Case study

A recent case in point is that of the Pakistan International Airlines Spokesperson and Public Affairs
General Manager Syed Sultan Hasan, who filed a lawsuit against Dawn TV for allegedly making an
illegal video of him without his permission. He is seeking Rs1 billion in damages from the network.
According to Hasans version, a three-member team of the network came to his office one day and asked
for an interview with their managing director. When Hasan said that he would have to schedule an
appointment with the MD, the media team asked him to comment on their story on PIA.
But I refused to be interviewed since I didnt have the requisite approval from my management, he said.
However, Hasan claimed, despite his clear refusal to be interviewed, the media team without his
knowledge continued to film him secretly.
Im a public affairs person and part of my job is to meet and engage with journalists, so thats exactly
what I did with these people and carried on having gup shup (small talk) with them, he revealed.
A clip from this meeting was then allegedly used by the network in their special expos programme on
PIA in which Hasan can be seen fumbling with recalling how many aircraft the state-owned airline even
possessed.
Dawn TV Director News Mubashir Zaidi said the video of Hasan was made using a mobile phone by
members of his team who were doing an expos on the PIA. He said the network was defending their
actions in court because they believed they were right.
Regarding the use of hidden cameras and recording equipment without prior knowledge of individuals,
Zaidi said: I believe if a reporter is convinced that he is working on a big expos, only then should it be
used.
He said it was imperative for a reporter to gather as much evidence as he/she can especially when dealing
with such big stories. One has to be very, very selective in the use of hidden cameras, he added.
The case between PIAs Hasan and Dawn TV remains pending at the Sindh High Court.
Meanwhile, senior analyst Mazhar Abbas told The Express Tribune that use of hidden cameras is a gray
area in broadcast journalism where it is generally accepted that the private lives of public office bearers
also comes in the public domain.
Abbas said there are also cases where reporters engaged in the use of hidden cameras not to bring the
truth out, but for blackmailing purposes.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist Secretary General Amin Yusuf blamed the infiltration of fake
journalists and bad eggs within the media industry for the ongoing unethical practices.

There are no hard and fast rules. In some cases, it can be justified if a story is of great public interest and
there is no other way to get it, says Columbia University Toni Stabile Centre for Investigative
Journalism Director and veteran Philippines investigative reporter Sheila Coronel (via email from New
York).