For any country in the world, press freedom and the integrity of its functioning are a valuable, much-coveted asset. In Bangladesh it is more so, if only because our institutions themselves in a state of development. Whilst our aspirations for a liberal democratic society remain robust and intense, thanks to the popular movements we have been through, the equations between constituents of the state are as yet evolving raring to reach a state of equilibrium.
In such a context, independent, objective and responsible working of the media can play a catalytic role, it being a bridgehead to the people serving whom is the common goal of the parliament, executive, judiciary, and of course, the fourth estate i.e. the media.
For all practical purposes, free press is vital for a meaningful and effective functioning of the government of the day, especially in a context where the opposition is less than dynamic. But our purpose here is not to dilate on the virtues of press freedom but to look inward, into the institution of the media so as to measure our success or failure, collectively or individually in meeting the ethical challenge we are confronted with.
There has been an exponential growth in the media industry, both print and electronic, due to a spurt in investment riding on the crest of a multifaceted technological advancement. This is a highly welcome development, to be sure. Our capacity to reach readers and audiences is practically instantaneous giving us a power that obliges us to use it with a commensurate sense of responsibility. We seminally contribute to comprehension and understanding on the part of the people of the issues and events that affect them and shape their destiny. So, we are a vital part of the national thought process.
Our power also derives from the fact that historically we have enjoyed trust with the people, that again increases the burden of our responsibility a notch higher. We have to admit though that the human resource development and the training component of it have not moved apace with the exponential growth of the media industry. That is why we sometimes see distorted reports, motivated comments, demonstrative contemptuous behaviour and attempted abuse of media power. So there is an ethical deficit here which we must be alive to and do our best to mitigate, if we are to enjoy credibility with the readers and audience who are the bedrock of our existence.
Because we don't want any interference of the government (and we will fight it with all the power at our command, if it is attempted), it is all the more important that we devote the fullest measure of our energy and resource towards meeting the ethical challenge and improving the standards of professionalism in keeping with the expectations of the people. We must speak from the high moral ground, indefatigably and in order to be able to do that we should overcome the ethical deficit in us through sincerity, integrity and honesty of purpose and demonstrative patriotic zeal in our conduct.