This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 1, 2017 - May 7, 2017

Just like chivalry took a beating with the advent of feminism some decades ago, the idealised notion of an independent and principled press has been exposed as a chimera in the digital media age.

Traditional journalism, which values accuracy, verification of information, balance, impartiality, and the publisher’s duty of care, is a quixotic creature in the new media environment, which thrives on immediacy, breaches of confidentiality, emotive appeal, democratisation of information and corrections on the fly.

Nevertheless, while news organisations continue to adapt to these challenges, it is timely to dwell on the topic of a free media as we mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

To be sure, just as chivalry is by no means dead, so too the idea that media independence must shine like a beacon in the hearts of journalists worldwide as they strive to live up to the media’s public interest role that is inseparable from the power of the pen.

The theme adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) to mark the occasion this year, “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies”, reflects precisely this public interest responsibility that is ever-present for the media.

Indeed, although the date was designated by the Unesco General Conference in 1993 to reaffirm the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess the state of that freedom worldwide and defend the media from attacks on its independence, it should be recognised that journalists make choices about press freedom every moment of their working lives.

To illustrate, what a journalist chooses to include in a report may depend on how free he or she is to make that choice. Yet, it may be even more important to examine what is chosen to be left out to see whether that decision serves the public interest or not.

For many journalists, that choice is becoming fraught with risk, as the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says in its 2017 World Press Freedom Index report released last week.

Describing the state of media freedom as being at a tipping point, especially in leading democratic countries, RSF says this year’s index reflects a world in which “attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise”.

“We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda and suppression of freedoms — especially in democracies,” the index states.

It singles out the obsession with surveillance and violations of the right to the confidentiality of sources as two threats that have contributed to the continuing decline of many countries “previously regarded as virtuous”.

These countries include the US (down two places at 43rd), the UK (down two at 40th), Chile (down two at 33rd) and New Zealand (down eight at 13th).

The RSF report has its finger on the pulse of the times when it sums up the tumultuous events of the past year: “Donald Trump’s rise to power in the United States and the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom were marked by high-profile media bashing, a highly toxic anti-media discourse that drove the world into a new era of post-truth, disinformation, and fake news.”

The sense of foreboding expressed by RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire at this dark turn of events is telling: “The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is alarming for all those who understand that, if media freedom is not secure, then none of the other freedoms can be guaranteed. Where will this downward spiral take us?”

Just as the future of these democracies will depend on how well their citizens respond to their political challenges, the fate of news organisations will likewise hinge on whether journalists and media consumers alike can find solutions to the unravelling of newsmaking norms and practices.

Unesco secretary-general Irina Bokova sums up the doomsday scenario in her message for World Press Freedom Day 2017: “Facing a crisis of audience identity, journalism stands before a horizon where old challenges are merging with new threats. The media business is being shaken to the core with the rise of digital networks and social media. Citizen journalists are redrawing the boundaries of journalism. Media accountability and credibility are falling under question. Online, the lines are blurring between advertising and editorial material, and we see private actors rising as key intermediaries, accompanied by new forms of ‘private censorship’.”

These challenges, Bokova states, merge with deeper transformations affecting societies that are raising questions that go the heart of free, independent and professional journalism.

As the old rules are becoming irrelevant and the new game continues to unfold, certainty tends to evaporate. Only by returning to the core values that serve the common interest can we find a sense of direction in the new media landscape.

For the record, Malaysia rose two places to No 144 out of 180 countries in the 2017 index, although its global score deteriorated by 0.32 points compared to 46.57 in 2016. The index highlighted the government’s blocking of The Malaysian Insider news website which forced it to close, and the authorities’ pursuit of the cartoonist Zunar as two instances of official actions that cast a pall over media freedom.

RSF noted that several proposed amendments would reinforce the Official Secrets Act and Communications and Multimedia Act, but saw the Sedition Act as the biggest threat to journalists.

How should we shape our new media environment so that we can enjoy the full potential of these new technologies without being swept away by their negative influences?

As we ponder the possible scenarios, it is clear that much will depend on how well we have nurtured our society to respond to challenges with maturity, openness and a positive curiosity about what lies over the horizon.
 

R B Bhattacharjee is associate editor at The Edge Malaysia

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