Is this journalism?

Journalism is seen as a noble profession, with journalists telling truth to power and holding the powerful to account. It stands for something greater than winning the ratings war or maligning competitors. Unfortunately, these days we are seeing some distressing examples of how journalism also has the power to unfairly destroy people and erode its own credibility. Much of the media coverage of the rape and murder of little Zainab has crossed all bounds of decency. It started with irresponsible journalists interviewing young children and adding to their distress. Now, stories are being concocted about the alleged killer. One prominent TV anchor recently went to the extent of claiming that the main accused in the Zainab case is part of an international child pornography racket and holds 37 bank accounts. The TV anchor also said he believed that the Punjab government was protecting the suspect. These claims led to the Supreme Court asking for an investigation into the matter. Predictably, nothing of the sort was found, with the State Bank confirming that Imran, the accused, did not indeed hold 37 bank accounts. Such fabricated reports, whether done for sensationalist reasons or to push a particular agenda, undermine the credibility of the entire media.

This same TV personality has in the past too come up with fantastical – and completely unfounded – claims, such as the infamous 35 punctures story. It seems there are those in the media who will not even spare the dead and mutilated bodies of children in their zeal to push their own narrative. The problem is that certain individuals and organisations have made a habit of putting out false stories and indulging in character assassination. This time too this particular TV anchor has been unable to back up his explosive claims, telling the Supreme Court that he had only made public information he had received and that it was the job of the court to verify it. This is a mind-boggling dereliction of duty since a journalist’s job is to only put out substantiated news and not every rumour that is passed on by people with vested interests. He essentially wasted the time of the police and the courts, both of whom are already struggling with a backlog of cases. It does boggle the mind that those who repeatedly push fake news still retain a shred of credibility, be it among the political class or through their boosters on social media. As long as people share an agenda, truth takes a backseat. Ideally, the media would be able to regulate itself. Since it has shown itself not up to the task, there is a need for responsible action by the likes of Pemra. That means taking to task those who do not follow the basic tenets of journalism without punishing all of journalism.