Tag Archives: journalists

Significant growth in violence in Afghanistan has been capturing the headlines over the past few weeks.  But somewhat beneath the surface, another type of attacks has become everpresent in the country — attacks on media.  These attacks are carried out by government agencies unhappy with reporting.  Interesting is the government’s position in regards to media, especially when reports clash with national security interests:

Some officials argue that these bounds are crossed when critical reporting weakens the central government and strengthens the Taliban. They point out that given present security conditions reporters also have an obligation to protect the national interest.

“The media does not reflect the achievements of the government,” Sadeq Mudaber, the deputy director of general policy, told reporters in November. “Although the media law guarantees freedom of press, the national interests of the country should be a priority over anything else.”

A few months ago, leading a training session for African journalists, I came across a similar issue.  A presenter from the President’s press office noted that media should be responsible as far as not weakening the position of the fragile government through negative reporting.  Interestingly, the response from journalists was quite mixed.  While some noted that it is their responsibility to cover what happens in the country, others took to heart the idea that journalists should think about the shaky foundation that governments stand on before publishing their stories. 

My take on this is that governments should be capable of dealing with criticism.  The ethical responsibility of journalists in this regard is not withholding information for fear of their own well-being — it is to provide constructive criticism; highlight problems and the institutional sources of those problems to give governments some idea on how to address issues.

In the end of the day, journalists in countries like Afghanistan already have many more enemies than friends.  Not having the government on your side (moreover, having the government after you for doing your job) does not help.