In any functioning democracy, the media is considered to be the fourth pillar of the state. The role of the media is to inform the general public and be very transparent and impartial in its reporting. The viewer should get his or her due form of information in its truest and honest form.
The media landscape of Pakistan expanded its horizon when General Pervez Musharraf came into power. A plethora of television channels was introduced over these years. The big print media publications also branched out into the electronic media and established themselves as household names which viewers frequently get their news from. With the introduction of such a grand scale revolution in electronic media, it was obviously necessary for a regulatory body to be introduced. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was promulgated to keep a check and balance on the channels so that they would not air anything provocative, blasphemous or anti-state. Unfortunately, so far various governments have used the body to carry out their own particular agenda instead of letting the body be independent. However, saying this would be contradictory as channels themselves seem to have taken sides with various political parties, which undermines the media's responsibility of being transparent and impartial as mentioned above.
The viewer browsing through the talk shows on any night will notice that one particular channel will be unleashing a promotional campaign for a political party whereas another channel will be maligning the same political party – making a clear and transparent judgment on behalf of the viewer very difficult. Providing a choice to the viewer is certainly essential. The extreme manner in which the promotion and maligning takes place leaves the viewer confused as to which party is right and which is wrong - or even what the basic facts are. However, it does seem as though the edge will lie with the ruling government.
Karl Marx in his instrumentalist theory of media states that the media has an ideological function. It creates and manifests concepts in the viewers’ minds which provide them with the judgment to declare who is right and wrong. The theory believes that the media reflects the opinions of the ruling class and hence is largely unregulated because the political elite belong to the ruling class. It has been witnessed that Pakistani governments in the recent past have used the media to promote themselves and promote an ideology where they seem to be the saviours of Pakistan, leaving very little room for the viewers and population at large to decide whether the government is truly correct or not. Such news being transmitted forms a one-dimensional thought process into the minds of the viewers.
When observing international news channels, one does seem to get the feeling that the news is delivered “as it is.” It has been relatively 20 odd years since the news channels have sprung up in Pakistan but the news being delivered to the viewers seems to be questionable.
To be sure, there are some channels where news is delivered more or less like international media outlets. This provides a sense of relief to all those viewers who would like to receive their news in a transparent and honest manner instead of news being sensationalized.
In order for this to be the standard way, it is very important for PEMRA to be independent. In recent times we have seen curbs being put on the media in such an extreme manner that an entire channel has been taken off air. Not only does this create extreme hurdles to press freedom but also creates an environment of fear that if other channels do not follow a specific line, then they too will receive the same fate.
However, it also very pertinent to understand the environment of a certain country before broadcasting anything which could be deemed as maligning or offensive. For a country like Pakistan, there are many sensitive issues which might be portrayed in such a way that it is perceived as offensive or demeaning. It is very important to identify such issues and not highlight them as they could have a fateful effect on the country.
Apart from electronic media, in today's digital age, social media does seem to be leading the way in which we receive our news. A mechanism should be put in place to regulate social media so that fake news is curtailed. The digital world is very difficult to properly understand, and in Pakistan there are moments when social media erupts into a frenzy which seems to be uncontrollable. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) is in place, but the document mentions at the end that there is “no law to comprehensively deal with the growing threat of cybercrime.”
Perhaps our esteemed and honourable parliamentarians should take the matter up and devise a full-fledged law which can curtail the menace of cybercrime and allow an already untapped medium to flourish in a legitimate and legal manner.
The media landscape of Pakistan expanded its horizon when General Pervez Musharraf came into power. A plethora of television channels was introduced over these years. The big print media publications also branched out into the electronic media and established themselves as household names which viewers frequently get their news from. With the introduction of such a grand scale revolution in electronic media, it was obviously necessary for a regulatory body to be introduced. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was promulgated to keep a check and balance on the channels so that they would not air anything provocative, blasphemous or anti-state. Unfortunately, so far various governments have used the body to carry out their own particular agenda instead of letting the body be independent. However, saying this would be contradictory as channels themselves seem to have taken sides with various political parties, which undermines the media's responsibility of being transparent and impartial as mentioned above.
The viewer browsing through the talk shows on any night will notice that one particular channel will be unleashing a promotional campaign for a political party whereas another channel will be maligning the same political party – making a clear and transparent judgment on behalf of the viewer very difficult. Providing a choice to the viewer is certainly essential. The extreme manner in which the promotion and maligning takes place leaves the viewer confused as to which party is right and which is wrong - or even what the basic facts are. However, it does seem as though the edge will lie with the ruling government.
Karl Marx in his instrumentalist theory of media states that the media has an ideological function. It creates and manifests concepts in the viewers’ minds which provide them with the judgment to declare who is right and wrong. The theory believes that the media reflects the opinions of the ruling class and hence is largely unregulated because the political elite belong to the ruling class. It has been witnessed that Pakistani governments in the recent past have used the media to promote themselves and promote an ideology where they seem to be the saviours of Pakistan, leaving very little room for the viewers and population at large to decide whether the government is truly correct or not. Such news being transmitted forms a one-dimensional thought process into the minds of the viewers.
When observing international news channels, one does seem to get the feeling that the news is delivered “as it is.” It has been relatively 20 odd years since the news channels have sprung up in Pakistan but the news being delivered to the viewers seems to be questionable.
To be sure, there are some channels where news is delivered more or less like international media outlets. This provides a sense of relief to all those viewers who would like to receive their news in a transparent and honest manner instead of news being sensationalized.
In order for this to be the standard way, it is very important for PEMRA to be independent. In recent times we have seen curbs being put on the media in such an extreme manner that an entire channel has been taken off air. Not only does this create extreme hurdles to press freedom but also creates an environment of fear that if other channels do not follow a specific line, then they too will receive the same fate.
However, it also very pertinent to understand the environment of a certain country before broadcasting anything which could be deemed as maligning or offensive. For a country like Pakistan, there are many sensitive issues which might be portrayed in such a way that it is perceived as offensive or demeaning. It is very important to identify such issues and not highlight them as they could have a fateful effect on the country.
Apart from electronic media, in today's digital age, social media does seem to be leading the way in which we receive our news. A mechanism should be put in place to regulate social media so that fake news is curtailed. The digital world is very difficult to properly understand, and in Pakistan there are moments when social media erupts into a frenzy which seems to be uncontrollable. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) is in place, but the document mentions at the end that there is “no law to comprehensively deal with the growing threat of cybercrime.”
Perhaps our esteemed and honourable parliamentarians should take the matter up and devise a full-fledged law which can curtail the menace of cybercrime and allow an already untapped medium to flourish in a legitimate and legal manner.