As the world looks on to Pakistan, there exists very little in the way of alternative views presented by the media: it is either that of Bhutto or Musharraf. This is the gravest mistake that the media can commit. Since international media has very little accountability to individual nations, there is no pull towards grassroots coverage in politically tense sitations. Maybe big media outfits are afraid of getting cut off from their own lifespring of information in that country. Maybe they just can’t reach the grassroots.
But the tangible and real effect on the media, regardless of media’s excuses, or media’s actual situation, is that it becomes a tool for the bigwigs, a game of the generals and the oppositionists. The thing is, it is the audience that is being played. A global audience.
It is time we hear from the people on the ground. It is time we listen to their voices. It is time for the media to be where the real news is, to be where it counts.
Relevance is not relative.
Well said, presenting the view that either its Musharaf or Benazir as the acceptable leader of Pakistan is a mistake. These two might be two people acceptable to West but there are many others who are important small players in the game. And what people right now are struggling for is restoration of Judiciary, about which Global Media is not reporting much.
It would be interesting to comment about why they view the Judiciary as the bastion of democracy. I would like to know whether they think the Judiciary branch is free from politicization, for the pursuit of self-interest. Isn’t Chaudhry also after power?
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