Summary of workshop Key facts Date:                     September 19-21, 2006 Venue:                   Lockwood Hotel, Murree Participants:            21 journalists from Islamabad and Rawalpindi Agenda:              Training was structured according to the manual – starting with the present trends of covering legal and political issues, human rights situation in the country Resource Persons:    Matiullah Jan, Internews Media Law & Policy Advisor Zaigham Khan, Journalist and Development Expert Muhammad Najeeb, Journalism Development Advisor Visit:                      Murree Courts, Murree Nazim’s Office, Street Survey Introduction Over the past few years, the Pakistan government has been amending laws including radically changing the local governance and policing systems. These transformative changes have set in motion a spate of new laws, regulations, and procedures. With the media in general not grounded in investigative skills or trained in legal interpretation, public understanding of the implications of legal changes that affect their rights and access to justice is severely limited. Media coverage of these issues in Pakistan is usually limited to reporting of the passage of a law but not its interpretation or reference. Focus on how people are affected by an existing or changed law is even rarer. To address this issue, Internews is holding three training workshops aimed at building the capacity of journalists and media organizations in legal and political reporting. The second of the three workshops was held in Abbottabad (May 09-11, 2006) in which 13 journalists from electronic and print media participated. The first workshop was held in Karachi in March, 2006. The training workshops focused on legal and political reporting, with specific reference to human rights, to improve coverage and public knowledge on these issues. The following issues were particularly taken up during the three days; Reporting parliamentary efforts and political lobbying Understanding and interpreting legislative bills Practical solutions to cover rights-based issues Covering law enforcement practices, including rights abuses such as extrajudicial killings and death in police custody Court and crime reporting focusing on access to justice issues Knowledge and practical tools to deal with contempt laws (libel, slander, contempt of court) The participants were given brief lectures on coverage of legal and political issues and why it was important for journalists to promote human rights. The lectures were followed by extensive discussion on these issues during which the participants their journalistic experiences. The participants unanimously agreed that a free press was important in highlighting and promoting human rights issues. They also called for protecting and strengthening democratic and legal institutions in the country. They also gave recommendations how journalists could play a role in promoting human rights issues. On second day of the workshop, the participants were divided into three groups – Group-I visited the Murree Courts, Group-II went to the Nazim’s office and Group-III surveyed people on political and legal know-how. Selection criteria Nominated by their supervisor or heads of the organization At least three years work experience in print or electronic media Covering political and/or legal issues Working for radio, television or newspaper Training Material A comprehensive training material was developed covering parliamentary and legal affairs broadly with reference to human rights issues. The material carried readings, exercises and quizzes for the participants. The participants were encouraged to share their experiences and training material with their colleagues after going to their work. Day 1 Introduction: Instead of introducing themselves, the participants were divided in groups of twos and were given five minutes to exchange information to introduce each other. The objective of this exercise was to encourage the participants to share personal views and experiences among their colleagues. The participants were given a 45-page training manual which contained readings, exercises, quizzes and a few blank worksheets. The participants were given background of Internews, objectives of the training and a brief introduction to the training manual. The participants were also asked about their expectations/outcomes of the workshop. Some of the issues raised by the participants in beginning of the workshop were; How media laws protect journalists How media can promote political leadership/politics How working journalists can by-pass owners’ interests What are implications of defamation laws How to highlight human rights in media Linkages between human rights and media What is exactly Access to Information law How journalists can keep balance in their reports by avoiding biases The list of all these issues pointed out by the participants was kept in front of them throughout the workshop and were frequently referred to during discussions. After introducing participants with journalism definitions given in different dictionaries and books, they were asked to write down their own definition. All the participants were unanimous in their definitions that journalism should be people-oriented. The participants were introduced to model – how to collect and disseminate information – by digging into the hidden agendas of operators and discovering the blind spot. The importance of feedback in reporting was also discussed. Through an exercise, the participants were asked to examine uses of power to collect information that a journalist would like to share with readers, listeners and viewers. They were of the view that they have used different strategies to collect information but never realized how powerful these strategies can be. The following strategies, to collect information, were discussed; Use of organization’s reputation and credibility Journalist’s position in an organization In possession of some exclusive data Professional experience Observing time and deadlines given by the information provider By physically threatening people Physical appearance – being well-dressed Using money – bribery Using ethnicity Using flattering or guilt-induction words Speaking ability References – family or friends Being humorous On Day two, the participants were briefed on parliamentary procedures, legislative bills, importance and role of political parties in democratic societies. They were also given a quiz with an objective that participants should realize the importance of basic information about their respective beats. On Third Day, the participants were lectured on why journalists should be concerned with human rights. The role of journalists was discussed in detail in highlighting human rights issues. The following issues were discussed in detail; Journalists’ triple interest in human rights Alerting people to abuse of rights What tools do journalists need Human rights touch every area of life Journalists as opinion makers Functions of parliament – links between rights and parliament Relationship between journalists and politicians Journalists access to parliamentarian documents – committee reports, bills presented in the Assembly, questions submitted by members etc. Importance of question hour Increasing demand for sustainable democracy Increasing demand for transparency in politics What are bills and how best they can be interpreted? Practical solutions to rights-based issues How to promote Human Rights debate in parliament, among political parties Sources of information in parliament – legislation branch, secretary standing committee The participants were also briefed on defamation laws and following issues were discussed in detail; Covering law enforcement practices Extrajudicial killings and deaths in police custody Court reporting – access to justice International Covenant on civil and political rights and how it defines a fair trial Contempt of court Libel and slander List of Participants Farhana Khan,                   Pakistan Television Tahmeen Zamurad    The News Mubarik Ali               Khyber Television Asma Bashir             The Nation Sohail Khan              The Post Rizwan Ali                Pakistan Press Agency Salah Mughal           Al-Akhbar Muhmmad Asghar      The Dawn Farrukh Nawaz         Daily Ausaf Azaz Hussain Syed    Associated Press of Pakistan Zameer Qadri           Intime News Network Shakeel Ahmed         Radio Pakistan Muhammad Ishtiaq    BBC -- Radio Ijaz Cheema             Daily Izkar Asif Bashir               Business Plus Television Tariq Awan              ARYone World Waqar Abbasi           Daily Khabrain Tahir Ali                  The Post Fozia Azm                The Nation Zarnigar                  Pakistan Television Lubna Mazhar           Daily Khabrain