Politicians and the media - A love- hate relationship

It is with humour that I listened to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake deliver his almost monthly speech in Parliament last week stating that if the media does not come out of the garbage pile they are in, they would not survive. 

What a choice of words, and that too, from a head of state! 

President Dissanayake has forgotten that when he started his journey aspiring to be president, it was this very media that helped him in getting his campaign pledges delivered to the masses across the country. And it was this very media that gave him a fair platform in conveying his anti-corruption pledges, and stood by him when he wanted to bring in a new system change.

Now that he is in the seat, President Dissanayake should be ready to read and listen to criticism against his own government when things go wrong. Of course, I agree with him that some journalists are definitely agenda-based and are funded by parties who wish to destabilise the government and nation. But in general, to claim that the media industry is in a garbage pile is a shame to hear from a head of state who pledged to do things differently. 

But President Dissanayake is not the only president who has maintained a love, hate relationship with the media. In the past, Presidents have always lashed out at the media for reporting against their governments and have even personally humiliated journalists in media briefings. 

One story comes to my mind. Some years ago when a former politician was campaigning vigorously for his party and himself at the general election, his office would call several times seeking an interview with the candidate. Of course with our policies firm in place that all should be given a voice, several times his views were aired and written so he could reach the masses. However, after his party’s victory, when I met him at the Temple Trees, he snubbed the media like it was a burden to even speak to them. The media was respectfully invited by his team to cover his swearing-in, but no sooner was the election over that he returned back to snubbing the media.

Well,  this is the plight of all politicians in this country. From the time I remember, election periods have been the only time when politicians,  be it the seniors or even the juniors, worship the media like we are the Gods that need to be prayed to, to make them win. Politicians who usually do not even answer calls miraculously answer all calls from journalists when an election is round the corner. 

For years, it is believed and understood that politicians and journalists cannot survive without one another. To stay afloat and relevant, both need one another. Neither are in a garbage pile. But they do this because each one is doing their career and job. 

Of course,  there are those journalists who have been a shame to the profession by resorting to being more loyal to the money than their jobs. Hence all journalists are often labelled as agenda based writers. Journalists should also know that once a pen is touched, we take an oath to stand by the truth no matter how difficult it gets. Sri Lanka carries the name of some courageous journalists who laid down their lives,  while some others were physically harmed to defend and expose the truth. It is a profession not everyone can survive in, as they anger wrong doers. 

But it is a profession worth more than our lives when we get into it,  as we serve the people who deserve to know the truth and elect their governments responsibly. 

Not all journalists are in a garbage pile. Not all journalists are under pay rolls. Not all journalists bow to geo political pressure. There are some who even to date enter their offices and work hard to write the truth. Likewise, there are even some politicians today who work honestly for the nation and its people. They stand by true  to their word in making this country a better place for all. 

It is time politicians and journalists both realise the power that they hold for the people.