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Understandings and Practices of Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom in Pakistan: Ethnography of Karachi Journalistic Environment

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Understandings and Practices of Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom in Pakistan: Ethnography of Karachi Journalistic Environment Understandings and Practices of Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom in Pakistan: Ethnography of Karachi Journalistic Environment Sadia Jamil MA (Karachi), MSC (Scotland) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2014 School of Communication and Arts i Abstract This study investigated the relationship between cultural pluralism and the journalists’ attitudes towards freedom of expression and press freedom within the institution of journalism in Pakistan. It sought to identify any shared understanding and practice of these two concepts amongst the Pakistani journalists, who participated in this study. Particularly, this study explored the influence of Pakistan’s religious and socio-political contexts on the journalists’ understandings and practices of these two concepts in Karachi. Thus, this study linked the journalists’ understandings and practices (actions) of freedom of expression and press freedom with the environment in which they operate; and therefore, used the new institutionalism theory as a framework. The new institutionalism theory builds itself in relation to three core aspects, precisely: ‘standardisation’ (of concepts, practices, routines, rules and values); the ‘influence of environment’ on actors’ agency and the role of ‘actors’ agency’ in any institutional setting. The new institutionalism in organisational theory acknowledges journalism as a distinct institution, which is “comprised of shared concepts, practices, norms, values, organisational routines and rules” (Jaasaari and Olsson, 2010, p. 76; Powell and DiMaggio, 1991). In journalism, the theory derives its origin from the early institutional studies that attempted to scope the standardised media routines, news-making process, the patterned roles and values of news workers by using the ethnographic research approach (Galtung and Ruge, 1965; Tuchman, 1978; Gans, 1979; Golding and Elliot, 1979). Thus, this study investigated press freedom in Pakistan at three levels, namely: conceptual (understanding), practice (action) and environmental (context) levels. These three levels of analysis aimed to address the journalists’ understandings and practices of freedom of expression and press freedom within the context (environment) of Pakistan. As a result, this study attempted to describe the lived experiences of journalists. This required the use of ethnographic research approach and the qualitative methods of data collection. Therefore, data were collected through document review, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and direct observation to investigate four research questions, namely: (i) What meanings do Pakistani journalists give to freedom of expression and press freedom?, (ii) How do Pakistani journalists describe their ability to practice personal understandings of freedom of expression and press freedom?, (iii) Are there any gaps between the local and i the global understandings of press freedom indicators? and (iv) What are the various influences and constraints that affect journalists’ work and their right of freedom of expression in Pakistan? This study found that there was no ‘shared’ understanding and practice of freedom of expression and press freedom amongst the Pakistani journalists, who participated in this study. ‘Context’ emerged as the most dominant factor in shaping the diverse understandings and practices of journalists. These findings suggest that ‘freedom’ is a contested concept in Pakistan. The notions of freedom of expression and press freedom do not form a central plank in the institutionalisation of journalism in the country; therefore, the local journalism institution can be seen as lacking the cohesion. Furthermore, a disconnection between the Pakistani journalists’ views of press freedom indices and the global press freedom metrics was also found due to the influence of context. Finally, this study found the dominant impact of Pakistan’s context (environment) on the work of journalists, revealing them as ‘passive actors’ with a less level of empowerment and participation in the local journalism institution. ii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. Name: Miss Sadia Jamil Signature: Sadia Jamil iii Publications during candidature Book chapter Jamil, S. (2014). Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom: Journalists’ Understandings and Practices in Pakistan. In C. Schmidt (Ed.), Pakistan's Media Landscape: The Effects of Liberalisation (pp. 46-85). Bonn: DW Akademie. Conference papers Jamil, S. (2013, May). Freedom of expression and press freedom: Journalists’ understandings and practices in Pakistan. Paper presented at the 4th Deutsche Welle Media Dialogue, Bonn. Jamil, S. (2013, June). Journalists’ conceptions of freedom of expression and press freedom in Pakistan. Paper presented at the IAMCR Conference, Dublin. Publications included in this thesis Jamil, S. (2014). Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom: Journalists’ Understandings and Practices in Pakistan. In C. Schmidt (Ed.), Pakistan's Media Landscape: The Effects of Liberalisation (pp. 46-85). Bonn: DW Akademie – incorporated as Chapter 5. Contributor Statement of contribution Miss Sadia Jamil (Candidate) Wrote the book chapter (100%) Contributions by others to the thesis NONE Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree NONE iv Acknowledgments This thesis is not mere a piece of academic writing and contribution to knowledge. It reflects my passion towards this research project. Doing PhD is not an easy task. It requires patience, devotion, hard work and above all support. Therefore, I am grateful to all those, who encouraged me to carry out this study. In the first place, I would like to thank my all family members for their moral support during the entire PhD journey. Especially, my father (Jamil Ahmed) and elder brother (Faisal Jamil) deserve huge applause for their emotional, intellectual and financial supports to facilitate this research project. I also heartily acknowledge the supervision of Associate Professor Rhonda Breit and Associate Professor Pradip Thomas to complete this thesis. Lastly, many thanks to the School of Communication and Arts (UQ), my RHD colleagues, friends and the University of Queensland for providing me full support during my PhD studies. v Key words Freedom of expression, press freedom, ethnic pluralism, gender disparity, religious sect, new institutionalism, conceptual (understanding) level, practice (action) level and environmental (context) level Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 190301, Journalism Studies, 100% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 1903, Journalism and Professional writing, 100% vi Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1….Research problem.………………………………………………………………………1 1.2….Research aims and objectives.…………………………………………………………..6 1.3….Rationales..……………………………………………………………………………...7 1.4….Methodological overview.………………………………………………………………8 1.5….Significance of this study…………………………………………………………….....9 1.6….Structure of thesis…………………………………………………………………….....9 Chapter 2 Media Landscape in Pakistan 2.1….Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....11 2.2….Pakistan’s background……………………………………………….………………...11 2.2.1....Religious ideology………………………………………………………….....11 2.2.2….Politics: Competitive authoritarianism……………………………………….12 2.2.3….Social texture and the environment for freedom of expression……………....14 2.2.4….Economic realm……..………………………………………………………..16 2.3….Media Landscape……………………………………………………………………...17 2.4….Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….20 Chapter 3 New Institutionalism: A framework to explore the journalists’ understandings and practices of freedom of expression and press freedom in Pakistan 3.1….Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....21 3.2….Literature review.....................……………………………………………………...…24 3.2.1....Perspectives of journalism................................................................................24 3.2.2….Concepts of press freedom..………….............................................................29 3.2.3….Measures
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