University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Creative Arts - Papers Faculty of Creative Arts 2009 Best Practices of Journalism in Asia Eric Loo University of Wollongong, [email protected] Publication Details This book was originally published as Loo, E, Best Practices of Journalism in Asia, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2009, 177p. + Revisiting Development Journalism dvd Refer streaming video link here: BPJA-101 (Quicktime video) Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Contents FOREWORD 1 PROLOGUE 2 CHAPTER 1 • Development journalism: Forging a path for best practices? 10 CHAPTER 2 • Journalism for the people – Dialogue with journalists from Asia 29 Reporting for the poor and disenfranchised • Red Batario: Care for people and for what people can do. 36 • Palagummi Sainath: Journalism is for people, not shareholders 43 • BG Verghese: Reclaim public service values of journalism 54 • Dionne Bunsha: Good journalism strives for social justice 59 • M. Suchitra: Redefining journalists’ professional roles 73 Exposing the corrupt • Glenda Gloria: Lace skepticism with optimism about the good in people 84 • Yvonne Chua: Coping with hazards of investigative journalism 97 • Massoud Ansari: Good journalism exposes and educates 109 Reporting the frontline • Shahanaaz Habib: Keeping emotions intact in war reporting 120 • Michelle Tan: Telling the soldier’s stories 126 CHAPTER 3 • Online qualitative survey of ‘Best Practices in Journalism’ 133 • The Jakarta Post: Forging public service values 152 CHAPTER 4 • Grasping the realities of best practices of journalism in Asia 158 • Development journalism in Asia: Beware of cynicism, kindle hope 160 EPILOGUE 167 APPENDIX: Online survey form 173 FOREWORD Asia is arguably one of the most diverse regions in the world. Whether it is measured in terms of differing political systems, different levels of economic development or the vast array of social, cultural and religious traditions, no other region matches the diversity of Asia. This complexity poses a particular challenge for Asian journalism in its quest to identify a commonly shared understanding of what constitutes best practice. Indeed, not only do Asian journalists have to do justice to a range of economic and political realities, they are also working within an environment that is undergoing rapid transformation. Dr Eric Loo’s book could not have come at a better time. It is my great pleasure to introduce this work, which develops a distinctly Asian perspective to the ongoing discourse on journalism in Asia. In dialogue with award-winning journalists from the region, Dr Loo skillfully uncovers the multiple facets of the Asian media reality. Drawing on the vast experiences of some of the most established journalists in Asia, this book portrays a comprehensive picture of best (and bad) practices in the Asian context. Dr Loo’s book marks a significant contribution to the efforts of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Media Programme Asia in fostering dialogue between journalists and media teachers in Asia and Europe. By adding an Asian perspective to the debate on best practices in journalism, this book empowers Asian journalists to develop a model that pays tribute to the specific realities and cultural contexts within which they work and further advances a free and ethical press in Asia. I am confident that this book will greatly forward the discourse on best practices in Asia and Europe alike and enable journalists to learn from and with each other. Werner vom Busch Former Director & Co-editor Media Programme Asia Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Singapore Email: [email protected] URL: www.kas.de/mediaasia 2009 by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Singapore Best Practices of Journalism in Asia 1 Prologue In Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia journalism instructional texts – mainly published in the United States – have traditionally been translated into local languages by media academics. Many were mainly educated in the United States, and less so, the United Kingdom and Australia. Direct translation of these texts and deference to media models from English- speaking democracies as the benchmarks of professional journalism have overlooked the eclectic enterprising work of journalists in Asia.1 Journalists perform their work amidst constraints ranging from the lack of Internet access, computers and telephones to more systemic problems like low wages, inadequate journalism training, and repressive media laws. Journalism instructional and academic texts originating from Asia in recent years have attempted to systematically examine the practices, cultures and functions of journalists in parts of Asia, where the media environments are as diverse as the region’s economy, communal politics and multi-ethnic communities.2 This book attempts to add to the current literature on journalism in Asia. Readers are introduced to the different journeys taken by Asian journalists. Through their award-winning work they have, in unique ways, influenced and educated public understanding of human development concerns and inspired their respective communities to act on issues that affect their daily life. One media project illustrative of this change-oriented journalism was a community experiment - Our Village Chhatera - initiated by The Hindustan Times in Delhi in 1968. The experimental project involved a fortnightly column that ran over several years. It told the stories of villagers in Chhatera, their resilience in addressing head-on the villagers’ need for better infrastructure. The column tracked the community’s potential for micro-development, and ultimately how the villagers achieved the development goals when given the appropriate resources. 1 Explanation of the terms used in this book: “Asia” refers specifically to Southeast Asia on the premise that the pluralistic ASEAN region is representative of the spread of newspapers in Asia proper – stretching from India to Hong Kong. The geography spans across the least developed countries – such as Myanmar and Laos - to the ’newly industrialised countries’ such as India, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. “Western’ refers particularly to the United States where major transnational media institutions are located. Reuters and AFP, although based in Europe, are structurally and institutionally similar to AP and UPI, sharing the same model of Western media operations. 2 See for example Asia Media Report: A Crisis Within, Inter Press Service Asia-Pacific Centre Foundation, Thailand, 2006. Other media-related publications are mainly published by the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Singapore (www.amic.org.sg); and professional journalist organisations in the region, which sites its publications online - such as the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (http://www.seapabkk.org/), Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (www.pcij.org), and Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (www.cmfr.com.ph/); Aliran (www.aliran.com) in Malaysia; and The Media Foundation’s watchdog site, The Hoot (www.thehoot.org) in India. Best Practices of Journalism in Asia 2 B.G. Verghese, editor of The Hindustan Times at that time, and initiator of the project recalls: Many, from the proprietor (initially), staff and readers, first yawned, then complained at the waste of space on Our Village Chhatera. But it developed a faithful readership. Publicity galvanised the administration and service agencies into doing their job - and doing it better. The villagers felt greatly empowered. Scholars eagerly measured social change over the seven-year period the column ran. Ambassadors got to see an India on the other side of diplomatic protocol. And city journalists, who could not tell rice from wheat or initially gaped at Persian wheels, grew to become far better and more sensitive journalists, able to take a more holistic view of Indian realities. Chhatera was an education (Read the dialogue with Verghese in chapter 2). For journalists starting their career with The Hindustan Times, Verghese says, the experience gave them a critical understanding of the social functions of their chosen profession. The journalist’s role then was not only to inform, entertain, report and analyse the events and issues, but also to ‘motivate’ the villagers to reflect on how to bring about positive change to their living conditions. To the villagers of Chhatera, The Hindustan Times was effectively the purveyor and catalyst for leading the village out of its dismal conditions to one that became a model of micro-development that could be emulated by other communities. Verghese said his fortnightly column provided the villagers the recognition and moral support they needed. To the government officials, The Hindustan Times provided a critical feedback loop where the people could voice their concerns as well as suggest alternative strategies to improve their living conditions in Chhatera. Implicit in the sustained coverage of Chhatera was the engagement by The Hindustan Times’ journalists with the villagers. Herein lies the immersive 3 reporting methodologies and personal connections with the grassroots that The Hindustan Times journalists applied to the community experiment. These ethnographic methodologies pose a challenge to conventional journalism practice, which exclusively reveres detached observation, defers to establishment and institutional sources for information, and which practically treats news more as a commercial