Soft news, anyone?

News in general inspires one to know more. If you are concerned somehow with the making of news, your business would genuinely mean a lot to you. Recently, I had the chance to attend the rukhsati reception of Sharmila Faruqi and Hashaam Riaz Shiekh. As a news buff, I tried gathering all the stuff that was happening right in front of me as I had to report on it later. A lot of people read and remarked on the story. The interest in it was such that on the first day of its publication, it was the most read piece of all on The Express Tribune website. However, there were people who genuinely started to have problems with what I had reported. All I reported on was what the bride was wearing that day, how she was looking, how happy she was, who was in attendance and what was served in dinner.

But there were readers who had commented on the “looted maal”, the “thugs in our own land”, and all the “taxpayers’ money” that was used in having such an elaborate guest list! I, for one, can’t afford to be judgmental. I am a reporter and, without dabbling into biases, I report on what I see as I see it. This unbiased approach is instrumental when it comes to reporting. What I saw, I reported on it likewise.

News-making is no mean feat.

People get married all over the world. The marriages of the elite are the ones which are reported about in all glossy magazines the very next day. It’s fair to criticise people in general but pointed attacks against particular people should be avoided. Why is it that in Pakistan any soft news coming out of newspapers has to be dragged through the gutter? Why can’t we sometimes act normally and behave normally, like the rest of the civilised world? With all due respect to the Queen of Great Britain, and the money spent on Prince William’s wedding to Catherine Middleton, did we see the British media or even the international media throw any limelight on the wedding in a negative manner? No we didn’t. The British had courage enough to respect and own a national wedding and enjoy the day to its fullest, with all the details coming out in the newspapers. It was sheer joy to read about the wedding. We in Pakistan have disdain for everything. We have become such negative beings that we do not like to cherish the little niceties in our lives, or in the lives of others.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2015.