News media making morning headlines
History was made in Pakistan this week when traditionally bitter rivals put aside their differences and concentrated on what they had in common, putting their personal ambition second to a greater good. Obviously, I am talking about the Shoaib-Sania wedding! What else could have possibly been worth reporting this week?
All this is a joke, of course, but it’s a joke that is meant to bring attention to a very serious issue – Are today’s journalists are doing their job and providing the in-depth reporting that the people need in order to make decisions for themselves? Or has our news media become more interested in sparkle and entertainment than hard-hitting news stories?
Today’s issue of Dawn includes an editorial that asks if the media is failing to uphold proper ethics when it concentrates so much time on a story like Shoaib-Sania marriage.
Media organisations are businesses of course but the ethos of journalism demands that ethics must not be sacrificed at the altar of the bottom line. Good taste also comes into it, though that is a more subjective issue. But consider this: in a country racked by militancy and terrorism, should a celebrity marriage dominate the news on a day when dozens are killed in suicide attacks? Should gossip about what is at best a footnote in the day’s events be deemed more important than the serious socio-political problems facing the country? News involves information, not sordid entertainment, and the line differentiating the two must be redrawn if the industry is to retain its integrity. It is not a news network’s job to titillate its audience or provide the kind of catharsis offered by film or channels dedicated to entertainment.
Dawn is not the only outlet to notice this problem. A recent post on the website NewAgeIslam.com suggests that the Pakistani news media is ‘bankrupt.’
You probably think that currently the Pakistani journalists are busy discussing and analysing the proposed amendments to the Constitution, or reporting on the first big conference of the landless farmers of Pakistan in which the intellectuals and experts expressed their opinions on the plight of farmers and their apprehensions and suggested solutions. Right? Wrong!
For Pakistani media, these affairs are less important than the Shoaib-Sania wedding. Like the Indian media, its Pakistani counterpart, particularly the Urdu and Punjabi media also considers the debates raging on the wedding more important than any other issue.
It seems that the Pakistani electronic media does not have any other topic since the day the Shoaib-Sania marriage was announced. A renowned Urdu journalist of India who regularly writes for Pakistani newspapers, recently sent a detailed report of the 9-hour long grilling of the chief minister of Gujarat by the SIT but to his surprise, he got a message which said,: “What have you sent? Please send something about the controversy involving Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza. That is the most interesting news here.” It shows that the Pakistani media has no interest in the fact that for the first time in the history of democratic countries, after the Gujarat riots of 2002 the struggles of an NGO and a wronged widow bore fruit and the chief minister of a state had to be present before an investigative team appointed by the Supreme Court and face questioning for nine long hours.
To the Pakistanis, the news was not ‘interesting’. I also got a phone call from a Pakistani TV channel asking if we had a correspondent in Hyderabad and if so, his phone number should be provided to them. On telling them that we did not have a special correspondent in Hyderabad, he asked for the telephone numbers of the Urdu dailies published from there. We helped them with whatever numbers we had but at the same time, out of curiosity, we asked them why they needed the numbers? Was it because they wanted to know about the communal riots which had engulfed the city where the last Friday prayers were offered under police protection.?
The reply was, “No, sir, forget that. Shoaib Malik has arrived at Sania Mirza’s house in Hyderabad and we want to show a live telecast of the developments there?” I thought that the Pakistani media had become so bankrupt. We agree that the wedding of Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik is news of public interest because both are star players of their respective countries and sports-lovers are familiar with their names.
But is this marriage more important than the amendments to the Pakistani Constitution under which the entire President’s powers are going to be transferred to the Prime Minister? Is this marriage more important than the problems of the poor landless farmers of Pakistan? Are the wedding celebrations of Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik more important than the massacre of thousands of men and the rape of dozens of women?
It seems that the journalists have forgotten their professional and moral duties altogether. Wisdom has surrendered before moolah. The state of the Indian media is no different. Though people do not want to watch and read only news but want all kind of spicy stuff but that does not mean that the journalists should forget that their first duty is to keep the readers and the viewers abreast of the life and the happenings scattered around them. But regretfully all this has become a thing of the past.
There is very much a place for something sweet and spicy, just as there is always a place for entertainment. I have long been a fan of cinema, and will continue to be such. But that doesn’t mean that I want to replace news reporting with dancers and playback singers. Just because I enjoy a jilebi now and again, I will not stop eating rice and only eat jilebis. If I were to do this, my body would not get the nutrients it needs to survive.
Similarly, when our ‘news’ media becomes fixated on sweet and spicy snacks, it sometimes forgets that our brains need some facts and information about the world and society around us so that our minds stay healthy and able to properly analyze information and make proper decisions.
Journalists have a responsibility to truthfully and neutrally report the facts to the people, and news media organizations have a responsibility to support and encourage journalists in their mission. A jilebi now and then is a pleasant treat, but we must make sure that our priorities in order and that we are providing the mental nutrition we need to survive.
