It is freedom which lies at the heart of democracy, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon argued, but with that freedom there is a price, and that price is responsibility.
Responsibility and freedom in the media
25 January 2008
Don McKinnon addresses Commonwealth Broadcasting Association conference in The Bahamas
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon spoke about responsibility and freedom in the media at the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) conference, held in Nassau, The Bahamas.
“A media that can work freely in the dissemination of information will benefit everyone – from individuals to governments and corporations – because it puts them in a better place to make informed decisions,” he said.
Mr McKinnon, who made the keynote speech on 25 January 2008, cited the recent report ‘Civil Paths to Peace’, written by the Commonwealth Commission on Respect and Understanding that was chaired by the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. It was presented to and accepted by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their recent biennial meeting in Kampala, Uganda.
The report “stressed the importance and the potential of the media in preserving and strengthening ethnic, religious, linguistic diversity – and with it, democracy.”
It is freedom which lies at the heart of democracy, Mr McKinnon argued, but with that freedom there is a price, and that price is responsibility.
He said that with every journalist there should be “a quest for truth and the properly informed decisions that come from it”. However, as well as this personal responsibility, he acknowledged that there is a need for rules and regulations – for individuals and governments alike.
Mr McKinnon then explained how the Commonwealth was involved in offering solutions to potential problems and challenges within the media.
For instance, whenever Commonwealth Observer Groups are present at a country’s election they will always report on the performance of the media and how effectively it contributes to public participation in the democratic process.
The Commonwealth also alerts member countries to look closely at laws on areas such as defamation and contempt; warns of the downside of laws which suppress media freedom, including anti-terror laws; tells countries that licensing and ownership laws can easily be flawed; and offers advice on the potential misuse of funds awarded to newspapers.
The CBA, as well as the Commonwealth Press Union and the Commonwealth Journalists Association, train journalists and act as advocates across the member states. They also work alongside the Commonwealth Media Development Fund, which has trained more than 5,000 journalists in the 12 years since it was set up and is run by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
“Our privileged Commonwealth access makes us a trusted partner, and it’s from that position that we can raise these very sensitive issues,” the Secretary-General added.
Whilst the Commonwealth provides technical power as well as the convening power of Heads of Government and Ministers, Mr McKinnon said that the media has to be the guardian off truth, acting as “watchdogs, not the lapdogs”.
He stated: “A free media can be good or bad, but without freedom the media will never be anything but bad, and society will be the worse for it.”
Mr McKinnon also cited examples of ways in which the media can promote the two pillars of the modern Commonwealth: democracy and development.
Three years ago in Afghanistan, just days before the presidential elections, candidates opposing Hamid Karzai stood down. They felt that victory in the upcoming elections couldn’t and wouldn’t belong to them. Radio phone-in programmes promptly picked up on and challenged the actions of these candidates, leading them to change their minds and agree to stand.
In neighbouring India the popular detective series ‘Jasoos Vijay’ entertains 150 million people who tune in to watch every episode. This programme deals with HIV/AIDS, to inform and educate its audience about the global pandemic.
Those who “devote their professional lives to using the media as a tool to deepen democracy and dynamise development” – like the radio programmes in Afghanistan and the detective television show in India – were saluted by Mr McKinnon, who said that their power and potential is enormous.
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