A lesson from US media | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

A lesson from US media

By: M. ASIF

IN the recent shooting spree by a 20-year-old man in Newtown, Connecticut, 26 people, including 20 children, were killed. This unfortunate incident took place in a country which is regarded as a leader in the freedom of speech and communication. But hats off to their media which neither showed details of even a single victim lying in a pool of blood nor showed the bloody remains of those departed.

The American media is rather busy in the critical analysis of the whole episode. On the other hand, our media shows details — ranging from mutilated bodies to severed human parts. The same thing happened last year when the tsunami in Japan killed thousands of people. Not even a single corpse was shown on the Japanese media.

I believe that our media should now become more responsible and mature and use the freedom of speech in a positive way, giving apt suggestions on how to deal with news related to violent acts or incidents in which deaths occur.


Dawn