Media, Ethics and Politics Extrait du Tariq Ramadan http://www.tariqramadan.com/spip.php?

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Media, Ethics and Politics

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Date de mise en ligne : Wednesday 27 July 2011

Tariq Ramadan

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Media, Ethics and Politics

The whole world is talking about the Murdoch affair. One of the world's most powerful men has been exposed because of the way The News of the World was dealing with news, politics and private lives. Not only did journalists indulge in hacking mobile phones and computers; they destroyed lives and families for the sake of "scoops" and money. The tabloids have always had a bad reputation for spreading gossip, rumors and even unverified news. It appears that some journalists lack even the slightest sense of ethics when it comes to the way they get their information. For them, newspapers should satisfy popular voyeurism in every possible way. It makes money; it gives power.

Rupert Murdoch, as owner of so many tabloids around the world, had clear knowledge of what was going on under his authority. He knew, endorsed and promoted it until it was exposed because of the shameless attitude of some journalists. These practices have not been limited to ordinary news stories or coverage of pop stars: they are closely linked with politics, governmental and security issues. The Director of Scotland Yard has been forced to resign. The Prime Minister has had to explain what kind of relationship he hador did not havewith the Murdoch Empire. It is frankly hard to believe there were no connections, no influence, and no objective alliances. Before the last elections, we learned that Murdoch had shifted his support from New Labour, and his old "friends" Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, to the Conservative Party, a shift that was likely to cost New Labour the elections. Today we find ourselves with the Conservatives in charge while the Murdoch media's support for David Cameron is an open secret.

Murdoch's power to make and unmake politicians and destinies is well known. The Australian press baron was able to use his "serious" newspapers to give credibility and substance to his tabloids. He is not alone; we have only to look at the bizarre situation in Italy where Prime Minister Berlusconi owns outright more than one third of the country's TV channels and press. Despite the scandals that swirl around him, he is still in power. The owner of tabloids and TV stations can destroy an adversary's reputation with a simple rumor. He can also protect positions and status when corruption and immoral conduct have become blatantly obvious. Media is power. Often called the fourth estate, it may well be even more than that today.

Ordinary citizens are looking on as these stories unfold before their eyes. What they see confirms what many have long thought: the world of the media is as corrupt as the world of politics. The focus is money and power, not ethics and humanism. Nothing to worry about though, this is the world we live in. There is a sense of helplessness within civil society: one powerful man, Rupert Murdoch, may have been exposed, but how many others are hiding, and getting away as he himself might escape when the storm blows over. There is so much power and wealth in the media universe that it appears impossible to reform, or to make the powerful owners accountable. They seem to be the only actors in our democracies who enjoy absolute freedom.

But we risk making the same mistake with media as we are making with the economy when we talk about "democracy" in our societies. In our globalized world, there is a new ideology of fragmentation that is distorting debates about our rights and freedoms. Debates about the democratic models in the political sphere are completely disconnected from both the economic and media universes, as if we were talking about three different things. In the global economic order, our democratic political systems are more and more restricted from within. But it is pointless to discuss political, civil and even academic freedom of speech or human, civil and political rights within our democracies without taking a comprehensive approach to the powerful connections that exist between liberal democracy, liberal economy and free media. Our fragmented approach is misleading us. It is pointless to demand more ethics in politics if there are not more ethics in the economy and the media. Pointless to clean our doorstep while the house behind it remains

The owners of transnational corporations and national (and international) media have the power to build or destroy political destinies, and even entire systems. It is clear, for instance, that economic and media interests are making money on security: citizens' rights are reduced, but the chorus of politicians and journalists have convinced them that

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Media, Ethics and Politics

it is all for their own good. A strange, convoluted logic. We are reaching a point where today's democratic, uncritically accepted and fragmented political systems are working against the very democratic values they claim to uphold. Ordinary citizens and even intellectuals are caught up in an inextricable contradiction that is eating away the substance of democracy from within. We are faced with a comprehensive crisis, one that needs a comprehensive ethical approach to be resolved. The longer we avoid this critical question the longer we avoid one of the most profound challenges of our time.

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