U.S. scholar discusses media reporting on corruption

Says good information laws enhance reporting on corruption

Robert Smolik

Corruption reporting places increased demands on journalists who have to balance between protecting the reputation of the individual and promoting transparency but can be enhanced by good freedom of information legislation, says Robert Smolik, a scholar and Diplomat-in Residence at the University of Michigan, in the U.S. 

Smolik, who visited Zimbabwe on an American Embassy-sponsored exchange program, spoke during a roundtable discussion with local journalists on the role of the media in economic development in Harare last Thursday.

“Journalists should realize that they are not a court of law but an important arm in the promotion of good governance,” said Smolik.

Smolik emphasized the enabling role of freedom of information legislation in enhancing reporting on corruption.

“Good freedom of information laws should allow for predictability on what is a punishable offence. Even when there are delays, there is need to verify information using publicly available documents,” said Smolik.

In the United States, said Smolik, the Freedom of Information Act ensures the public's right to access government records. He said the law is an important component of ensuring the government's accountability to the people it serves.

“For the U.S. government, freedom of information laws provide a legal mechanism for disclosure of information and improve access to journalists and others requiring that information,” said Smolik.

Journalists at the roundtable had cited restrictive media legislation as one of the reasons why they sometimes relied on unidentified sources of information when reporting on corruption cases involving public figures.

“I may be naïve about the situation in Zimbabwe. But if there are laws that promote access to information, then I would encourage you to use them even when there are harsh provisions when it comes to delays in getting that information,” said Smolik.

Smolik also held discussion on corruption and good governance with students and other civil society organisations during his visit to Zimbabwe

Journalists also observed that where cases of corruption are exposed, there is often an attempt by competing media to defend the perpetrators of those corrupt activities, a situation they attributed to the polarized nature of the media in Zimbabwe.

Smolik noted that the increased demands on journalists when reporting corruption often conflicts with the limited resources that are available to news media. He said that in the U.S. media editors often come into conflict with journalists who want to “cover a story up to its logical conclusion” but are denied by their editors who often complain about lack of adequate resources and limited time.

“There is a constant battle between resources and requirements to pursue a story between editors and journalists. But that should not be allowed to compromise the accuracy of the story.”

He encouraged journalists to work with their editors to push the limit of editorial freedom but should not be afraid to retract.

“Journalists must be brave enough to retract stories that turn out to be inaccurate or untrue,” said Smolik.

However, Smolik noted that polarization in the media is not a bad thing. Rather it allows the public to get all sides of the debate noting that in the U.S. the media is polarized to reflect either conservative or liberal views.

“What is wrong is the manipulation of the media to serve narrow political or economic interests at the expense of giving the reading or viewing public truthful information. This happens when the position of the newspaper is more important than the issue at hand,” said Smolik.

“That”, argued Smolik “is bad polarization.”

Quoting the recent World Bank report, Smolik observed that Zimbabwe is ranked low on the governance index and encouraged journalists to continue playing a proactive role in uncovering corruption. He argued that Zimbabwe has the ability to get out of its economic quagmire because “the country has certain conditions that it can exploit such as the high level of literacy and a solid infrastructural base” to change these conditions.

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This report was prepared by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy, Harare. Queries and comments should be directed to Paul Engelstad, Public Affairs Officer, E-mail: hararepas@state.gov Tel. +263 4 758800-1, Fax: +263 4 758802. Previous reports and media statements from the U.S. Embassy, Harare can be accessed at http://harare.usembassy.gov

Updated: July 23, 2007