Morning madness with the irresponsible
Morning show host Sana Tariq commended the man who allegedly threw a shoe at President Zardari while Nadia Khan encouraged her viewers not to vote. Thats morning shows for you.
I have often thought about the relevance of morning shows in our lives.
Why, despite their mindless talk, are these hosts on every other channel so popular?
Why have I never heard them say anything intelligent?
But no matter how much their chattering gets to me and no matter how I wish PEMRA could control their script and content, I make it a point to listen to them (Nadia Khan on Geo, Sana Tariq on Hum TV and Shaista Wahidi on ARY) for just a few minutes every day - sometimes hoping to hear them say something constructive or just to see their attempts at making their viewers laugh.
The shows also help me understand how our so-called educated, urban women perceive issues. This week on Sana Tariq's show 'Morning with Hum' the host talked about how "she was able to enjoy her weekend after receiving news of a man throwing a shoe at the president in Birmingham, UK."
Needless to say, I switched the channel but it got me thinking about all those viewers, those housewives who worship these hosts and look up to them. What message was being sent across? Is this the way to challenge our government and hold them accountable?
Not that I'm trying to justify the treatment meted out to former US President George W. Bush, but President Zardari is nowhere even close to being a war criminal. I don't want to get started on the sms messages and jokes about the president that followed minutes after the news flashed our television screens, but seriously, do we have no shame as a nation? It's disturbing to see how we refuse to understand that every person has some self-respect and there is a less hostile way to deal with our leaders and hold them accountable - using our power to vote.
This brings yet another popular morning show host, Nadia Khan into the discussion, who last week discouraged her audience from voting because none of the political parties, in her opinion, are competent enough to run the country.
It is sad that such big, sweeping statements come from people who are unable to even run decent morning shows.
Update 16th August 2010: This blog post was reedited in accordance with policy guidelines.
Why, despite their mindless talk, are these hosts on every other channel so popular?
Why have I never heard them say anything intelligent?
But no matter how much their chattering gets to me and no matter how I wish PEMRA could control their script and content, I make it a point to listen to them (Nadia Khan on Geo, Sana Tariq on Hum TV and Shaista Wahidi on ARY) for just a few minutes every day - sometimes hoping to hear them say something constructive or just to see their attempts at making their viewers laugh.
The shows also help me understand how our so-called educated, urban women perceive issues. This week on Sana Tariq's show 'Morning with Hum' the host talked about how "she was able to enjoy her weekend after receiving news of a man throwing a shoe at the president in Birmingham, UK."
Needless to say, I switched the channel but it got me thinking about all those viewers, those housewives who worship these hosts and look up to them. What message was being sent across? Is this the way to challenge our government and hold them accountable?
Not that I'm trying to justify the treatment meted out to former US President George W. Bush, but President Zardari is nowhere even close to being a war criminal. I don't want to get started on the sms messages and jokes about the president that followed minutes after the news flashed our television screens, but seriously, do we have no shame as a nation? It's disturbing to see how we refuse to understand that every person has some self-respect and there is a less hostile way to deal with our leaders and hold them accountable - using our power to vote.
This brings yet another popular morning show host, Nadia Khan into the discussion, who last week discouraged her audience from voting because none of the political parties, in her opinion, are competent enough to run the country.
It is sad that such big, sweeping statements come from people who are unable to even run decent morning shows.
Update 16th August 2010: This blog post was reedited in accordance with policy guidelines.