Confusion created by rival media outlets cleared by ICIJ

‘Mehnat Kar Hasad Na Kar’

ISLAMABAD: A despicable standard practice of bad journalism has often been mercilessly applied against the Jang Group by its rivals, who are unable to surpass or even match its exclusivity and exceptionality, writes Tariq Butt.

Instead of beating the largest, trend-setter media house in the professional field by producing rare stuff that is talked about and attracts readers and viewers, its opponents are always out to pull its legs through a negative propaganda and by twisting facts. These are characteristics of losers.

The latest wicked example in such vilification campaigns was the reaction to the clarification that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) did on its website relating to its editing error about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s name in the Panama Papers.

The News/Jang broke this story, which was rightly taken as the lead. Any other treatment would have been poor news judgment. Every contemporary media house stood beaten hook, line and sinker. Instead of licking their wounds for having been left nowhere, the rivals engaged in a nefarious misinformation against the media house.

As per the normal practice, if the prime minister’s name appeared in a shady deal like the offshore companies, it became a crying headline as The News/Jang had done. Similarly, removal of his name from the offshore companies also deserved similar treatment. Such coverage was justified simply because the prime minister figured in such news.

As far as the argument that no version was taken from the other side (ICIJ) on the contents of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member of the National Assembly Daniyal Aziz’s letter to the ICIJ. In fact, the ICIJ response had come on it when it had admitted the ‘editing error’ and corrected it. This argument therefore holds no ground.

As usual, all the rival media outlets missed this story. Then, they made every effort to give a lie to it. Even a couple of somewhat sensible anchorpersons were also swept by the tide and joined the misleading chorus that the ICIJ had not tendered an apology. In reality, The News/Jang story never mentioned even the word of apologyby the ICIJ. Daniyal Aziz’s demand from the ICIJ to apologize is something different. This was his demand, and the story did not say anywhere that the ICIJ has apologized.

The concluding sentence of his letter: . . . it is expected that you (ICIJ) would immediately remove all statements and contents referring to the Sharif family including the prime minister of Pakistan and issue a public apology and admission of your error failing which I reserve my right to take an appropriate legal action against you and all those concerned in all appropriate jurisdictions in pursuance of my legal rights to redress the injury suffered as a consequence.

In an effort to belie the hard fact that the ICIJ has clarified its editing error and struck off Nawaz Sharif’s name from the Panama Papers, questions were put to its director in such a way that the ICIJ has apologized. The director rightly stated that his organization has not tendered any apology and only issued a clarification.

As Gerard Ryle talked to the agenda-driven anchorpersons, when approached, his response showed that he had not read The News story otherwise he would not spoken certain sentences that he uttered, and provided material to the propaganda machines.

A commentator, having pathological hatred against the Jang Group, said on a TV channel that the ICIJ editing story was made lead by The News and Jang at the eleventh hour. But this ill-informed guy has no idea about the actual facts. In reality, the story was somehow withheld for one day and was used after that after due deliberations.

In journalism, it is unfair to dispute as to from which source a credible information has reached a reporter. It is the content of the material that matters. Therefore, it is immaterial from which source this particular story landed with our reporter Ahmad Noorani.

One can’t resist laughing hearing frivolous comments and analyses. Instead of accepting that the stories about the Panama Papers leaks, removal of the prime minister’s name etc., that the Jang Group broke defeated them in the professional field, the rival outlets embarked on a campaign to slur and disparage it.

Over the past one month, all stories, just to name a few – identification of offshore companies by hundreds of Pakistani businessmen and politicians including Nawaz Sharif’s children, detection of firms owned by Aleem Khan and Jehangir Tareen’s children etc., - were broken by The News. This was expected to inculcate a sense of competition among the jealous lot, but sadly it didn’t. Rather it instilled jealousy, which naturally hurts the one, and not the opponent, who indulges in it. However, they ignored the old Urdu maxim: “Mehnat Kar Hasad Na Kar” (do hard work, not jealousy).

It was nothing but laughable when these media outlets had been consistently ‘disclosing’ that a new list of hundreds of offshore companies owned by Pakistanis will be released on March 27 despite the fact that none of their members has even a minor idea about it. By doing so, they were just groping in the dark. In reality, our reporter Umar Cheema, for being the member of the ICIJ, has all the data and he is the one who will make public the new offshore companies and their Pakistani owners on May 9.

The ICIJ’s crediting The News as its valued media partner and clearing the confusion orchestrated by the rival media outlets regarding the Jang Group’s story about the removal of the premier’s name from the Panama Papers may serve as a slap on their face. However, they are unexpected to review their strategy and repent unprofessionalism they practiced.