http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/02/23/news0073.htm
A media advisory Dr. M. S. Haq The media handling of certain things (as applicable) needs to be streamlined further or corrected further or both in light of moving realities associated with matters such as and as appropriate: terrorism; conflict; the covered anti-people activity; and the need for protection, preservation and upholding of right to life - in the contemporary universe. The challenges of media in pertinent areas are being compounded further by for example, the present day outcome of needs, wants and technologies, facilitating inter alia transparencies and secrecies to show their faces in relevant areas - simultaneously or at different times - all relative to known and unknown variables, among other things. Let me put it in this way. Factors such as: 1. the content, the context and the configuration of present day reports, records, pictures and other things reflecting on for example, exact locations, movements, transports (type, make, color, ownership) and other relevant details of in-country and ex-country VIPs (for example, presidents, prime ministers and other eminent persons including scientists), ordinary people (as appropriate) and concerned others; and 2. the sharing of those reports, records, pictures and other things by for example, the media (print, electronic, others) - whether deliberately or not and whether in part or in full in relation to time, space and other things - with people of the world have, among other things, been serving as vital information and vital sources of information for state actors, non-state actors and concerned others to use them for a variety of purposes. In view of above and other considerations, it can be said with a kind of certainty: parties such as terrorists, state actors involved in terrorism, and other anti-social elements are not only benefiting at present from the outcome of free flow of information of above nature via the media (per se) but will continue to benefit from that through the future - enabling them to strengthen further, accelerate further and diversify further efforts towards the advancement and the realization of pertinent goals, objectives, plans and activities, to mention a few. Further, a windfall from the development is being instrumental in enhancing, among other things, vulnerabilities of peoples' life and property to terrorism and other anti-people, as well as anti-universe activities - whether or not sponsored by bonafide terrorists, per se. In view of above, it has now become incumbent upon the media and concerned others to review policies, programs and practices in areas - say, covering events of above nature - with a view to meeting challenges and harnessing opportunities arising out of the present day terrorism, per se. On one hand, the media can not afford to deprive people of their right to know the right thing at the right time and place, it cannot, on the other, afford to become instrumental in for example, promoting vulnerabilities of peoples' life and property to anti-people activities in the terror-laden world. I believe the media should adopt a some what 'middle path approach' to deal with the situation. In that respect, one of the suggestions will be: details pertaining to for example: the ownership of aircrafts carrying VIPs; parking areas of VIP transports; surroundings of parking areas; exact arrival times and exact departure times of say, VIPs prior to their arrival and departure; exact travel routes - via land or air or sea or any combination of them - to be taken by VIPs and their modes of travel - all prior to traveling; dates and venues of public meetings (over publicized by the media); and tourism spots should, as far as practicable, be protected from for example, eyes and minds of terrorists and concerned others. In that respect, it is expected concerned governments and others will assist the media in the effort towards initiating, implementing, sustaining and promoting - as required - anti-terror formats (I would like to call it that way) when it comes to media management of above details in the process of covering for example, events of above or similar nature in the greater local, national, global and other interest. The bottom line is: given the existing and evolving security scenarios that can, among other things, be characterized increasingly and, to an extent, largely by facts such as: you cannot trust your own people - the need for media ethics to undergo BMR (balancing, modernization and rehabilitation) at the soonest is, among other things, the demand of time. One of the ground realities, especially in the present day terror polluted world, is: information - raw or processed or of other types - can inter alia be re-constructed, re-engineered, re-researched, re-used, re-processed, re-immunized, re-cycled and re-linked in pursuits of obtaining vital leads, vital clues, new or additional or high value information, fully blown information in pertinent areas, and deeper knowledge, as well as understanding in relevant areas (to mention a few) for crafting, shaping, testing, implementing, monitoring and promoting relevant strategies in areas say war, terrorism, development - including developmental diplomacy, environmental diplomacy, the media diplomacy, and destruction. It will not be out of place to mention here: the demand side and the supply side of present day information market are dependent on inter alia motives, desires and capabilities of users and concerned others in pertinent areas. Since information is increasingly becoming one of the competitive components of existing immune systems that deal with for example, defending, protecting and preserving self and society in a progressively knowledge based universe, since the media is one of the popular carriers of information in the contemporary universe and since the work - towards building for example, the present day regime of war, as well as terrorism on information economy - is in progress, there is a perceived need for world people (for example, civil and military leaders, knowledge workers and others) to be more sensitive, more measured, more farsighted, more returned oriented, less careless, more thoughtful and less risky (to mention a few) than that at present while transacting, in a variety of capacities, with the media, for example. Powerful people do things - - like, writing books, giving media interviews and delivering speeches via the media - - but the outcome of all those and other related things has so far found to be good or harmful or a mixture of both to self and society, for example. It implies inter alia: the power that makes people powerful is, in a sense, directly and inversely proportional to the captive power, the media expression of which has the potential for influencing self and society in a positive or a negative or other manner, relative to time, space and other variables, though. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Bashir (Pakistan) had appeared in one of the PTV's current affairs programs on the evening of 21st day of February 2009 - PST. It was clear from his answers to questions posed to him during the program that Pak navy was conceptually and operationally ready to defend the country at any time - I mean, between then and the future - under the leadership of Admiral Bashir, that the navy's present day morale was high, and that the future making of Pak navy was being pursued on a continuous basis, to mention a few. But it now appears to me a few of the questions asked by the interviewer were not, in certain respects, appropriate for the Admiral to answer particularly, at the time when the Indo-Pak tension was not fully defused, per se - unless those questions were consciously designed and asked in pursuits of achieving planned goals and objectives. I consider certain parts of protection related questions and answers pertaining to seaports of Pakistan as - too much information giving - to the media. It will not be out of place to mention here: the admiral had, at one stage of the discussion, politely refused to answer one of the questions posed by the interviewer. The last word: let us work towards ensuring - the no war zone - throughout the universe at all times, let us work towards ensuring - the terror free zone - throughout the universe at all times, let us work towards creating enabling environments for the media to grow as a stronger force (beyond the meaning of present day physics) for the progress and prosperity of universe at all times, and let us work towards ensuring human rights and the right to life of all including the media workers (used in a widest sense of the meaning) - the workers of Bangladesh Observer - at all times.
