‘Professionalism in media industry was compromised post-2000’

Although there was an undeniable boom in Pakistan’s electronic media industry once it was freed from state ownership post-2000, that era marks the start of our industry’s decline as professionalism was compromised.

These views were expressed by renowned journalist and columnist Wusatullah Khan on Thursday at a lecture titled ‘Is media part of the problem or solution?’ hosted under the auspices of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Chair, University of Karachi, at the varsity’s Arts Auditorium. 

Elaborating on his view, Khan said that the boom in television channels heralded the start of a damaging trend – the race for ratings. “With the introduction of such practices, the standards of professionalism in Pakistan’s media industry were compromised. Having set ratings as a mark of success, we witnessed the unfortunate rise in importance of sensational news.”

The noted journalist also spoke of the effect left on the media industry by repressive policies of various rulers. “Journalists who try to spread truth among the masses tend to face the harshest criticism. However, we did not even care much for the restrictions we faced under the Zia regime.”

Earlier, Sahar Gull, director of the SMBB Chair, spoke of Pakistani society’s disintegration on various grounds. However, she observed that people such as Wusatullah Khan were fortunately among those accepted by every segment of our society.