Media Monitor 2006 May - June Media Monitor 11 A Word Looking at Ourselves Eighty seven per cent (87%) of Sri LankaLankann journaljournalistsists believe that the Sri Lankan memediadia is failing ttoo provide accurate, balabalancednced and fair informainformation.tion. Eighty per cecentnt (80%) of Sri LankaLankann journalists believe that the medimediaa is biased toward one ethnethnicic group or another. More than 50% of stories in Sri Lanka are based only on one source. Sinhala and Tamil newspanewspaperspers use only selected soursourcesces for information. AndThe Sinhala 80% of andjournalists Tamil press think is their selective sources in sourcesare not accuaccurateused.rate or reliable. Only half of Sri Lanka’s journalijournalistssts are aware of the Code of Ethics. Only 11% of them have a copy of the Code ooff EtEthics.hics. Less than half of them have recreceivedeived trainitrainingng in eethics.thics. These figures and information are from a survey we conducted last year.year. We conducted a similar survey this year too. The results were again similar. In this survey we asked the journalists, what they thought were the commonest of all news that is publpublished.ished. They said, in the order of most published news category, they are accidents, crcrime,ime, public needs and what is said bbyy political perpersonalities.sonalities. When asked, if they were to decide the order of news categocategoriesries and how it would be, their order waswas,, public needs first and then the peace initiative/process, with corruption and fraud coming thereafter. When asked why there was a dearth of public servicservicee news reports, the answer was political pressure, business interests,interests, state- and private-sector ownership issues, and then editorial decisions. We did such a survey with editors too. According to them, the present news agenda starts from public needs and runs down as public needs, crime, corruption and fraud, acciaccidentsdents and others. If the editors themselves were to decdecideide the order of news categories, their order of importanceimportance would be pubpubliclic needs, the peace process, corcorruptionruption and fraud and then accideaccidents,nts, they said. They also said their editorial independence was restricted by institutional procedures, lack of resources, business interests and political pressure. According to them, the reason for the decline in public-service news was political needs, commercialization and state- and private-sector ownownershipership issues. In short, our reflection is as follows. We are not very much interested in our own professiprofessionalonal standards. Within our media, there is no interest in public-spublic-seervicervice reporting that provides a voice to the voiceless,voiceless, for diverse views and search for solutions. We do not have editorial independence. If thertheree is editorial independence, public-service interestinterest rreportingeporting would be given importance. Reasons for the above are sseeneen as political and businessbusiness interests and also institutionalinstitutional limitations. But, it was accepted that this situation should chchaange.nge. It was also accepted that the state media shshouldould first change to public service media. Challenges anandd targets we face are clear. The next step is to collectivelycollectively draft a path in facingfacing the challenges anandd achieving the targets. Towards Public Service Media 2 Media Monitor CONTENTS 44 PPrroommoottiinngg GGeenn-- 1166 NNaattiioonnaall der Equality in Languages, News the News Room - Media and Peace some challange Sunanda Deshapriya Jacqueline Park 1188 WWhhaatt SShhoouulldd Editorial Team 66 KKiilllliinngg ooff Journalists Do? Students in Christopher Warren Sunanda Deshapriya Trincomalee [email protected] and Our News 2200 UUnneetthhiiccaall Uvindu Kurukulasuriya Asoka Jayawardane Commercial Ads [email protected] That Promote 88 HHooww a SSiinnhhaallaa Racketeers Daily Covered Jayantha Gamage Layout the Killings of Trinco Students Suganthi Manimaran Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon Centre for Policy Alternatives Media Unit 1111 TTrraaiinniinng g 24/2, 28thth Lane, Needed- Off Flower Road, Co - 07 for Ethical WebsiteTele: : www.cpalanka.org 2565304/6 Reporting Upali Tennakoon 2211 SSrrii LLaannkkaann Women Journalists Call Cover Photo for Gender Equity in Media Laxmi Murthy 2233 CChhaannggee BBeeggiinnss with You Mike Dobbie By - Manjula Wediwardane 1122 TThheerree’’ss NNoo Media without 26 Government Ethics Radio and the Ariyananda Tamil People Dombagahawatte K. Sivathambi 1133 DDoo YYoouu WWaanntt 10, 29, 30 Other Side Published by Credibility as a Asoka Jayawardane Journalist? VOR Johan Romare Centre for Policy Alternatives 1144 SSiivvaarraamm frompersonal