Screens of deception

The case of Dr Shahid Masood, on whose television show the Supreme Court has placed a three-month ban, illustrates to all of us the depth to which journalism, especially television journalism, has sunk in our country. As the SC bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar noted, Masood had been guilty of contempt of court, inciting terror and violating regulations laid down for the media. We also know that the same anchorperson has committed the same offence over and over again. This is a sad state of affairs. So is the arrogant attitude of the anchorperson who tried to escape from the charges made against him by giving a verbal apology and insisting that he had intended no harm. This is hard to believe given that in the said show broadcast in January, Masood had put forward a string of lies regarding bank accounts owned by the murderer and rapist in the Zainab case, suggested he was linked to an international pornography ring and also claimed the involvement of people in government. No evidence was ever produced to back any of this; it is clear that many of our TV personalities project false and often maliciously intended news to millions of people across the country.

While there is no doubting that Masood deserved to be punished for his gross negligence, there are some questions about the direct ban placed by the SC on the show. Arguably, to set the right example, this should have happened through Pemra. In the past, Pemra has tried to impose bans on certain anchors, including Masood himself and others who are equally irresponsible – only for the courts to then issue stay orders against the bans. These stay orders stay in place indefinitely, effectively nullifying the ban. As it is, the electronic media is loosely regulated and when Pemra is defanged in this way it only encourages irresponsible conspiracy theories and allegations which have even resulted in endangering the lives of people. What is needed instead is for Pemra to be strengthened. The Supreme Court itself has too full a docket to hear every case of journalistic malfeasance. Empowering the body responsible for ensuring that our airwaves are not polluted with planted stories, anchors who incite violence and false reporting will be the most effective way of deterring any future Shahid Masoods.