‘Media hates criticism, but needs a lot of it’
Saher Baloch
Karachi: The media does not like criticism, “but they need it a lot”. The host began the launching of Talking Back, an extensive report highlighting the dearth of “media literacy” in Pakistan on Wednesday, with this line.
Prepared in collaboration with the National Endowment Democracy (NED) and the Uks Research Centre, the report is a work of students of eight universities across Pakistan, with the Karachi Federal Urdu University helping in the monitoring and analysis of the news content for the project.
According to the figures given in the report by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), the number of journalists has swelled from 2,000 to 10,000 in the past nine years. Speakers said that the boom of media channels after 2002 put the focus more on hiring people and less on their training.
Lack of sensitivity
The speakers were quite frank in their criticism of electronic as well as the print media. The content and tone of an anchor or reporter while presenting sensitive stories were described as “offensive” and “annoying”.
“It is all about selling the highest number of tooth paste it seems,” said Qaiser Mehmood, a veteran journalist and freelancer. “They want to sell news like a roadside vendor. And what is worse, these people believe it is their success.”
Higher ratings
Mehmood said that though the fight among the TV reporters and anchors was one of getting the highest number of ratings, which they did get to some extent, “But the fact is that people do not like the content of the news programmes anymore”.
It becomes more evident, he said, as the majority of the grievances and issues a report highlights were something that people have cribbed about at one point or another. “Lately, I have not been in a position to stop such things but have noticed them nonetheless,” he added.
Speaking of one recent report he saw on a TV channel where a man climbed an electricity pole, Mehmood said that without bothering to question the man, the media reported that “he was actually attempting suicide”.
Within seconds, there was breaking news on every channel where there was a shouting match between the reporters to outdo each other, he added. It was only when the police arrived at the scene and revealed that the man was a thief.
Another incident that Mehmood says made him feel bad about the lack of research on the part of reporters was the one where it was alleged that three Hindu doctors had been killed in Sindh. “There was only one doctor. Among the other two, one was an income tax officer and the other, a shopkeeper.”
Showing “filth and gore”
The report states many incidents where TV channels replayed gruesome scenes over and over again. Though it is against the rules set by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) the question the report asks is whether the channels do it deliberately?
An excerpt in the report, from the Pakistan Media Watch website, said: “We need to have an honest discussion about our own judgment as journalists and how we can inform the public by respecting those who have been affected as a result of crime or accident.”
Monitoring
How much of the news televised are being monitored? Mehmood said that monitoring was fast becoming an extinct concept as there were “very few people who determine who watches what anymore”.
Wusatullah Khan, a columnist for BBC Urdu, said that looking at the cover of the report, he thought it was the same old topic. “But while reading it I thought that how much do we ask from the people who bring news to us?”
In his short but impact-leaving speech, Khan told the participants that looking for balanced news was like looking for an original CD of evergreen music in a market full of “jhankar” beats.
Though he was visibly critical of the role of NGOs, he did praise the efforts of taking the first step towards media literacy.
“It would have felt better if this effort had been done by a media house. The report not only highlights the problems but the solutions as well.”
Tasneem Ahmar, Director Uks Research Centre, said that the effort was only to enumerate issues beyond catchy one-liners and sensational headlines. “It is important that we start making a person from a lower class to listen to the news more critically rather than passively.”
According to the report, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer’s murder was linked to bad reporting by the electronic media.
Analysis of the content
According to the content analysis of electronic and print media in the report, electronic media has fared really bad on all counts of gender sensitivity.
The channels were analysed on the basis on whether they challenge stereotypes. Azadi Fateh, a researcher with Uks, says that there is bias and discrimination against rape victims in the electronic media. She gave the example of an interview of Mukhtaran Mai taken by a TV anchor a few months back. “His tone and language regarding her made it evident what he thought of her. And that attitude trickles down to the lower classes as well who watch these programs religiously.”
Most of the print content, according to the report, was “well-written, analytical and objective”.
Terrorism is one subject which the report states and takes up more space than any other news item.
Source: The News
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