April 2004, Asia Media Summit, Kuala Lumpur

The Asia Media Summit,
Kuala Lumpur, April 2004

« Globally accepted quality standards that meet and exceed increasing audience expectations need to be defined and met »

A summary

It is for the first time that 417 stakeholders in the media – media practitioners, media owners, policy makers, civil society organizations and international agencies - belonging to 50 countries of the Asia Pacific and other countries of the globe, have gathered together in the biggest assembly of media professionals in the Asia Pacific, to dialogue on the major issues and challenges facing the media industry today.

It is felt that a dynamic and mutually supportive relationship between the major stakeholders in the media i.e. broadcasters, the government, regulators, and the citizens, was necessary in order to enable the media to support democratic principles and equitable development of all countries and all citizens of each country.

In the words of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, His Excellency …..Badawi, in his inaugural speech, the media, “being the eyes and ears of the world”, are well placed to bring understanding and tolerance to the world, but he warned against a “one size fits all” approach to managing diversity in societies and promoting economic growth and distributive justice.

Each country would adopt the strategy appropriate for its particular society, while learning from the experience of others through dialogue and discussion.

While noting the tendency of the dominant media organizations to project stereotyped images and interpretations of developing country cultures and events, especially Islamic religion, culture and peoples, participants argued for the Islamic notion of balance and noted that it was important to communicate that Islam is a religion of peace. The actions of a few extremists must never be used to label and condemn a whole group of people, belonging to a multiplicity of cultures, languages and nations spread over the globe.

The participants emphasised the need to uphold the basic tenets of impartiality in reporting and analysing events in the world today : freedom, revelation and plurality of views. Censorship, whether imposed by authorities or self imposed, must be condemned as contrary to the principles of democracy universally recognized today.

Participants at the Summit emphasized the following:

Confronted with the issues arising from globalization, liberalization and competition, and escalating violence and conflict, media organizations in the Asia Pacific were dealing with new challenges and choices :
• would they choose to be creators or carriers of content from other parts of the world?
• Would they deal with the dangers of cultural globalisation with greater protectionism or greater freedom with responsibility?

They recognized that information, entertainment, education and persuasion are not separate genres today, but intricately intertwined in all media content.

This rich and culturally diverse epoch in human history offers a unique opportunity for leaders and the media to create a harmonious mosaic of global and local cultures, acknowledging and validating the contribution of each culture, faith and social organization. However, this is only possible with a mutual regard for and adherence to the democratic principles of human dignity, equality and freedom of expression.

Participants recommended that media organisations take note of the following:

• The new scenario required regional broadcasters to reposition themselves to reach out to local, regional and global audiences.
• It was important to locate programming and news within the specific local context and content.
• New linkages need to be forged, especially at the regional level to leverage strengths and present alternative perspectives to dominant information and cultural flows.
• Globally accepted quality standards that meet and exceed increasing audience expectations need to be defined and met.
• Dialogue with audiences is necessary, in order for media to fulfil their public interest obligations and to understand the needs of their audiences. This is especially important today because the media, especially radio and television, have today become major educators of their citizens – even through their entertainment progammes. Therefore, the media needs to be responsible for what they are teaching.
• The media must consciously project the commonalities, and not the differences, between people, countries and cultures, being mindful of their responsibility to contribute to a just, peaceful and tolerant world. Towards this end, developing country media practitioners need to move from a bi-polar perspective towards a multipolar perspective of global media.
• Concern was expressed about the safety of journalists in the context of inceasing cases of harassment, assalt and even killings in recent years. Immediate measures for training and counseling of journalists and providing them with safety equipment was stressed.
• The role of women in negotiations for peace in conflict and war situations and in the work of reconstruction in its aftermath needs to acknowledged and expanded.

“We need to focus on the power of logic, not the logic of power”, argued one speaker.