ISLAMABAD, Jul 11 (APP):Individual Land and Thomson Reuters Foundation here on Wednesday organized a three-day training workshop for journalists covering the upcoming general election aimed at equipping them with techniques to file election stories with complete neutrality and authenticity.
The workshop titled “General Election Coverage” was organized in collaboration with Tabeer DI, a non-governmental organization, to ensure smooth and accurate transmission of the results of general election 2018.
The event was attended by 25 senior journalists from across the country and anchorpersons, besides representatives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and British High Commission.
They shared their experience and enlightened the participants about the techniques for ensuring transparent and authentic election results from fields to their respective organizations.
They stressed the need for developing strong communication with the ECP and media cells being established by political parties while reporting the results from the field.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the workshop, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Managing Director Masood Malik called for avoiding the race of being the first to break the news, He asked the journalist community to uphold the principles of accuracy and authenticity while transmitting news.
He said elections in the country always remained a challenging task for all the political forces, and misreporting in a haste could lead to an unusual situation, besides bringing a bad impression for the media organization concerned .
Explaining the role of state media in reporting general election events, he said a separate Election Cell had been established at the APP Head Office, while an effective strategy was in place at regional stations and bureaus to ensure smooth coverage of all the election activities.
Masood Malik said sections of different regional languages, including Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi and Saraiki at the APP headquarters had also been activated for smooth coverage of the general election and isseminating news to its subscribers.
Responding to a question, the MD APP dispelled the impression of partial reporting by
the state media, saying that it was not possible for any media organization to go on with
any kind of discrimination in the prevailing modern era of technology.
Political Councilor of the British High Commission William Middleton said his
government felt proud to support the democratic process in Pakistan, and described
the role of media “critical” in the electoral process.
He said media always played an important role in public opinion-making and ensuring
transparency in government affairs, besides providing ground realities to public.
He said the British government was not interested in outcomes of the election, adding
that strengthening of democracy and democratic institutions in Pakistan was one of its top
priorities. He expressed the resolve to continue with the same spirit.
Meanwhile, the MD APP and Programme Director Tabeer DI awarded certificates
to journalists who participated in the workshop.