Minivan News journalist Olivia Lang should retract the article 'DRP Campaign Admits Using State Funds' if the claim is based on the the DRP-issued statement 'certain rights the president of Maldives receives and his rights as commander-in-chief.' Consequently, Emily Reed should retire from professional (questionable) journalism for defending Olivia Lang.
Olivia Lang contorts the DRP statement to a point where the casual reader would actually believe that the incumbent President of Maldives is not entitled to the rights of his office. Ms. Lang cleverly draws the inference that the DRP statement implies additional privileges being endowed upon the president for use in the elections. This inference is clearly an incorrect one. All that the statement implies is that as long as the President of Maldives (whoever that maybe) holds his/her office, he/she will be accorded the necessary instruments for conducting his/her affairs. If endowment of such instruments were deemed as misappropriation of national resources then any remedial will leave the country with an ineffectual presidency from now till election's end.
In Emily Reed's article Olivia Lang is quoted as having said, in her defence, 'I stand by the accuracy of my article and condemn any party that makes a personal attack against journalists whilst also claiming to uphold free speech.' Free speech amongst the masses includes all forms of gripe and gossip. Journalists distinguish themselves by becoming the bearers of accurate, unbiased information (ie. not drawing conclusions based on whim). Journalists do not base their judgments on purposefully distorted inferences from clearly straightforward statements.
The Emily Reed article also published a statement made by the site's editor, Judith Evans. Ms. Evans demanded that 'If the Maumoon 2008 campaign wishes to clarify the situation regarding funding, it should publish its accounts.' What is interesting is that by making this statement Ms. Evans is making her (and indeed her charges') intentions incessantly clear. That is, Olivia Lang originally wrote her article in the hopes of pressuring DRP into publishing their financial accounts. When DRP made a statement to this effect, Emily Reed is now defending Olivia Lang in the hopes of demonizing the former.
What is most surprising is that the existence of an agenda ('interests') within the Minivan News team has been established. The agenda is being promoted (insofar) by three foreign journalists (after all, Maldives Law will not endorse names like Olivia Lang, Emily Reed and Judith Evans). Finally, this author is an indigenous Maldivian who clearly disputes Olivia Lang and her interpretations. Thus, DRP's claim that 'There is a band, a gang, indeed a tribe of foreigners who would like this country managed in a manner more beneficial to them, than to the interests of Maldivians' is no more than a literal statement of fact.
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4 comments:
Dos,
To me the Minivan News article is not misleading, although its headline taken out from the body is a bit misleading. I think the article itself is very balanced and sticks to the details of a textbook guide to writing news. It includes views from a broad spectrum: MDP, SLP, Government (Mundhu), DRP (Ali Waheed), the public. That said, it is not easy for any journalist to fully distance themselves from political/ideological bias. It is not clear if that is even desirable.
Media as an important partner in political discourse should help identify and thematize issues. Sometimes dramatization of issues is necessary to help bring the issues to the public attention. The case of campaign finance is a particularly important issue. First, because the state budget is under tremendous strain. Second, there is a culture of misappropriation of state funds by the government (eg. the exuberantly expensive yacht). Third, there is a culture of buying votes in the Maldives. Last, but not least, to provide the fair value of political liberties to others, a limit to campaign finance is important. I think all these considerations make the issue significant at the moment. Perhaps the aim of Minivan News could be to pressure DRP to disclose their campaign finance accounts. If so, I think that is a legitimate exercise on their part. That should be part of the role of media in the society, in the interest of the public. A dramatization of the issue with a misleading (yet accurate) headline can be excused in view of the above considerations.
With regard to the issue of foreign journalists working in the country, I must say I deeply appreciate the work being done by the Minivan News online. I think that is perhaps the only journalistically acceptable English news source in the country. But I wish if they could invest more on their work, and widen their work to bring news with greater frequency and freshness.
As for a hidden agenda, that sounds as another conspiracy theory to me. For example, with regard to the news in question, I cannot understand anything the foreign news journalists could achieve by writing a news piece on campaign finance. Instead, I think it will do a great benefit to the interests of the Maldivians.
I also want to express my deep dislike towards the increasing frequency of remarks that sometimes border on xenophobia in the country. This is seen from both sides of the political divide. For instance, MDP's unacceptable remarks against China. However, DRP takes this to the height of fascism sometimes, glorifying 'Maldiviness' and demonizing the 'West' (especially the Brits) as having an evil selfish agenda to disrupt an alleged 'oneness' of ours by spreading Christianity. We need to adjust ourselves to the forces of globalisation. It would be impossible to stop foreign anything -- be it journalism or Christianity -- coming into our country. A healthy level of patriotism is OK, because it keeps us bonded in social cooperation, but fanatic nationalism is dangerous, because in a interdependent world characterised by common universal values of human dignity, equal respect and concern for all humans, the 'inclusion of the other' should be our way. It is also dangerous because it is a recipe for isolation and xenophobia.
As for Minivan News' alleged bias for MDP, perhaps you should read into their website and see if there are articles or commentaries criticizing MDP itself. That said, it is hard to disentangle completely from bias and remain 'neutral'. As said, it may not even be desirable always.
Finally, I commend Minivan News online for particularly giving attention to the taboo topics in the country, such as religion and sex and gender discrimination.
Minivan News is owned by ANNi and family ,
ANNI is also following the footsteps maumoon , the great family business.
REgards
Canary Yellow (MDP color)
Minivan Daily newspaper is MDP but Minivan News website is editorially independent.
It is not just foreign journalists that work there - some of my closest Maldivian friends have worked for it. It seems to me the only newspaper that actually presents both sides - as well as shed light on alot of important issues, such as drugs and child abuse, well before the other newspapers did.
The editor chooses the headline of the article, not the journalist.
Also with respect to this particular piece, I think it is worth noting that October's auditor general reports showed the President's office had been using state funds for campaign activities afterall..
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