Media Council Can T Guarantee Good Journalism Practices

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When you read news articles that are lacking in context, missing important details, or just plain sloppy, what can you do?
You could email the comment section or the reporter directly. Or you could email the editor.
For example, the New York Times provides a Reader Center where its journalists explain the journalistic process.
What if your complaint gets nowhere? This is where a media council could help.
If your complaint is accepted, the council may request that the news outlet publish it for the public interest. If your complaint is rejected, you may ask the council why and how it came to its decision.
That is how media councils around the world operate. For example, the Australian Press Council (APC) gives readers a platform to complain against news outlets. It has its standards of ethical journalism practices.
While the APC respects the “right of a newspaper to publish what it reasonably considers to be news, without fear or favour, and the right to comment fairly upon it”, it also recognises how tricky it is to decide what is “right” or “wrong” in journalism.
Hence, the APC does not attempt to “reduce to a precise and exhaustive formula the principles by which newspapers must govern themselves”.
Instead of strict rules, the APC relies on peer accountability. This means journalists are expected to hold themselves to high standards of honesty and fairness.
History, however, shows that public trust in the media is shaky. Online journalism has made it worse.
For instance, the weekly Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s ‘Media Watch’ programme has exposed cases of unethical reporting. Media organisations and journalists are named and shamed.
Public perceptions of media integrity remain low even if the APC has adjudicated public complaints against news outlets since 1976.
Code of ethics
In our case, journalists are supposed to follow the code of ethical practices published by the National Union of Journalists and the Malaysian Code of Ethics for Journalists by the Information Department.
Both codes underscore the journalists’ obligation to “contribute to nation-building”, and through their journalism “to foster harmony between races and national unity”.
The codes echo Rukun Negara, which was declared as the national ideology on Aug 31, 1970, by Abdul Razak Hussein who first proposed that a media council be set up to ensure that journalists played their role in restoring the country after the 1969 race riots.
For over 50 years, strict laws like the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Official Secrets Act, Sedition Act, and the Communications and Multimedia Act have been used to silence journalists and civil activists deemed to be a “threat to national security”.
The most prominent crackdown was Operasi Lalang from Oct 27 to Nov 20, 1987, under then PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s direction.
Successive Umno-led governments, today’s Madani government included, have resorted to media laws to keep journalists in line.
In this political climate, the Malaysian Media Council risks becoming more symbolic than pragmatic in raising journalism standards.
A comparative study of press councils in Europe, including Australia and New Zealand, notes that the critical issue for media councils in the digital age is “efforts by political actors to regulate media, especially content published online and on social media in particular”.
“Under the pretext of rooting out ‘fake news’, many countries have seen politicians seize the momentum created by the current political climate and introduce parliamentary bills or legislation that would hand governments or law enforcement new powers to intervene in what is being published online.”
Political stunt?
Will the Malaysian Media Council with its 21 adjudicators that may meet quarterly end up being just another toothless bureaucracy with little real impact on good journalism practices?
According to the Malaysian Bar Council, in its current form the Malaysia Media Council Bill “falls short of ensuring genuine media independence”.
Is the bill a political stunt to show that media reforms are finally happening after more than 50 years of delay?
Globally, governments are using “fake news” as an excuse to control online content. Malaysia’s leaders have done it. They will continue to do so, with or without a media council.
From left: Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Media Council pro-tem committee member Premesh Chandran, and Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching after passing of the MMC BillThe fact is, the council does not guarantee true media freedom, nor does it prevent sloppy journalism. Newsrooms therefore need to focus on what they can control - ethics, in-house training, transparency, and peer accountability.
In the end, raising journalism standards must first come from within the newsroom - with or without a media council.
Small internal changes - like fact-checking every statistic, connecting with critical readers, and hiring staff from diverse backgrounds and subject expertise - can rebuild its credibility, and hence, stop the further slide into sloppy journalism. - Mkini
ERIC LOO is a former journalist and educator in Australia and a journalism trainer in parts of Asia.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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