A Lawyer cannot cheat if a judge believes he can By Prof Dr Sohail ansari

“Whoever goes to a fortune teller (a soothe sayer) or a diviner and believes him, has, in fact, disbelieved in what has been revealed to Muhammad (PBUH).”(Dawud)

·       A lawyer proves that he can cheat by cheating a judge into believing he can’t.

What is journalism?

Journalism is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information. It is also the product of these activities.

Journalism can be distinguished from other activities and products by certain identifiable characteristics and practices. These elements not only separate journalism from other forms of communication, they are what make it indispensable to democratic societies. History reveals that the more democratic a society, the more news and information it tends to have.

What is the purpose of journalism?

“The purpose of journalism,” write Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in The Elements of Journalism, “is not defined by technology, nor by journalists or the techniques they employ.” Rather, “the principles and purpose of journalism are defined by something more basic: the function news plays in the lives of people.”

News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues, and characters in the world outside. Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower the informed.

The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.

What does a journalist do?

Asking who is a journalist is the wrong question, because journalism can be produced by anyone.

At the same time, merely engaging in journalistic-like activity – snapping a cell-phone picture at the scene of a fire or creating a blog site for news and comment – does not by itself produce a journalistic product. Though it can and sometimes does, there is a distinction between the act of journalism and the end result.

The journalist places the public good above all else and uses certain methods – the foundation of which is a discipline of verification – to gather and assess what he or she finds.

The journalist as a ‘committed observer’

Gil Thelen, the former publisher and president of The Tampa Tribune, believes the journalist has a very specific role in society. He calls it the “committed observer.”

What he means by that, Thelen explains, is that the journalist is not removed from community, though at times may stand apart from others so as to view things from a different perspective.

Rather, says Thelen, journalists are “interdependent” with the needs of their fellow citizens. If there is a key issue in town that needs resolution and is being explored by local institutions, “we have a commitment to reporting on this process over the long term, as an observer.” The journalist helps resolve the issue by being a responsible reporter who supplies background, verifies facts, and explains the issues involved.

Thelen’s ideas are echoed in the words of other journalists as well, who talk about the press creating a common language, a common understanding, or being part of the glue that defines and adheres a community together.

The notion of the committed observer also provides language to clarify the journalistic role when reporters may be confused about how patriotic versus independent they should be, and citizens are often either confused or angered by the coverage of controversial issues or the disclosure of secrets.

This confusion, note Tom Rosenstiel and Bill Kovach in The Elements of Journalism, doesn’t serve anyone well.

Other professions are much clearer about their role and citizens as a consequence are much clearer about the need for their doing controversial things.

People understand and accept, for instance, that doctors serve a Hippocratic Oath that requires they try to save people they may hate, whether the enemy soldier in war or the wounded gunman who just shot a police officer. Or that lawyers are required to provide a zealous defense for even the worst people in society.

Journalists need to be equally clear about their role, both to themselves and to the public. A journalist is not aloof from society. They are citizens. Even patriots. Journalists express their commitment and duty by performing the prescribed role of observer to provide their fellow citizens with the information they need to make judgments and decisions.

Even in times of war or national crisis, that means not only providing people with information they might find scary, but information the government or other powerful institutions do not want revealed.