WhispersWatchdogs & the big lie [Archives:2005/887/Opinion]
By Fahmia Al-Fotih
Democracy? A word repeatedly heard and the well-known slogan that many countries use nowadays while claiming to be a protector of democracy. And democracy becomes the nightmare that threatens anyone who does not adopt it. Some governments, Iraq as example, have been toppled because they lack democracy and they lack freedom of expression!
Democracy was initially practiced in Greece. The democracy was confined to male and free citizens. Greek people practiced their democracy by excluding the majority of people in Athens. Women, children, slaves and foreigners had no right to practice the so-called democracy. Only the elite and the officials had that right. So unfortunately democracy was wrong from the beginning!
Mass media is considered the tools that link the officials and the citizens. It is the only way candidates can present their views to voter, and voters can be informed of the work of their representatives. It is also the arena where problems can be published, and the only way many different alternatives can be debated as well. It is the tool through which both officials and citizens can make their views be heard and known. However, according to traditional liberal theory, media should act as watchdogs checking the state and exposing the wrongdoings of the official authority. Only by anchoring the media to the free market, is it possible to ensure the media's complete independence from government. Once the media become subject to state regulation, they may lose their bite as watchdogs. When the press is licensed, franchised or regulated, it is subject to political pressures while it deals with issues affecting the interests of those powers.
Unfortunately, the media people who are supposed to be watchdogs become slap dogs.
I thought that we, the Arab, have problems with understanding democracy and press, yet, western media also become a part of a profit-lead market. The media becomes monopolized by few people, who view the readers as consumers. So, many strong and serious questions have been raised about the adequacy of the market model as a democratic forum of communication. Mass media has been linked to “a declining democracy” or “a crisis of the democracy”.
Democracy is a complex concept, and talking about democracy and freedom is complicated. Comparing theory with reality can certainly cause a headache or lead to craziness – may Allah protect us.
One of the subjects I study at the Westminster University is British Culture and Media taught by Dr. Tariq Sabri. It is an interesting module that not only focuses on British media but also gives you an atmosphere to think, analyze and compare.
I remember two weeks ago, the lecture was about the press freedom in UK, yet, what attracted me was a saying that inspired me to write about this particular topic.
Former American president, Thomas Jefferson, said: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
Dear readers, do you agree with him? I bet you do.
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[archive-e:887-v:14-y:2005-d:2005-10-20-p:opinion]
