Media has always been a fundamental element in every democracy in terms of its role and importance. It is one of the most potent tools which fills the vacuum between the ruling authority and the people with their needs and aspirations. The power of the media channels is such that it can give life to a dead person in minutes and can mourn the death of a live person in the next few seconds!
Nowadays, it can be very explicitly seen that our “National News Channels” are providing the maximum airtime to Pakistan.
It seems quite ironic that the national news channels are devoting maximum time to report news relating to Pakistan. This makes the people question that aren’t there more urgent national issues left to be dealt with?
Such maximum broadcasting with enthusiasm in the recent time has been witnessed; be it the plans of Pakistan’s army, the open threats of their PM or about their religious practices.
These channels have slipped from their way of being ‘Information Providers‘ to TRP Makers, or should we name them the BIASED NEWS CHANNELS. Yes, news about Pakistan and their strategy are essential. However, just sticking on to one arena and forgetting about the internal matters is not a good idea, when you are titled as ‘NATIONAL NEWS CHANNELS‘.
The relationship of both countries has always been on onerous terms since partition. Thus it is obvious to have an eye on each other’s policies, political movies and more.
The perfect example of this is the revocation of Article 370 recently, which provided equal status to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir. The news channels were seen flooded with the news related to the emergence of a powerful India and Pakistan’s aggressive reply towards it. Thus the journey of abrogation and related issues began and is still going on.
The reform was a huge step in the progress of the country and was welcomed by all the citizens. However, there are national matters which has to be given equal importance and are to be covered by these news giants. Some of the subject such as; GDP growth, climatic change, the motor act, the farmer’s oppression across the country, economic drop and more hardly made into the headlines. Ignoring these issues/ rather sidelining these issues, what are these media channel trying to bring forth.
The holistic nature of both nations should not hamper the intellectual awakening of their citizens. Hence, there is an urgent need to shift our focus and attention toward more meaningful and comprehensive growth. National news channel needs to understand and fulfil their duties as information providers. They should know that people need to be made aware of internal affairs as much as the external affairs of the country.
Dedicating hours on debates, talks, news about other countries won’t help us in growth. If a nation needs to grow, the citizens need to be informed, made aware of and thereby push the government to take actions.
As Jim Morrison rightly said; “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.”
So media houses it’s time you follow the ethics of being a National Media Channels and let people know the truth about the whole spectrum, not just the nucleus.
