[Editors note: We reproduce below two open letters sent to the Editors of the Daily Mirror and Daily Mirror online respectively. The letters flag significant concerns over a marked lack of professionalism and violation of established media ethics by both the online and print versions of the newspaper. The letters are published for any responses that either of the Editors wish to send to Groundviews, and for others to critically engage with in what we feel is a vital and necessary debate on mainstream media standards in post-war Sri Lanka. The author of the two letters blogs at http://electra.blogsome.com.]
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Letter to Editor of Daily Mirror
Dear Ms. Liyanaarachi,
As the Editor of the Daily Mirror, I wish to bring to your attention an article published both online and in print on 31st July titled “Re-awakening Vavuniya and offering hope…”
I have only read this article online, published at the following web address:http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/features/139-feature/17154.html. Upon reading it, there was something so deeply worrying that I thought it best to take it up with you as Editor.
As you may already be aware, this article has created quite a stir on the popular social networking site Facebook. A Facebook user posted this article on Facebook, with a link to the online version, pointing out a glaring error in the very first paragraph of the article. This then lead to an incredible amount of debate and discussion among a community of Sri Lankan Facebook users – in this group were included established journalists, young activists and journalism students.
This glaring error was in the following paragraph,
“With smiles brightening the air, eyes gleaming with great hope young schoolboys and girls with great enthusiasm gathered at the Tamil Maha Vidyalaya main hall, Vavuniya. Gloomy days and sorrowful memories were things of the past as the war torn East coast was reawakening. It was the sun of a new era that was shining.”
Incredibly, the writers of this article rewrite the geography of Sri Lanka in positing Vavuniya on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. How this error escaped the two journalists, and then the Editorial desk – which is, I assume, made up of senior journalists – and made it all the way to publication, is shocking.
The location of Vavuniya is hardly an unknown fact – one that could have been verified very easily by the two journalists concerned, or as easily corrected by the Editorial desk. The fact that this made it to print and online gives rise to questions over the ability and willingness of your paper to fact check articles and actually curate the content published under your masthead. This blatant ignorance of Sri Lanka’s geography suggests a disturbing erosion of professionalism and media ethics.
On Facebook, there have also been pointed questions as to whether the two reporters actually visited Vavuniya before writing this article. The opening lines of the article would lead one to believe so – but is this a lie given that they do not even know where Vavuniya is located?
I understand that these two reporters are interns – they are young and relatively inexperienced. For this error then, is it not justified to hold the incompetence and professional negligence of the Editorial desk accountable?
I write this email not to get the two young journalists in trouble, but to point out to you, whose responsibility it is I believe to ensure that you are reporting accurate facts, that this error has not gone unnoticed by your readers.
Journalism is a noble profession – many of my close family members and friends are journalists. I admire the two young reporters who penned this article, for it requires courage to pursue independent journalism in Sri Lanka today. However, as a senior journalist and as their Editor, it is your duty to oversee their professional development. If not you, who else can they look up or draw inspiration from?
We see enough irresponsible journalism in Sri Lanka – I read biased, badly written articles in the papers every day. Please do not allow the Daily Mirror to fall into the same category, for there is much that still recommends it as a paper for those who like to think critically.
Thank you,
Yours sincerely,
Subha Menike Wijesiriwardena
With:
Kanishka Ratnapriya
Sanjana Hattotuwa
Sanjaya Senanayake
Iromi Perera
Dinidu de Alwis
T. Kularatne
Ashwini Aiyar
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Letter to Editor of Daily Mirror Online
Dear Mr. Easwaran Rutnam,
I am writing to you regarding a video posted on Daily Mirror Online titled “Women of the Night” published at the following URL: http://video.dailymirror.lk/videos/615/women-of-the-night
There are many disturbing aspects about this short documentary that compelled me to write directly to you as the News Editor of Daily Mirror Online.
I am stunned that in this day and age, leading English publications like Daily Mirror continue to endorse and publish outdated, archaic and ignorant views on widely discussed topics such as prostitution. There is a wealth of information, findings and statistics available on this matter, making it inexcusable to publish such old-fashioned, ignorant, narrow-minded and downright sexist views on it.
Firstly, as you will I am sure also agree, prostitution is a serious issue. However, this video treats it as a melodrama. Inanely titled “Women of the Night”, the documentary opens with the narrator saying that even though prostitution is illegal in Sri Lanka, “prostitutes continue to stand freely on the roads” while the authorities turn a blind eye. What this indicates to the viewer is that the producers of this video clearly believe that prostitution is evil and morally bankrupt – akin to saying that ‘rapists continue to roam the country freely’. This clearly indicates the reporters responsible for the video believe that prostitutes should be arrested and put away by the ‘authorities’, turning prostitutes into predators who are vaunt to pounce on unsuspecting, innocent victims!
