The Pakistani media lacks educated, trained and professional hosts and anchors.
LUMS, LAHORE: The Pakistani media lacks educated, trained and professional hosts and anchors. Instead of taking part in responsible journalism and taking an objective and critical approach to events, they are biased, sensationalist and speculative.
The killing of 15 FC soldiers by the Taliban are not given due coverage. However, when our soldiers are killed by Nato, when drones attack terrorist targets in Fata, or when Osama bin Laden is taken out by US forces in Abbottabad, a lot of hype is created, anti-Americanism is fanned and a weak civilian government is blamed. The security establishment, however, in all matters goes unquestioned and unaccounted for.
The television anchor instead of mediating and trying to expose both sides of the story is often opinionated and follows a biased agenda of his/her own. The show usually resembles a shouting match, cutting off the other speaker in mid sentence with blundering accusations, without enlightening the viewership on the programme in any manner.
Such a media not only deludes the viewership into a biased account of events, it also contributes to the growing culture of intolerance and extremism. The media must follow a code of conduct and their actions must be scrutinised by active viewership.
Bela Khan,
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2012.
