Strong and passionate journalists who avoid wrestling with the truth promote freedom of expression in any country.
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Follow Me On TwitterIn a recent Lightstalker discussion, fellow
Gaia Photos member Marc-André Pauzé posed the question, "How come there has been journalists doing their jobs in totalitarian countries with passion and almost no freedom of the press?" They did (and still do) what they believe, out of passion."
Those thoughtful remarks by
Mr. Pauzé are points to be pondered and I'll agree that honest, hard-working journalists
from the Philippines to Iraq are risking their lives daily to exhume facts that influence us all. Nevertheless, there is a darker, corrupt face of journalism that exists in autocratic pockets of the world that few people seem to confront with honest discussion, particularly journalists themselves.
CAMBODIAN JOURNALISTS ARE CONTROLLED BY POLITICS, MONEY & FEARDo all journalists who operate in one-party systems do what they believe out of passion? The answer in Cambodia might depend on how a journalist's passion measures up against the people who butter their bread.
Cambodia’s news media is often described as one of the freest in the region, but as a 2008 report entitled Reading Between The Lines: How Politics, Money & Fear Control Cambodia's Media prepared by the
Cambodian League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) states, "If we look beyond just the quantity of newspapers and magazines, and listen to journalists and editors describe their working environment, we find a media closely controlled by politics, money and fear."
The report continues, "
Journalists of certain political stripes - those from pro CPP (Cambodian People's Party) [1] newspapers, are usually free to defame, lie and propagandize in their pages with impunity." (pp 20). But those with a non-CPP political bent have regularly faced severe consequences for doing much the same."
BRIBING JOURNALISTS IN CAMBODIA - SHOW ME THE MONEY !For example, it's common practice in Cambodia for senior political and business figures to grant "one-on-one interviews" to journalists who receive bribes of several hundred dollars. Two journalists described this practice as a form of “peaceful threat”, to ensure positive reporting or to keep reporters silent on sensitive issues [63].
Most journalists interviewed linked corruption to low salaries in the media industry. The average salary for a journalist is between $50 USD and $200 USD per month in Cambodia and 87% of those surveyed by LICADHO said their monthly salaries were insufficient to support themselves and their families [66].
Journalists therefore claimed they are forced to take bribes. On the other hand, while low salaries are no doubt a factor in the practice of corruption, it is by no means a blanket excuse as some better-paid journalists reportedly take bribes as well.
STATING THE FACTS…….ABOUT THEMSELVESSeveral sources interviewed by LICADHO for the report said almost all journalists working for Khmer language media accept small bribes, yet in the survey only 33% admitted accepting money for attending press conferences.
Why the discrepancy? As the survey methodology section in LICADHO's report explained, "It was expected that respondents would under-report corruption (especially when related to them) and other sensitive questions." The report continued, "The fact that a third of the survey's respondents admitted accepting bribes is a significant finding."
Interestingly, one reason why journalists - especially freelancers - are quick to seek and take bribes is they often have to pay editors themselves to get their stories published. Commonly, $20- $60 USD is given to an editor by a non-staff reporter to get a freelance story published, a story which has obviously made even more money for the journalist [64].
After evaluating its findings, LICADHO stated, "The widespread corruption within the media raises obvious doubts about whether journalists can, to any large extent, play a watchdog role in exposing corruption and other abuses by government officials or other influential individuals."
CAMBODIAN JOURNALISTS AND NEWSPAPER SCAMSThe
LICADHO report claims, "There are a host of newspapers which seem to exist mainly for the purpose of extortion, which publish only when a money-making scheme is underway. They generally come under two categories, “wishing papers” or “blocking papers”.
The "Blocking Paper" ScamBlocking papers use blackmail to extort money from prominent figures or businessmen not to publish stories, especially when
illegal logging, smuggling, corruption (PDF, 5 MB) or extra marital affairs are involved. For major scandals the pay-offs can be high - as much as $1,000 USD for a blocked story according to one senior editor.
Some pseudo-journalists will go as far as printing up a few copies of the story on newsprint to clearly show the damaging story. Others take on-the-spot bribes to turn a "blind eye" to misdeeds. For some it’s an industry.
The Jun Bo Or “Wishing Paper” ScamIn this scam, a publisher will publish an edition devoted to the birthday (or promotion, marriage, etc) of a senior politician and attribute the sponsored advertorial to a mid-ranking official or businessman, sometimes without their knowledge, much less their consent. The publisher approaches these mid ranking officials for payment, which is considered an investment to curry favor with the high-ranking figure.
On slow news days,
English language newspapers might even report news of such frauds. After interviewing senior politicians or their spokesperson, it's clear that the high-ranking figures had nothing to do with the publication of such material.
Cambodian Celebrities Buy Fame……And Then Move To America !Follow Me On TwitterA variation to the wishing paper is celebrities buying fame. Young singers or actors pay publishers to appear on the cover of glossy magazines, according to a senior editor. The bribe for this can be as low as $100 USD. As well as being used for "career enhancement", the editor said these cover shots have also been used in visa applications for the United States, to prove that an applicant is likely to return to Cambodia due to their fame and fortune. “Most of them stay” in the US, he said [41].
POINTS TO PONDER FROM A LICADO CASE STUDY1. It is common practice for journalists to receive envelopes of money in
exchange for attending press conferences and other events.
2. When a government ministry is involved, it (the money) comes from the finance department of that ministry, as shown by an accounting document provided by a journalist on the condition the name of the Ministry was kept confidential.
3. "Payments" to journalists were confirmed in a separate document, which listed the bribes as “expenses and allowances for journalists”.
So that's how it's done in Cambodia folks.
Marc-André Pauzé is a photojournalist who possesses a deep commitment to the integrity of social reportage so I don't want to infer in any manner that he's unaware of the journalistic environment in Cambodia nor compare Cambodia to a totalitarian country.
In fact, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently addressed the issues of Cambodia's democracy and freedom of expression during a recent graduation ceremony speech in Phnom Penh by saying that government critics should "Be careful with the language of "dictatorial regime."
Mr. Hun Sen added, "Be careful,
one day legal action will be used ... and "when legal action is used, you guys would say freedom of expression is prohibited, but your expression is wrong." Since Cambodia signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and incorporated it into Cambodian law, it's apparent that Mr. Hun Sen knows "yellow journalism" when he sees it.
Mr. Pauzé pointed out that
W. Eugene Smith that once said, “We should try to be “Honest” in our research of facts." In that light I admire Mr. Hun Sen's dogged and unrelenting dedication to promoting freedom of expression in Cambodia as well as Mr. Smith's and Mr. Pauzé's altruistic natures.
Follow Me On TwitterNonetheless, the fact remains that corruption in the Cambodian media reflects
the reality of Khmer society at large and although journalism is an industry that is supposed to be based on accuracy, fairness, independence and “honesty”, in Cambodia, as
the LICADHO report summarizes, "The foundations of ethical journalism can be bought cheaply and the essential role of the media in society is compromised by systemic corruption."
APPEXDIX1 The Cambodian People's Party is led by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The party holds roughly 75% of all elected political offices in Cambodia and is frequently referred to as "The Power Party" by the country's residents.
41 Interview with editor on 12 September 2007.
63 Separate interviews with journalists on 23 August and 27 August 2007.
64 Interview with journalist 27 August 2007.
66 See media survey in annex, Q. 10 for salary and Q. 11 for sufficient/insufficient for needs.
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