the External Affairs Ministry and the Chennai-based Media Development Foundation, urged SAARC States and distribution networks to desist from blocking signals carrying live content purveyed by news organisations of the region to any country or part of the region.

A resolution adopted by the editors recommended that all border barriers to the free flow and exchange of news media products in the region be abolished. It said media groups should set up news bureaux or appoint stringers in as many SAARC countries as possible to enable substantial coverage and understanding of the South Asian neighbourhood.

The editors recognised the need for the news media to evolve effective internal mechanisms to ensure that the integrity, independence, credibility, and trustworthiness expected by the people of the media were maintained.

Decrying the continuing intimidation of, and attacks on, journalists in the region by State agencies, extra-constitutional authorities, self-appointed cultural custodians, religious and political press-gangs, and criminal elements, the resolution called upon SAARC Governments to protect mediapersons from attacks and threats.

Demanding the de-criminalisation of the law of defamation following the example set by Sri Lanka and treating alleged defamation as a purely civil matter, the editors deplored the harassment of the news media by central and local legislatures under the guise of unfettered legislative privilege or by the judiciary invoking contempt of court powers.

Acknowledging the trend towards tabloidisation, trivialisation, dumbing down, and sensationalism in sections of the news media, the resolution noted the consequent need for ``media criticism and serious and periodic self-reflection and self-regulatory codes of practice.''

The editors recommended that media groups in the region practise accountability by instituting mechanisms such as internal news ombudsmen with an independent mandate to keep the values of accuracy, fairness, trustworthiness, and journalistic ethics in constant focus, and to reflect the legitimate demands made by the public on the functioning of the news media.

They urged SAARC Governments to bring in necessary legislation or amendments to Constitutions to make media freedom in the fullest sense an explicit, inalienable, fundamental right that cannot be tampered with in any manner.

The four-page resolution also called upon journalists and media organisations to maintain their independence and ``keep a healthy and critical professional distance'' from their foreign policy, security, and other official establishments as well as vested interests of any kind.

Attention to realities

The editors suggested that journalists and media groups in the SAARC region pay sustained attention to the realities, causes and consequences of mass deprivation in South Asia and to ``systematically improve'' the coverage of mass deprivation to help build an effective agenda for public action.

They also agreed that the conference of editors should become an annual event hosted primarily by media organisations in different SAARC countries to address issues relevant to the news media of the region.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail