“Television is not the Truth.
Television is god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival, a
traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, sideshow
freaks, lion tamers and football players. We're in the boredom killing
business.” Paddy Chayevsky probably would have said this to interpret the
attitude of second-generation’s Americans depiction and sentiment and humor
through Television in America at his times, but it wouldn’t be wrong, if we
today generalize the functioning of our 24x7 TV channels on such ironical
statement, particularly, When an average Pakistani starts his day by listening
morning news and wraps it up by watching the late night’s prime time opinions,
all just to keep himself informed of truth and reality.
No doubt, Media can profile growth, governance, can serve audience to be their
third eye, a prolonged ear so that they be clued-up of future trends and the
holder of an accountable perception regarding their public representatives,
policy and institutions, yet today one can easily lament that in pretext of
information and entertainment, commonly called infotainment, media, particularly
Television channels, have perceptually crossed all the social confines and have
kept the freedom of expression for granted.
The most distressing aspect to one is that under present media boom number of
Channels have been ridiculing the worth of journalistic standards. The major
indictment to any independent analyst would be their sensationalization to
construct news rapidly instead of waiting for it to occur and complete
logically. This on-going dramatic hunt for creation of veracity at Prime time
circus has been visible to the extent these days that one would find it hard
even to differentiate between the contents of a mainstream channel and a low
rate eveningar. The media thus one can say has transformed totally into a circus
presenting an artificial polarized world to stretch contents and time to serve
advertisers interests.
Sheer sensationalism and an over-enthusiasm to “report” with its glorification
and appreciation under breaking News, seek out of certain social and political
issues, have now started to give the impression of media to its typical viewers
who had been watching it regularly for certain years as a business with
desperate acts of pathetic dynamics.
The quality of the coverage of the May 12 events, Kashmir Earthquake, 2010
floods, NRO, Memo Gate scandal, Skindar’s occupation of road in islamabad and
other legal issues by most television channels, though elaborate, was alleged
full of insensitivity, a branded haste and propounded populist view.
In the name of ‘analysis’ and ‘political discourse’, most news channels have now
decided to operate on a popular formula that was formerly associated with Urdu
Mainstream press. The formula, which once asked newspapers to cover more of
those events and issues which had their pitch against the immediate government,
and consequently those papers grabbed more readership, circulation and
advertisements than their neutral counterparts. This may be one of the reasons
in establishing such long lasting fad where every Pakistani with average
intellect feels obligatory to criticize the sitting government otherwise his
patriotism like National interest would be at stake. This also gave promotion to
the filthy culture of TV talk shows as the amount of unnamed blunt disgrace for
each other determines the success of that Show and channel among audience today.
Violent and brutal imagery being shown on some channels these days appears to be
a serious threat to youth- the majority in Pakistan- who, are trying to foster
an attitude out of what has been extended to them as an inspirational ideal by
the society. The instinctive human lust for power and popularity, according to
some, is compelling youth under media influence to boost the crime ratio in
Pakistan, particularly in cases when our depressed youth had been reportedly
gone for an end instead of mean. The popularity of ‘gun toys’ among children and
their rich sale in Pakistan is another socio-psychological facet to this aspect.
To judge impact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration in saying that ‘toy Gun’ is the
only toy for sale at present especially with the wander sellers of KP Province.
Apart of this psychological depression, Glamour glitz, extravaganza and lavish
living standard shown in entertainment side is usually followed-on by
frustration in the country whose more than 17% of total population is living
below the poverty line and is dependent over this magic box as a solitary
amusement might in their leisure. The closure of alternative media in form of
cinema and CDs shop in KPK province has increased the might of TV. This
dependency has been increasing persistently due to the amount of economic
crisis, law and order, sectarianism and formative terrorism in the society and
its happening that in order to achieve the same luxurious life as shown on TV a
deprived develops a cathartic attitude towards them through crimes and
corruption, the things which were unintentional on a part of media.
With a shift in focus from quality to quantity to catch more advertisers, a
flood of programs copying the content lines from across the border,
unfortunately, had increased dramatically with the passage of time. It’s obvious
from the content analysis that re-telecasting an Indian Program has become more
the matter of competition and marketing tool for every TV channel.
The most horrible thing to learn was media also being used to support objectives
of Miscreants. The media due to lack of professional approach unintentionally
served the miscreant’s agenda in fear proliferation as TV channels in order to
get scoop gave full coverage to miscreants, even interviewed some Taliban and
Al-Qaeda leadership and aired their activities ranging from showing the military
hostages to blowing of military vehicles. This boosted the militant’s morale to
the extent that they gathered more influence and started disseminating contents
through Compact Discs and went for establishing mobile FM Radio Stations. This
also endangered the life of journalists and many were assassinated in this
pretext fulfilling the lines of their professional duties.
However, the biggest contribution the media has made to the society is that it
has politically sensitized the masses towards democratic process to an extent
that it has become virtually impossible for anyone to revert it. For instance,
we can say that during the movement for restoration of democracy participation
on such large scale became possible only due to media, and in the past elections
the reason behind people flocking to polling stations using their right of
voting can easily be attributed to TV channels without any second thought, such
may be the case for National and International NGOs taking interest in flood
Relief activities at that larger scale. In this connection, the photo session
and media coverage with maroon people as a proof of political presence and party
publicity also compelled the politician to travel to flood-rotten areas.
Similarly, what more than 65 years of political wrangling hadn’t done, these
channels successfully did in past eight or nine years and people through media
in Pakistan have gained greater political wisdom. The fact to this is that a
kind of unformulated opposition in the masses can be significantly felt today
against feudalistic approach, power politics and social extremism. The dynamics
of these relationships with state as well as among society have changed
strikingly from past when a detribalized society wasn’t been shaped by the 24X7
screen. The rise of tareek-e-Insaaf can be viewed in this perspective.
To be conclusive of what we have been saying is, we can say that our relatively
young enthusiastic electronic media has committed few mistakes and sacrificed
definite standards operating under certain impulses evolved out of our own
endogenous circumstances, yet the most positive thing for media critics is that
media itself has been critical of its role and debates have been ranged by them
to analyze what social responsibility demands of them. It’s obviously more
democratic in nature, and unlike old state run channel, the inclusion of
opposition’s point of view by these channels, the information for viewers today
is processed in much effective manner. Similarly, Growth of electronic media has
also provided its viewers the alternative options to listen and watch what they
please. One can say that the era of forced information and forced entertainment
has come to an end in Pakistan. But for an average Pakistani, Who believes in
media’s might, it is still a circus with scripted vivid truth and reality.