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The watchdog that never sleeps – BY IRFAN BUKHARI
“Press always played pivotal role in shaping public opinion but in the past there were only newspapers working the job in a society where the majority was either illiterate or had no access to them.
Now when more than 50 independent channels are airing undiluted information to the Pakistanis round the clock the media in fact has emerged the fourth estate of the realm”, said Iftikhar, a student of Urdu University.
Another student Alia noted that the exhibition of political maturity on February 18 was the logical result of free flow of information.
“Though the circumstances have never been as ideal as it must be towards press freedom but despite all restrictions media advanced many miles between 2002 and 2008”, she observed, adding that the failure of PML-Q was the ample proof that people had matured a lot in the previous years mainly due to private TV channels.
Most of the students had the firm opinion that Pakistani society had developed a remarkable sense of selecting between right and wrong primarily due to swift growths in electronic media.
“The media has groomed people and now it is not an easy task for politicians to deceive them with false statements and inflated claims”, noted Ehtesham.
Naeem Lodhi, a student of computer science, said that the miracle on February 18 could not occur if there were no independent channels. “Thomas Jefferson says when the press is free and every man able to read all is safe.
The freedom of press is a highly controversial issue but one thing is clear that before the advent of private TV channels there were only numbered people who used to read newspapers.
The mushroom growth of TV channels in the last few years has totally changed the patterns of political thought in the country”, he further said.
As the youngsters had no second opinion on the paradigm that it was media which facilitated silent revolution to happen on February 18, they also noted that in the coming times the survival of politicians and their parties would depend on their performance.
“Now the watchdog is watching and it is almost impossible to hide malpractices, as the media is there which never sleeps”, said Saima a student of QAU.
uaid-i-Azam University (QAU) further saying that the days had gone when politicians used to swindle masses with their rhetoric.
She argued that the victory of PML-Q in Balochistan was due to the fact that in the most parts of the province there was no cable network, therefore, they could not get impartial information through private channels.
A student of QAU who was very satisfied with the forceful impact of Pakistani media, both print and broadcast said, “Democracy and media independence go hands in hand.
It is the outspoken media that broke the clutches of conventional politics on February 18 and the masses rejected lords of lies”.
“I am confident that now my homeland and its dwellers cannot be mislead as our watchdog is watching with vigilant eyes which never sleeps”, said Fahim Mirza.
Courtesy: The Nation, 22/2/2008
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