How free will we be under PR?

While Pakatan Rakyat says it will abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) if it takes over the federal government, one still wonders whether journalists will be free to write whatever they want.

A point often forgotten in the discourse on press freedom is the control that media owners have on what journalists can write or say.

For example, are journalists writing for papers owned by Rupert Murdoch or Vincent Tan free to write anything critical of them or their companies?

Likewise, are journalists writing for party organs such as Harakah, The Rocket or Suara Keadilan free to write anything positive about the Barisan Nasional (BN) or critical of PAS, DAP or PKR or their leaders? Or are journalists writing for online publications free to write anything critical of their sponsors? An example of the latter is the Media Development Loan Fund, which has the objective of nurturing “independent” media.

The general answer to these questions appears to be “No.”

Take the case of controversial Greek journalist Taki Theodoracopulos. Wikipedia writes: “Due to Taki’s characterisation of himself as a ‘soi-disant antisemite’, coupled with strong criticism of the Israeli government and its supporters in the United States, The Spectator no longer permits him to write about Israel or Jewish affairs.”

So, not even in the liberal democracies can journalists stray too far from their employers’ editorial policies.

If Pakatan were to come to power and remove all government restraints on the media, would journalists working with the MCA and Umno media be free to write what they want?

With the repeal of the PPPA, anyone will be free to start a publication; so a journalist can join whichever media organisation suits his inclinations. Still, he will most likely not be able to go against the political alignment or interest of his employer.

And let us not forget the role of advertisers in constraining the media.

As any journalist who writes for one of those speciality magazines will tell you, you usually cannot write negatively about products or services sold by companies advertising in those magazines.

Also, advertisers rarely want to be associated with politically controversial publications; so the more ads a publication carries, the more it tends to tone down its political stridency.

For example, blogger Kenny Sia, who earns five figures a month from ads, once said that he avoided writing on partisan politics because it would deter advertisers from wanting to be associated with him. So his postings are mostly lighthearted articles.

New challenges

On another note, while Pakatan says it will abolish the ISA, what would it do if the BN parties march and demonstrate in the streets, instigate strikes by civil service workers and those in key utilities, occupy and shut down airports and create all kinds of civil and economic disruption?

Would it let them continue to do so in the name of freedom or would it forcefully act to stop them in the name of national security or national interest?

The abolition of the ISA and the PPPA should be welcomed, but new challenges will arise.

An approach often ignored by “independent” media in Malaysia is the membership-supported media cooperative.

A fine example is Vancouver Co-op Radio, a listener-supported, community radio station that serves as a voice for under-represented and marginalised segments of society and is operated mostly by volunteers.

It broadcasts programmes that encourage listeners to examine the social and political concerns of geographic and cultural communities in the province of British Columbia. It also has programmes on public affairs, music and the arts.

Individual subscribers to Co-op Radio pay C$60 a year each and institutional members pay more. Altogether the station earns C$1.8 million or more a year, and this allows it to eschew advertising and be a truly independent medium.

Are there enough Malaysians willing to support such cooperative initiatives here?