Message 8th June 2003 from the Executive Director of the CJA Mr Ian Gillham:
Good journalism is at the heart of a good society. Governments and councils cannot act wisely without fair,clear and
accurate information. The people cannot assess the actions of governments and councils,and choose their rulers wisely, without fair clear and accurate information. The journalist is the bearer of the information. Fairness, clarity and accuracy are the hallmarks of a good professional.
Message 7th June 2003 from Mr David Spark the Editor of the CJA newsletter:
The course at AhmedpurEast ia an unusual venture for the Commonwealth Journalists Association. It is not being held in a major city and it is not being held in English. A donor to provide money was found, imaginative enough to see the point of offering training to journalists working in unfashionable but nevertheless important places. S.M.Fazal Pakistan CJA chapter President from Karachi told the CJA conference in Bangladesh in February that courageous but poorly paid reporters in the Pakistani countryside have been exposing social evils and human rights violations at great personal risk from militiants, bad landlords, drug smugglers and other criminals. Newspapers have been exposing honour killings of women, trafficking in women and children, bonded labour in agriculture and forced child marriages. Thousands of bonded labourers working in brick klins in the Punjab as virtual slaves have been set free through courageous work by human rights activists and bold reporting in the press. So as Mr Fazal points out,the work of journalists in such places as AhmedpurEast can make a big contribution to Pakistani society.