She goes on to tell us that in order to procure an interview with a ‘prostitute’ – and the narrator keeps using this term, even though this term itself is offensive and disused in research and professional media and is widely considered politically incorrect – the Daily Mirror Online team lied to the sex-worker featured in the video, saying instead that they were University students conducting a study on prostitution in Sri Lanka. As far as I know, this is in direct violation of the PCCSL Code of Ethics. Easily accessible here at http://www.pccsl.lk/code_of_practice.php, the Code clearly states that –
8. HARASSMENT and SUBTERFUGE
8.1: Journalists, including photo-journalists, must not seek to obtain information or pictures through intimidation or harassment or by misrepresentation or subterfuge. The use of long-lens cameras or listening devices must also not be used unless this can be justified in the public interest and the material could not have been obtained by other means.
One assumes that what is meant by ‘public interest’ is that reporters are allowed subterfuge, for example, if they are investigating a person, process or issue that directly threatens or concerns public safety and security if not exposed. This brings to mind sting investigations, where a reporter suspects for example a Government official is misusing public funds, or in the case of going undercover to expose terrorist activities, human trafficking or corrupt arms deals. Your coverage of sex-workers in Colombo does not fall into this category.
There are many activists and journalists in Sri Lanka who work with sex-workers in a more professional and ethical manner. It is highly probable that the sex-worker featured in the video would not have refused an interview with Daily Mirror Online, had the journalists assured her that her name would be changed and her face obscured in the video. This approach requires journalists to invest time in explaining to the sex-worker what the intention and agenda of the documentary is. Clearly the reporters who made this video either didn’t bother – or worse, didn’t think that someone like a ‘prostitute’ was deserving of any explanations.
The documentary goes on to state things like ‘The thought of determining a price to have sex itself is appalling’, suggesting a clear moral judgment by the journalists who produced the video. This runs against professional journalism that seeks to inform, not prejudge. Do these journalists not know that it is not within the scope of their jobs as journalists to pass judgment – but that their work is limited to reporting the facts and allowing the readers/viewers to form opinions?
Further, the documentary is a good example of lazy journalism. There are many other ways the reporters could have approached this story:
- Did the journalists not explore what other options these women really have? It’s ironic because in this very same documentary, the sex-worker being interviewed tells a devastating story about how she was tricked into prostitution.
- Why did the journalists not interrogate the lack of opportunities for rehabilitation and the lack of support for sex-workers from ‘the authorities’ to find themselves a lucrative vocation and integrate themselves into society? Why not do a story about how prostitution is illegal, but how these women are not offered any alternatives, or any help or support from the state and the law to make a living?
- Why did the journalists not look at what information is available for sex-workers regarding their rights as women as and human beings? Ironically, the sex-worker featured in the video mentions how she was badly beaten by one client – did the reporters bother to investigate further into what assistance is available for these people to assert their right to work freely and without fear of physical harm and harassment?
- Did the journalists care to note that the continued criminalization of prostitution means that sex-workers cannot receive the protection of the state or the Police in their work?
- Why did the journalists not look into all the lobbying that has gone into this matter – both for the legalization of prostitution and against it? What are the arguments both for and against? Who are the figureheads of these movements?
Clichéd, moralistic piffle parading as journalism is a tragic indictment of the quality of journalism practiced by and promoted at Daily Mirror Online. This story is a lost opportunity for both the reporters and viewers to meaningfully discuss alternative livelihoods, long-term solutions and safe working conditions for sex-workers in Sri Lanka. The documentary is shallow and voyeuristic – while not offering any real insight into the issue, it instead highlights the details of how sex-workers pick up and ‘entertain clients’. It almost makes one think that DM Online is pursuing a marketing policy that ‘sex sells’ and that this story is meant to increase their online readership.
Finally, it is an insult to all the years of work that different activists, lawyers and academics have done, attempting to change society’s views on prostitution and attempting to humanize sex-workers in the eyes of the public. These kinds of morally superior, condescending views being published so openly by a leading and well-known publication is hugely damaging, and shows how little we as a society have evolved and progressed. It is a blemish on us all.
It is up to you as an Editor to guide your team of journalists and reporters – it is your duty to instill in them integrity, high standards and a strong work ethic.
I do hope that you and your team at DM Online will take this letter in the right spirit, and that you will discuss this matter and take whatever steps needed to ensure that it does not happen again in the future. I am a regular reader of DM and DM Online and have high expectations of you and your team.
Yours sincerely,
Subha Menike Wijesiriwardena