Keeping in line with its penchant for excessive sensationalism, Pakistani media once again showed its disregard for important issues as it decided to highlight those issues that could not in any way be considered to have national importance. While it is true that this phenomenon is present in most parts of the world, Pakistani media is special because of the degree to which it exaggerates, and even makes certain issues appear comical through unethical but crudely entertaining renditions. As electronic media in Pakistan is blurring the lines between news reporting and drama, it is pertinent to press upon the importance of responsibilities that the news media has towards the public. The recent victim of Pakistani media’s sensationalist reporting was the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, and it was not his politics that was the subject of the media limelight. Rather, news channels decided that unverified reports of Khan’s third marriage were deserving of airtime, as Pakistan media, for inexplicable reasons, appears to be constantly fixated on it. It is of little consequence to media that the person who according to media had married Khan did not even know him, or that rumours are hardly the material that news channels should use as evidence. In their drive to be the first to break the news, these media outlets let go of even the tiny modicum of journalistic integrity and decide to put the rumour mills into further motion. All of this would be comical if Pakistan was not faced with such alarming problems that would have widespread repercussions. Whether it be the issue of the mysterious posters all over the major cities of the country “inciting” Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to carry out a coup — which not only is a treasonable offence but also is an insult to the stature of the office of the army chief — or the government-opposition deadlock over the Panama Papers issue, it seemed that for the media all that matters is whether Khan has married for the third time or not. Moreover, there are even more pressing issues in Pakistan that directly affect millions of Pakistanis but which are hardly given any airtime. The fact that Pakistan is a water-stressed country is not deemed important to be discussed, or the food insecurity that is afflicting many poor Pakistan. To make matters worse, the mainstream political discourse in Pakistan is completely devoid of the issues concerning workers or peasants. And the media hardly plays its part in bringing these issues into the mainstream. It seems that the brazen pursuit for ratings has stripped the Pakistani media of the responsibility it has towards the public for giving a balanced picture and bringing the important issues into centrestage. After all, it is all an elitist exercise in which issues that are far removed from the lives of the ordinary citizens are discussed incessantly and ad nauseam. Hence, Pakistani media should reanalyse its role, and realise that it does have certain responsibilities to the public as it has great power in setting the agenda for debate and moulding public opinion.*