SLF 17 highlights key role of media in delivering quality journalism

KARACHI: Sindh Literature Festival 2017 kicked off on Friday 27th October 2017 at the Beach Luxury Hotel with a ribbon cutting ceremony and an orchestra playing Sindhi music in the background.

The three-day festival is organised to celebrate socio-political history, culture and significance of the Sindhi language and to preserve Pakistan's pluralism, tolerance and lingual diversity.  

Under one panel discussion titled, 'Kya Media ko Aisa He Hona Cha hiye' moderated by Wusatullah Khan and discussed by senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir, and Managing Director Geo TV Azhar Abbas, among others, highlighted the role of media in delivering quality content to the masses. 

When asked 'Kya Media Ko Aisa he Hona Chahiye' , Azhar Abbas agreed saying, " Yes media is a reflection of our society. We need to admit that the narrative in our country is divided and so it is reflected in the media as well." 

In reply to a question of who decides how to preserve the sanctity of news that is aired on Television, Azhar Abbas further said, "TV is competing with Social media. It needs to keep up with Social Media's pace and style or otherwise it can get ready to become irrelevant." 

He emphasied the reality about millennials who want their news 'on-the-go' so in order to cater to their highly restricted requirement, the TV needs to become fast-paced. 

But the question remained that no matter the size of the content, if the quality is not preserved then what is the point of the whole journalism?  

To which Hamid Mir aptly described, "The television is no more based on the demand and supply rule. A free market economy system should technically have free competition but which is not the case in our media. The rating system is controlled by business tycoons. 

Social issues don’t earn ratings and even if they do, the ratings are adjusted and altered in view of the larger business goals so the media remains in a disastrous state." 

Further he told the audience how there are some 'no-go' issues for journalists which they are strictly forbidden to step into.  Thus, limiting the role and scope of journalism and access to correct and true information of the masses.