Govt moots body for media standards

Cabinet spokesman Minister Gayantha Karunatilaka today said that the government had decided to seek a public consultation to establish an independent mechanism for media standards.

Addressing the weekly cabinet news briefing, Minister Karunatilaka said this was to prevent misinformation, disinformation, character assassinations and publishing half baked news, lies and absolute lies have become the order of the day by both print and electronic media and the worse was the so-called social media that comprises web sites and FM services.

“Therefore, a monitoring and regulatory mechanism is extremely necessary to guide the media on the right direction while adhering to the law of the land, and honouring the journalistic guidelines and norms in journalism. Media considered as the fourth estate of a democracy must act with responsibility and decorum and it must not be a ‘law unto themselves’, Minister Karunatilaka stressed.

A free, independent and diverse media with high ethical standards and professional competence, dedicated to provide a wide range of information and ideas to citizens, while serving as a public forum for well-informed democratic dialogue, is indispensable for the building and maintaining of democracy in Sri Lanka. The government is committed to creating an enabling environment for the media sector which is based on respect for internationally recognized professional standards and practices, and which ensures media accountability to those who rely on the media as a credible source of news and information.

The government has examined the comprehensive assessment of the overall environment for media development as set out in the report Rebuilding Public Trust: An Assessment of the Media Industry and Profession in Sri Lanka, which was presented to the Prime Minister on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, 2016 by the multi-stakeholder partnership for media reforms. The report contained a set of evidence-based recommendations developed through a multi-stakeholder consultative process and based on UNESCO’s widely accepted Media Development Indicators, he said.

The public debate will focus on recognising media freedom and the right of the media: (a) to gather and disseminate news and information; (b) to engage in critical reporting on matters of public interest; and (c) to participate in the process of forming public opinion. It will seek to make a penal offence for anyone wilfully to obstruct the legitimate collection of news and information by a journalist working for a media outlet.

To put in place systems, to promote the safety of journalists, to protect journalist’s right not to disclose their confidential sources of information, to make it a penal offence to subject anyone to any legal or employment related sanction or other forms of discrimination for providing information to journalists working for a media outlet concerning public affairs or on matters of public interest except where the secrecy of the information is justified by a larger public interest.

To make it illegal to impose sanctions on or to terminate the employment of an editor on a journalist because of his or her refusal to violate recognized professional codes of practice. To establish an independent Council with a mandate to develop and apply codes of practice for media outlets based on internationally recognized standards for the media.

The proposed Council will function as the oversight mechanism of a system of self-regulation and will have the power to apply sanction for wilful violations of its codes of practice. The approaches towards ensuring the independence of the Right to Information Commission will also be applicable to the Council, which will comprise eminent persons of whom two-thirds are nominated by organisations representing the media and journalists and one-third are nominated by civil society organisations.

To ensure the credibility of and public confidence in the Council, a Judge of a court of law nominated by the Judicial Services Commission in consultation with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka will serve as Chairperson. The senure of Council members will be protected and, in particular, removal will only be possible by vote of parliament following a recommendation of the Constitutional Council.

The government was ready to ensure legal protection for freedom of the press, including by protecting the media’s right to gather news and information, by repealing the Sri Lanka Press Council Act, No 5 of 1979, and by introducing an independent oversight mechanism to foster professional standards, with mandatory powers over media outlets, and the government invites the views interested Stakeholders in relation to its proposals to introduce legislation Minister Karunatilaka emphasized. (Sandun A Jayasekera)