LAHORE: The electronic media has not been highlighting the issues confronting the common man. Instead, it has been creating hype about non-issues.
This was the consensus among participants of a seminar on ‘Media ethics and citizens’ role’ organised by the Society for Alternative Media and Research (Samar) in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung of Germany at a hotel here on Tuesday.Speaking on the occasion, senior journalist Hussain Naqi stressed the need for sustained efforts to eliminate hegemony of the powerful ruling elite that did not allow solution to people’s problems and restrained the common man from casting vote after every decade on an average since the creation of Pakistan.
He said the media became a ‘whipping boy’ like police after its boom during which the editor’s institution was deliberately eliminated by replacing professionals with owners. This was the main cause of the deterioration of journalistic values, he said, urging the media to abide by general principles of ethics.
“Instead of enjoying its freedom, the media has resorted to and crossed all limits of wandering. The media is creating chaos during the war (on terror), distracting the public from real issues. So far, a sum of Rs74 billion has been spent on the war on terror. Had this amount been used for provision of education and jobs, there would not have been the Taliban phenomenon,” he said.
Samar Executive Director Mazhar Arif said the media was not working properly to provide quality information and a wide range of perspectives and choices to its viewers. At present, there was a lack of trust between people and the media.
Shoeb Zia, editor of a monthly, held the media responsible for the social deterioration. He said the media had been sensationalising issues and forcibly involving the common man in the issues not concerning him.
National Commission for Justice and Peace Executive Secretary Peter Jacob was of the view that the media ‘over highlighted’ the marriage of a Pakistani cricketer with an Indian tennis player, completely ignoring the lake issue at Hunza.
“Only the English-language media takes care of minorities and the rest usually ignores them,” he said.
Muttahida Labour Federation Chairman Chaudhry Yaqoob was of the view that the media had never been free because it grew up in the regime of a dictator. “All channels are holding talk shows on similar issues instead of highlighting issues of the labour class and other downtrodden segments of the society besides inherent weaknesses of the political parties. It blows minor issues out of proportion in this era of so-called competition.”
Head of Lahore College for Women University’s Mass Communication Department Anjum Zia was all praise for the Ptv and Radio Pakistan for devoting adequate time to healthy entertainment, education and public service. She said the focus should be on human interest stories. Calling for an end to the breaking news race that sometimes makes the media a tool in the hands of terrorists, she said the news stories usually depicted a lack of responsibility on part of media persons because of a lack of professionals, absence of a monitoring body to check violations of ethics and denial of access to information.
Punjab University Mass Communication Department Head Ahsan Akhtar Naz said 68 per cent of the people enjoyed talk shows like wrestling bouts during the regime of Gen Ziaul Haq.
Jameel Umer of the Awami Jamhoori Forum said the newspapers published by the Progressive Papers Ltd had been the best in Asia because they highlighted issues pertaining to the downtrodden segments of society.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/26/2010
