A definite improvement

The electronic media is improving in its role of using its power to force the public to shake off its apathy.

It has become a veritable pastime among many to harp on the shortcomings of the electronic media. Sometimes, however, it behooves us to point out the ability of TV channels to spur a jaded population and bring about meaningful change. That was certainly the case with the collective coverage by the electronic media of the incident in Sialkot where two boys were lynched to death while policemen and other bystanders idly watched by. All news channels repeatedly played this clip, engendering not only an outburst of anger and shame from the public, but also forcing the government to take action and arrest the guilty. There is a precedent for the electronic media using its power to force the public to shake off its apathy. When news channels aired the video of a young woman being brutally flogged in Swat, it helped galvanise a sea-change in public opinion in favour of an operation against the Taliban.

Furthermore, despite its obvious shortcomings, the media has done a good job of giving a human face to the flood catastrophe, bringing the woes of flood-affected people to the television screens and newspaper pages. Unlike with the earthquake of 2005, when the electronic media in particular was at an early stage of maturity, for the most part the channels have made an effort to avoid exploiting the miseries of those they cover. This is not to say that the coverage has been perfect; there has been too much emphasis on human-interest stories at the cost of broader, structural analysis. There are critics who feel that the electronic media goes overboard in its constant repetition of the same disturbing images. That is inherent in the culture of the 24-hour news cycle, where it is difficult to prevent the recycling of content. And in any case it is not the job of the media to shield the public from reality, but rather to portray it, brutal and unpleasant as it may be.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2010.