Interviewer: Alisha Andleeb
Interviewee: Mirwais Khilji
Every journalist aspires to follow a set of ethical guidelines. The job of journalists
is governed by these codes. Every journalist understands the need of reporting in
a fair, accurate, and timely manner. However, certain circumstances prevent a
journalist from adhering to the profession's commonly acknowledged ethical
norms. To carry out my university project, I Got the opportunity to interview
Mirwise Khilji on this affair.
He is a senior journalist. Managing director at ANN. He has worked for several
international media houses and news agencies. His articles are frequently
published in international newspapers and magazines which include foreign
policy, New York Times, Washington post, Wall street journal, Israel time the
guardian and so many more newspapers and research journals.
Q1-when a journalist is working with an organization he is under pressure
of authority due to which he cannot perform all his duties properly, in that
case what should he do?
Yes, your question is correct; there are often many organizations that have an
ownership pressure on their organization, especially on staff and reporters, so
they can't perform their duties properly. Tough conditions are created for them.
But in spite of all this, a journalist has to maintain his ethics. He is compelled to
do and if he does not follow ethics and does not do well in his traditional
journalism, I don't think he will be able to succeed in this field for a long time
because you know journalism is a very difficult project as well as subject, you
have to be ready all the time to face every sort of situation.
Q2-Some institutions have their own goals that need to be achieved. They
compete with other companies. In such situation journalist couldn’t give
much coverage to the success of the opposing company, what do you do
in this situation?
I think your question is very appropriate. At present, I would say that almost all
the institutions have no journalism but only business. These institutions have
special objectives. If they do not take advertisements, it will be difficult for them to
provide financial support to the staff. Current condition is also in front of you.
COVID is also at its peak. Organization from which you are receiving
advertisements and generating a good deal of revenue, then how can you report
against it? That is why you have to take a middle ground.
So that you can perform your journalistic duties. This is your obligation.
Sometimes you have to depend on the policy of the institution. If you do not, then
the institution will definitely not support you. Therefore, it is not necessary but
compulsory. It is difficult for a journalist to report against an organization that
pays you revenue or advertises you.
Q3-Has it ever happened while working in a company, if you are trying to
give something as news and the advertisers there have put a lot of
pressure on you not to push this news?
Well, what you said is that advertisers have pressure on a journalist, that’s right,
it does. Let me give you an example that I had evidence against a Pepsi
company which has low hygienic standards and when I started reporting against
it I got a call from the manager of that company that you stop the news. If you
give the news, we will not give you the advertisements, you will have to bear the
loss. Now it also depends on the institution. And the other important thing is that
if you don't report against an organization, you will still be at a disadvantage.
Your readership and viewership will also be affected, so the organization itself
will have to think about the duties of a journalist. Steps will have to be taken to
perform.
Q4- Do you ever face threats while reporting and suddenly you had to
speak out in favor of a particular organization?
There are different scenarios in the news. If you have an organization that you
think is strong, and you are going to publish news against it then. Obviously, you
have to face threats.. Journalism is something you have to be bold about. And
the facts have to be brought out. You have to be prepared for that. And a good
journalist is a fearless journalist. if you are scared not to do any news against it,
then it is not journalism, then it is collusion.
Q5-Every organization has its own policy. Has it ever happened that you
want to take an issue too far but you are compelled by the policies of your
organization?
Yes, every organization has its own policy. You are right. And the journalist has
to do his job, whether it is the policy of the organization or not, he will at least
have the proof of it for the time to come. Because if the journalist is in one
organization today, he will be in another tomorrow. And it is important for a
journalist to take any news to the end. In order for a journalist to survive, he has
to focus on his story. What if, it is not a policy it’s a different matter that it is not
published but a journalist has to do his job honestly.
Q6-How should a journalist deal with such a situation if the news is
harming his own family or loved ones?
It can be detrimental to you and your family when you report it. In such cases you
appeal to the government for help but you also have to take some security
measures for yourself without which it is difficult for you to survive. It became
difficult for you and the pressure on you increases then whatever news you are
doing to create panic, obviously it is with so much strong evidence, then the
influential people will definitely put pressure on you and your family. They also
threaten you, so it is better that you take care of your security otherwise your
survival will be difficult.
Q7-Every society has own traditions. What difficulties a journalist face
when he tries to move towards modern society?
Yes every society has its own traditions and when you try to move towards
modern society you face many difficulties, especially in Islamic countries and like
Pakistan ? you will face problems while moving towards modern but I don't think
you will have a lot of problems in it because those can be easily solved. You
have to be modern while remaining within your scope. We can move towards
society but ethics is very important in it and journalism also shows us that while
you are living within ethics you can move towards modern society but you have
to maintain the power of journalism
Q8-If a journalist is under pressure from the government when reporting on
a particular incident how can he get out of it?
The journalist is always under pressure from the government when reporting on a
particular incident. Of course, there is no doubt that all the governments that
have come to this day have been using journalists as a tool for themselves,
especially for propaganda. The best solution, is to go to the journalism
organizations that stand up for the rights of journalists and discuss whatever
issues you have, and I think , at least the press organizations will raise your voice
and it will reduce the pressure to a great extent.
Q9-If a journalist is given a bribe in the form of a gift what should be his
strategy at that time?
Giving gifts to a journalist has always been a tradition. Bribes are also given and
envelopes are also given. It is a journalist's own strategy to be a good man at
heart. He should think about whether he wants to sell himself. I think a good
journalist is completely free from these things. He should take steps for them and
keep himself away from these things. Because if he does not follow it, then one
day his journalism will be questioned and he will be counted among the yellow
journalists. So it all depends on a journalist.
Q10-What can be done to save a journalist from political pressure?
The first thing is that political pressure cannot be avoided and you should
understand that the pressure of the government and the political pressure is
almost the same. Just remember in political matters that you should not be
labeled as a political party. If you are working for this and you are writing in favor
of a particular party, then like other governments, political personalities also put
pressure on you.
Q11-Finally, what advice would you give to newcomers to how they can
perform their moral duties in all these situations?
First of all, I would like to advise the newcomer journalists not to forget their
ethics. A journalist is always bold and if he is not, then he has to be in journalism.
He is free from everything. He cannot be bought if it wants to. He will have to
commit himself to maintaining his morals so that there is no mixing in the work he
is doing. Journalist means that he should base the society on the lines which are
purely for its welfare. It is necessary for him to be always neutral, so my advice is
that journalists should be prepared for all kinds of situations. They should be able
to face any difficulty.
Obviously, in a third world country, journalism is always under pressure and
many times it has to bear a lot of losses, so they have to think about all these
things and take action.
(-Alisha Andleeb is student of BS Journalism & Mass Communication at
University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Muzaffarabad. The interview is part of her academic activity. She could be reached at alishaandleeb92@gmail.com)
