The Hindu : Front Page : Media have social responsibility to promote peace processes: Ram

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Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
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Media have social responsibility to promote peace processes: Ram

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: “Time has come for the media in South Asia to seriously introspect on its role on how it could improve its performance in betterment of the welfare of the people and the peace processes in the society,” N. Ram, Editor-in-chief of The Hindu, said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a function where he was awarded the Best Journalist of Asia by the Sri Lanka Mass Media Society (a government-supported NGO to promote excellence in the media world), Mr. Ram said the media had a role to play to promote “sustainable peace” in the region through non-violent means.

Accountability

Mr. Ram conceded that there was scope for the media to lend voice to different views but maintained that at the end of the day it was “accountability to the society that counts.” He was among the 60 persons from the media field to be recognised for their contribution to the greater awareness and enlightenment of the society.

He was at pains to emphasise that the media have a social responsibility to promote “peace processes” and asserted that the political problems cannot be resolved through “military solutions.” He maintained that peace is a great imperative but argued that it cannot be achieved only through the route of “turning the other cheek” when it is threatened by terrorist and secessionist forces.

Code of conduct

Mr. Ram said it was high time media personalities in South Asia evolved “an actionable code of conduct” to deal with issues related to peace and issues that have a direct bearing on the lives of people. “For example, how do we deal with grief caused either by natural calamity or acts of terrorism? There is need for a thorough debate on the conflict of interests between freedom of speech and social responsibility,” he said.

Mr. Ram said the media need to realise that they cannot claim to have the role of “agenda building” but play a role in contributing to the debate on the agenda set by society. The media cannot be assured of their pre-eminent role if they do not distinguish between agenda building and taking forward an agenda set by the society.

He maintained that he personally and the media in general did not want any code imposed from outside and emphasised the need for the media to evolve a “voluntary code of ethics” to regulate their functioning. “There are a number of examples around the world of self-regulation and the South Asia media could emulate them.”

The main role of the media is not only to ensure deliverance of credible information but also provide a context. “It is necessary that the reader believes in what is being conveyed but also has the benefit of knowing the full background of the information. We need to go below the surface in a critical and constructive way,” he said.

“Educative role”

Mr. Ram said the media have an “educative role” in informing the reader of the developments but also the context in which they have happened or are happening. Asia is the happening place for the growth of the media and 70 per cent of the 100 top selling newspapers are from the region.

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