the fatelnotes day Website : www.voicesofpeace.lk Media Monitor 33 ot so long ago, journalijournalismsm was an Working Party, which was first almost exclusively male established in 1992, decided that in Promoting Gender N profession. Female journalists order for the IFJ to adopt a realistic and were the exception and women were effective equality working programme Equality in the discouraged to enter jjournalism.ournalism. a survey of the current conditions of Today more and more women are women journalists was needed. employed as journalists. In some Powerpoint – slides on women in News Room - countries, women make up the majority Journalism and in the uniunionsons of working journalists. A questionnaire was sent to IFJ some challanges Despite the increasing number of member unions, which addressed three women in the profession, there is a long key areas: battle ahead for women before ththeireir 1) Statistics: Women in journalism and Jacqueline Park values and voices are equally women in the union. represented in the media. 2) Equal Pay: Law and practice. Around the world, there continues 3) Portrayal of Women: An issue for thethe to be a disproportionate number of union. men in decision-making roles Answers were received from 39 within news organizations. countries representing almost 70% of IFJ There have been many members and 37% of the countries improvements achieved by and for represented in the IFJ at that time. women in journalism, but many Even though the sample is limited, problems remain as yet. the responses came from all regions and Women journalists continue to be denied opportunitiopportunitieses to cover some areas, particularly what are seen as traditionally male topic areas like sports, politics and defence. Journalists’ unions at national, this fact gives an indication of the status regional and global levels have a of women journalists the world over. responsibility to address these The consequence of this imbalance inequities. at the senior professional level is that Women journalists are aware women’s values continue to be under- that because their movement has represented. Women’s voices are been successful in many areas there limited. is the danger tthathat journalists’ unions On the other hand, an increase in the may feel that enough has been done presence of women in newsrooms, and to ensure equality in media even even in decision-making positions, does though inequities still remain. For not guarantee that women will have jo jo urur nanalilistst s’ ororgaganinizazattioionnss ttoo more visibility in reports, that improve the conditions for women representation of women will be less journa journalists,lists, they often have toto stereotyped or, less still, that reports reform their own will promote gender equality. structures — to The media cannot hope to present e n s u r e the truth to readers, viewers and female listeners if women are sidelined as contributors. This is not only with representation regard to journalists, but also to the e e y y in the union’s policy- opinions that fill our newspapers. k k l l a a making and governing Male professionals are W bodies. referred to in media reports far e e h h T T Some have adopted equality more frequently than female - - n n policies aimed at improving the status professionals. t t i i o o of women in the profession and in the Women need to provprovideide valuable, r r a a t t s s union. educated contributions to the debates u u l l I I l l The International Federation of in their society. We all need to seriously Jo Jo urur nanalilistst s’ (I(IFJFJ’’s)s) gegendnderer eqequiuittyy think about how to achieve this. 4 Media Monitor Women journalists continue to be men, we will never break into the boys’ We need access ttoo child-care, flexible denied opportunities to cover some club. hours or part-time work, so we can areas, particularly what are seen as We also need to look at keeping better manage the competing demands traditionally male topic areas like women in the media as it seems too of career and family. sports, politics and ddefence.efence. This means many are leaving the profession Our choice ttoo have children should that often women’s perspectives in this disappointed. Virtually everywhere, not be an obstacle in the media area are missed. women are leaving news organizations workforce. Maternity and paternity Female journalists are more often because they feel the road to the top is leave, of an appropriate duration, is likely to be ghettoised in traditional blocked by male establishments, with essential for job security regardless of women’s beats. outdated ideas about the news, who family choices. We need to find ways to overcome make it and how it should be presented. So where do we go for change? the entrenched male value system that