"Freedom of expression essence of journalism’
By T Siamchinthang
Freedom of expression is
the essence of journalism, and for an effective Press it is imperative that the people too have an idea of what freedom of expression is about. Observing this, renowned
journalist and Associate Professor of Journalism at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, Janet E Steele today said that while the
journalists were always under an obligation to maintain the sanctity of journalistic ethics, the people in general too should know and understand what freedom of expression is all about. “The Press can thrive and prosper only when these conditions are fulfilled,” Steele said, while talking to this correspondent.
Steele, who has had a long stint in Indonesia as a journalist, said that the Press in developing countries often functioned under a lot of constraints. “Besides the usual problems like profit concerns by owners, advertisement power and growing consumerist values, the tendency of the governments to restrict the Press into highlighting only their achievements has emerged as another pressing concern,” she said, adding that business interests and consumerist values had been a major problem area for the Press in the US as well.
Referring to the working of the Press in Indonesia where she had the opportunity of watching from close quarters the emergence of the Press out of the shadows of an authoritarian regime, Steele said that the transition of a controlled Press from a repressive rule to new-found freedom was bound to be an ordeal with its fair share of trials and tribulations.
“The newly-acquired liberty has sometimes led to a situation where the journalists went overboard in their zeal and resorted to sensationalism, with the consequence that many people now think that the Government ought to have some restraint on the Press,” she said and added that one reason why the Press was behaving in that manner might be that it was still apprehensive that the nation might revert to its earlier totalitarian rule, and “was trying to make the most of it while the opportunity was there.”
“While independence is central to journalism, it is also necessary that journalists should regulate and restrain themselves and do not misuse their position,” Steele observed.
Underscoring the importance of a well-established democratic set-up as being crucial to a flourishing Press, Steele felt that once
democracy got properly institutionalized in Indonesia, the Press too would establish itself firmly. “Right now the Press in Indonesia is not yet free from government control,” she said and cited the prevalence of some archaic colonial defamation laws as an irritant to the journalists.
Steele whose most recent work Wars Within deals with the Press in Soeharto’s Indonesia as well as modern Indonesia, has words of praise for the religious and cultural tolerance in the country. Population-wise it is the largest Muslim nation, but there is hardly any communal tension between the Muslims, and the Hindus and other communities. “This is because Islam, as practiced in Indonesia, is extremely liberal and tolerant,” she said. Besides, their cultural heritage shares a lot of common elements with the Hindus. Hindu mythology, especially the epic Mahabharata has a profound influence on the people and their culture, she added.
Steele, who has been in Guwahati in connection with a series of workshops for students of journalism, was of the view that any aspiring journalist should develop a habit of “critically assessing and examining the basic assumptions of journalism.”
A frequent visitor to Jakarta where she lectures on topics ranging from the role of the Press in a democratic society to more specialized courses on narrative journalism, Steele is also a former Fulbright Professor at the American Studies Program at the University of Indonesia. She is particularly interested in the ways in which culture is communicated through the mass media.
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