New challenges to media

As Pakistan's electronic media reach new heights in the last few years and become one of the strongest and powerful organs of the state, it is confronted with numerous challenges and pressures, both within and outside.

No doubt it has a lot of positives and it has become a strong source of information, but the problematic area begins when professional ethics become hostage to ratings and in the process fake news, fake information replace factual ones. The media is not supposed to set the agenda, but its prime responsibility is to give 'factual information and news based on facts. Accuracy is key to journalism.

Solution to these challenges depends on the approach to address the problematic areas. As long as channels or programmes’ rating remain the only source for profit drive, the anchors and director news and programming would remain under constant pressure, the issues like the one under scrutiny at the highest level i.e. Supreme Court of Pakistan.

There is one basic solution to the problem i.e. ease the pressure of ratings from news and programming department and shift it back to marketing side as bringing commercials or looking for advertisement is not job of a journalist or anchor. Their job is collection of news based on facts and anchor's job is to do a show based on strong content. They are neither actor nor marketing people to do something they are not trained for.

If media houses and advertisers are able to come out with solution to ratings, and discourage news and shows based on negativity and false information, the journalist and anchors would do their job in a more professional manner.

Pakistani media needs good professional journalists, editors and news and programme directors, and not media quacks. If we are unable to address rating factor, there is every possibility that the culture of spin the news and twisting the story would continue.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), constituted by three members bench of the Supreme Court, in Lahore on Sunday, to examine the alleged information given by noted anchor, Dr Shahid Masood, in his show and he stands by his claim and thus, the burden of proof lies with him.

If the anchor is able to place evidence or record before the JIT, of his claim like bank accounts of accused and links of a federal minister and his friend, this report could even become part of any book on Investigative Journalism. If he fails, it would still become part of the book, but in negative context as why it is important to verify your facts.

He has chosen right to stand by, on his allegations and ignored an advise of fellow colleagues to regret or tender an apology.

For the last one week, the media and anchors are not following the news, but on the contrary they themselves have become part of the news. The media which has the credit of breaking and creating hype of a high-profile case of rape and murder of young girl Zainab, is now confronting the question giving allegedly fake information. Thus, in addition to the original story of Zainab, the investigators are now probing the disclosures of the anchor Dr Shahid Masood, in this case and till now unable to find any of 36 bank accounts of accused Imran nor about the federal minister and his friend's link with this racket.

So, in the last four days, the focus of the media has shifted from the real story to the alleged fictitious information as till this day the anchor has not placed any relevant document before the court or in his program. But, all is not lost for him and if he be able to place some of these documents, which he had claimed before the JIT formed by SC, he would be rightly get the certificate of credibility. Journalists’ biggest reward has been his or her credibility and embarrassment when its information or news proven wrong.

What happened in the Supreme Court on Sunday, was quite an experience for me. I would not call it a wake-up call as in the last 15 years, since the private TV channels were launched there had been wake-up calls time and again.

One of the reasons we are not ready to wake up, is the fact that bad news has become a good news, for channels. Any show or program or news content which take channels rating up is acceptable irrespective of its clash with ethical and professional questions.

Author Andrew Boyd, in his book, Broadcasting Journalism, address this question in these words. "An uneasy alliance exists between the drive for profit and the quest for news. When profit motives replace the news values, there is a pressure to the lowest public taste for fear that audience and advertisers alike will desert the station delivers only the goods that the mass market will buy. That pressure spills over the newsroom.'

Thus, for an anchor under question it is more important how much rating his programme under scrutiny got than the evidence he has been asked to produce to clear his name. But, it has now become a high profile matter as it has been taken up by the SC’s three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.

I was among dozens of journalists, editors, owners and leading anchors who gave their respective opinion and views on the matters and also suggest ways to overcome such challenges. These include names of veterans like IA Rehman, Arif Nizami, Mujeebur Rehman, who have spent almost 50 years in this profession. Their presence beside the presence of others, it proved that the question under discussion was not what one anchor has done, but a larger question as what should be done in such a matter.

The dilemma in the whole episode was the fact that as a result of this new JIT, the real matter of Zainab case has taken a back seat and this is what happened when journalist or anchor become part of the story.

Thus, from Sunday, the case would progress in two different dimensions: (1) JIT, which is already investigating Zainab’s case, and police have been directed to submit the charge-sheet of the case within 10 days, and, (2) JIT, constituted to probe into the allegations of an anchor.

One can do much except for wait and see once the anchor said, "I stand by my story”, except that he has evidence to supplement his claims, but the larger question still remain unanswered i.e. what one should do, if negativity sells and brings profit.

This particular matter relates to an anchor must be sorted out soon by the JIT, so that all attention of media should be focus on the original story of Zainab.

The writer is the senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang.

Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO