Daily Times

In today’s day and age, the Pakistani media plays a key role in how our mindsets are shaped. That, however, comes at the cost of absolutely nothing being sacred anymore. Everything seems to be up for sale, whether it be loss, grief or even faith.

The media does indeed do incalculable amounts of good to society when it comes to conveying information on a daily basis. Pakistan has benefited greatly from many a political talk show, and the plethora of existing news channels give us a wide spectrum of information to learn from. What’s worrying to see, however, is how limitless a monster the media has the capacity to become. Limits have become increasingly blurred, and checks and balances seem nowhere in sight. Pakistani channels are engrossed in a vicious rat race; the one who has the most ratings wins. But don’t we know what they say about rat races anyway? He who wins is still a rat.

Switch on any news channel as you read this, and you will see one of three things: somebody’s tears being zoomed in on, a reporter proudly stating that he/she is reporting to you live from a scene of carnage and bloodshed first, or a channel telling you in boisterous tones how their Ramazan transmission is absolutely fantastic, and creating history.

Really?

Have broadcasts come down to being nothing more than a competition of sensationalised headlines, with facts not mattering much? A recent illustration of this point is when a leading news channel reported the news of the birth of the Royal baby in the UK with much gusto (as was expected, right?) with more factual inaccuracies than was acceptable in the real world of televised reporting. Incidents such as these are an embarrassment to those relying on the media for credible sources of information. It appears as if the most important thing to do is to report something before anyone else has, or have more viewers than anyone else, with little or no regard for what is actually being broadcast.

Take situations of loss, for instance. In the unfathomable moment where you lose a loved one and choose the media as a means of creating awareness about the tragic incident, there is now an almost set ‘procedure’ that you need to follow. The first thing a grieving family must do is to give an ‘interview’. It is not enough that they themselves have lost their heart and soul in the form of a family member, no. They must appear on the news, at the mercy of the cameras, which zoom in on their tears, focusing on their drenched eyelashes, with a pitiful soundtrack playing in the background. It is no wonder most families choose not to resort to these methods, and just remain closed in their silence and grief, relying solely on less flashy means of attaining justice. A family’s grief is not up for a public display of attention. The loved one’s life meant so much more to them than any news channel could possibly portray it to have meant. And the lesson to be learnt from this increasing media frenzy is simple: a sensationalised headline that garners attention for a week or maybe two is never worth the unnecessary drama that comes with it in the long run. The greatest tragedy lies in knowing that even heart-wrenching loss such as this has become nothing more than an opportunity for gains.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that most news channels eagerly devour the reality of loss and grief, we have now also been bestowed with certain Ramzan transmissions that do not cease to shock us during sehr and iftar. There is absolutely nothing wrong with religious channels spreading knowledge during this holy month of Ramzan, in fact, quite the opposite. They are doing the nation and Islam a huge service! Many of us watch sehr and iftar shows with avid interest, and with an intention to learn from everything our learned scholars have to offer. Currently, there are many shows where these Islamic religious scholars are present to answer questions we previously (perhaps) did not have the answers to. This is a month in which Muslim families can sit together and gain so much from the correct (and sensible) broadcasting that the media can (and does in most cases) undertake.

But of course, there are always the exceptions.

Watching segments of some of these transmissions, one wonders whether it is essential to utter in every breath of a sentence taken that a certain cellular network is sponsoring xyz item. Is it necessary to turn what could be a spiritually enriching experience into a five-hour live advertisement for brands that would, in a more normal world, be saving their slogans for the billboards, and not during the breaking of our fasts? The media in this instance needs to ask itself if it can afford to let certain hosts take this religious time hostage. Many of us had the misfortune of watching a certain show where religion is shamelessly sold as a means of gaining ratings, where the host openly ridiculed and humiliated a singer he himself invited onto the show, went on to hand out a baby (as a ‘prize’) to an audience member (ridiculing all semblance of sense in the process), and finally, acted in a threatening manner towards those who write columns criticising his behaviour. The host is not to blame in my opinion (although we should most definitely hope he gets well soon); the blame needs to be given to the people who provide him with a forum to exhibit his antics.

It is a morbid state of affairs when even the Holy month of Ramzan is not safe from our blind need to cash in on it. Why is it that when the majority of channels find it within themselves to control the need to go overboard with regard to their Ramzan transmission, one of the main channels in the country can’t rein in a man so hell-bent on making a mockery out of this exquisitely important religious time? Has the media created a bazaar so vast that it is now alright for anything and everything to be sold on it? Here, the word ‘ethics’ comes to mind. Ethics need to be re-evaluated and (re)established before we become victimised by the monster that we ourselves have created.

There is nothing wrong with having a vibrant media that provides us with food for thought. But there is a line that needs to be drawn for everything. Political talk show debates shouldn’t become synonymous with ‘shout-fests’, a mother weeping for her late husband or child shouldn’t have to battle a camera lens out of her face, and religion should under no circumstances be thrown at the mercy of what can be termed a ‘scavenger’ mentality. Buying and selling is an age-old custom, but not everything is for sale. Let’s show some respect and keep it that way.

The writer is a lawyer by qualification and can be reached on twitter @writergirl_11