Public Relations, Journalism, and Human Rights: A Trifecta for Global Impact

Authored By – Surabhi Trivedi, Co-founder ( Media Maniacs Group )

The Role of Media in Human Rights Advocacy

"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened". John F. Kennedy had made this statement in the last century. No wonder it holds in the present scenario, especially regarding the role of media in Human Rights Advocacy.

Let's look at the glorious past of the media, the Pre-Independence era, to be precise. We see how Hicky’s Bengal Gazette was published in 1780 in defiance of the autocratic rule of the British East India Company. Mass media played a defining role in that period, catalysing the freedom movements of Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters.

Media and effective PR strategies have chaperoned the rights of the ordinary people, the marginalised, underprivileged, transgender people, and elderlies, and awareness around child labour and female infanticide belligerently. It is the spirit with which media has gone about championing the cause of the right to freedom in India and elsewhere in the world. The media has acted diligently to bridge the gap between the Government and the masses. The relationship between the masses and the media is symbiotic.

The existence of a democratic polity supposedly rests upon the existence of a free and independent media. To say that the media is subservient to the Government at times should not be considered as pithy as it seems. It implies that it can either have a therapeutic effect or be detrimental to the stakeholders' interests.

Ethical Journalism and PR Practices

If we look at today’s scenario, ethical journalism is the need of the hour. The set of codes that every journalist is aware of seeks and reports the truth as it is without distorting the facts and minimizing the harm by demonstrating compassion for sources and story subjects and acting independently by not falling for undue influence from lobbyists or potential newsmakers. Lastly, be accountable for any story exposing unethical practices of media. Another important aspect of ethical journalism is that it should respect the confidentiality and anonymity of its sources whenever possible and simultaneously avoid undue intrusion or harassment while collecting information. The onus is on them to protect the identity of whistle-blowers and individuals at risk.

What PR professionals pitch to the journalists should be done with utmost care and importance. It is so because, as a PR professional, what matters is the news value that it makes for its clients to be put across to its audience and carve out a niche for itself in the market as a brand. Public Relations is all about perception management. If we look into perception, it is how an individual interprets and makes sense of the world, which is influenced by their experiences, culture, belief system and the information they are exposed to. PR professionals should prioritize transparency, accuracy, honesty, integrity and reliable communication to maintain credibility. Scheming tactics that deceive the public can erode confidence and trust and have long-term consequences for the organization and the PR industry. Ethical practices should always guide the practice of PR.

Amplifying Human Rights and World Human Rights Day

Every year on the 10^th of December, we come together and celebrate the essence of being human. We have rights simply by being born as human beings. Human rights are relatively easy to understand and conjure. It is a virtue that implies one to feel respected, treated with dignity, and valued for who they are. The rights we humans have emanate from the fact that we have a Constitution that guarantees its citizens the fundamental right to live a life with human dignity.

One should not hold a myopic view when it comes to issues related to children. Children are also human beings, and they have human rights, too. PR practitioners and news professionals should raise their voices for these meek, subdued, puerile individuals. Be it child labour, child abuse, child marriage, or child sexual exploitation, they are often the most vulnerable section of society. Undoubtedly, children are the assets of the future, but at the same time, they are also the victims of most human rights violations worldwide.

What matters is that our liberty should not be abjured in the name of national security; that is to say, our right to voice our opinion should not be gagged, and this is where the role of news professionals and PR practitioners comes in. Like the lighthouses, these professionals should act as a beacon of hope to people whose voices have been trampled and gagged. So much so that even Nelson Mandela had to say that, "To deny people their human rights is challenging their very humanity".