Our Media
By Misbah U. Azam, PhD
Phoenix, AZ
A mike, TV screen and a pen were shown wearing a suicide bombers’ jacket in a cartoon published in a Pakistani newspaper. It was unfortunate that this blatant attack on the media was launched by a fellow cartoonist, who tried to label the electronic and print media as terrorists, forgetting that if the pen could be identified with a terrorist then they too are part of the despicable community.
One should look into the history of our media and decide for himself if the media deserves to be treated so shabbily.
1. Dictators before Musharraf had done every thing in their power to crush the media. Z. A. Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif too did not tolerate the media. Benazir did not interfere too much with the print media but PTV remained under serious pressure under her continuing advices. General Musharraf, initially overtly confident, supported the media’s freedom but he underestimated the talent of young Pakistani journalists to search for the truth. Their talent is widely accepted by veteran journalists and political analysts today. Recently, in his new book, “The Duel”, famous commentator Tariq Ali wrote about the Musharraf government thus: “The airwaves were liberated. As a result, a range of new stations mushroomed, often providing higher quality news, reportage and analysis than their counterparts in India or Britain”.
2. From time to time some of the anchors use inappropriate terms and take the side of the opposition in slighting the government spokesperson, which is not right and against journalistic ethics. But calling them terrorists is most unfortunate and condemnable by everyone.
3. It is widely believed that the lawyers’ movement was one reason that the world saw relatively free general elections on Feb. 18, 2008, where the government party had to face clear defeat. Without the media’s support this movement could not have produced such stunning results..
4. Having open discussions about the economy, foreign policy and other issues which are important for the ordinary citizens, the media educated the masses who brought sustained pressure on the government to deliver. The in-camera session on the war on terror and consensus resolution would not have materialized if Pakistan would have had only government controlled media, especially the sate-controlled electronic media.
Private media is one of the great achievements of the constant struggle of journalists and civil society. It provided the ears, eyes and voice to the deprived people. It is slowly but surely turning into the country’s most organized institution. Everyone who wants to see Pakistan progress should be supportive of this institution.
The government functionaries who are worried about the soft image of Pakistan should understand that private media is not only improving Pakistan’s image by its openness and truthfulness, but also becoming the pride of Pakistanis living abroad.
Now, people inside and outside Pakistan do not have to go to the NY Times, BBC or CNN to get the news; they can rely on their country’s media, which is, to a large extent, more credible than the Western media.
