Understandings and practices of freedom of expression and press freedom in Pakistan: ethnography of Karachi journalistic environment

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between cultural pluralism and the journalists’ attitudes towards freedom of expression and press freedom within the institution of journalism in Pakistan. It sought to identify any shared understanding and practice of these two concepts amongst the Pakistani journalists, who participated in this study. Particularly, this study explored the influence of Pakistan’s religious and socio-political contexts on the journalists’ understandings and practices of these two concepts in Karachi. Thus, this study linked the journalists’ understandings and practices (actions) of freedom of expression andpress freedom with the environment in which they operate; and therefore, used the new institutionalism theory as a framework.The new institutionalism theory builds itself in relation to three core aspects, precisely: ‘standardisation’ (of concepts, practices, routines, rules and values); the ‘influence of environment’ on actors’ agency and the role of ‘actors’ agency’ in any institutional setting. The new institutionalism in organisational theory acknowledges journalism as a distinct institution, which is “comprised of shared concepts, practices, norms, values, organisational routines and rules” (Jaasaari and Olsson, 2010, p. 76; Powell and DiMaggio, 1991). In journalism, the theory derives its origin from the early institutional studies that attempted to scope the standardised media routines, news-making process, the patterned roles and values of news workers by using the ethnographic research approach (Galtung and Ruge, 1965; Tuchman, 1978; Gans, 1979; Golding and Elliot, 1979).Thus, this study investigated press freedom in Pakistan at three levels, namely: conceptual (understanding), practice (action) and environmental (context) levels. These three levels of analysis aimed to address the journalists’ understandings and practices of freedom of expression and press freedom within the context (environment) of Pakistan. As a result, this study attempted to describe the lived experiences of journalists. This required the use of ethnographic research approach and the qualitative methods of data collection. Therefore, data were collected through document review, in-depth interviews, focus groupdiscussions and direct observation to investigate four research questions, namely: (i) What meanings do Pakistani journalists give to freedom of expression and press freedom?, (ii) How do Pakistani journalists describe their ability to practice personal understandings of freedom of expression and press freedom?, (iii) Are there any gaps between the local and the global understandings of press freedom indicators? and (iv) What are the various influences and constraints that affect journalists’ work and their right of freedom of expression in Pakistan?This study found that there was no ‘shared’ understanding and practice of freedom of expression and press freedom amongst the Pakistani journalists, who participated in this study. ‘Context’ emerged as the most dominant factor in shaping the diverse understandings and practices of journalists. These findings suggest that ‘freedom’ is a contested concept in Pakistan. The notions of freedom of expression and press freedom do not form a central plank in the institutionalisation of journalism in the country; therefore, the local journalism institution can be seen as lacking the cohesion. Furthermore, a disconnection between the Pakistani journalists’ views of press freedom indices and the global press freedom metrics was also found due to the influence of context. Finally, this study found the dominant impact of Pakistan’s context (environment) on the work of journalists, revealing them as ‘passive actors’ with a less level of empowerment and participation in the local journalism institution.