Dr Abdul Wahid Soomro (MNA Pakistan Peoples Party)

A free, independent and responsible media is a direct reflection of societal traits and thus can act not only as a reality check but as a mentor and redeemer. With its initiative to move towards aFree, Independent and Responsible Media (FIRM),Individualland-Pakistan (IL-Pakistan) with the support of theFriedrich-Naumann-Stifting fur die Freiheit (FNF) held a Focus Group Discussion on the topic, “Ethical Code for Media: Yes or No?”at a local hotel today.

The moderator Mr. Shaukat Ali Ashraf from IL-Pakistan started the discussion with the thought that every profession must have a set of rules to follow to ensure the safety of themselves and others and so that one might not hurt other person unwillingly. These “code of ethics” are also to ensure that no one takes advantage of his/her position or profession in bad and unethical way

The participants while discussing presented the view point that there is no single, ruling definition of media ethics. Instead, the concept of media ethics exists in many forms acting as a blueprint from which media personnel can base their practices and their decisions. Ethics are not absolute rules. They are constantly evolving values. But, a media worker may be held professionally responsible for their actions if they are in conflict with their professions code of ethics. So although there is a need to develop a code of ethics for media but the code must keep the vibrant, hostile and politically stigmatized nature of a journalists work.

Participants further highlighted that reporters and media are expected to provide accurate and correct news and content through reliable sources. Incorrect content can create problems and misunderstandings. The participants lightly shared that today’s journalism can be related to the following saying “When a dog bites a man it is no news, but when a man bites a dog, it is news.”