Pakistani media has progressed to an amazing level enjoying an ever-growing freedom of speech in such a short time. A decade back, none of us would have thought that a day will come when we would witness live updates of changing democratic and economic situations around the world from our television screens. From political protests to military coups, we can now see anything within seconds after it has occurred due to this enormous growth of media houses in Pakistan. But at times our media’s support or disagreement with a certain situation or person can change the game all together creating an entirely different image than the reality in the mind of common people.
They can change the perspective of the people by presenting the actual facts in a way that someone listening to the news for the first time cannot differentiate the actual facts from the twisted information provided to them. They can make someone a heroic figure in the eyes of public by portraying positivity about that person that people believe the discussed person is a live saver. Similarly, they can easily make people think that a certain situation can carry a negative impact on their lives and they need to find an immediate solution to curb it else things will never get better.
This is a devastating approach for media as it is considered as the 4th pillar of the society. Their goal should be to teach the common masses and spread awareness on social issues. But unfortunately, our media personals are busy in creating a ‘ratings-race’ culture where everybody is concerned about getting more rankings than other channels without thinking about the intensity of the situation.
They should realize their responsibilities by playing a constructive role in the society. It is their duty to educate people about facts without supporting or disagreeing to a particular situation. They should act as a neutral supporter who does not take sides based on their personal opinion. Only then our people can express their thoughts freely if they are presented with actual facts.