Since I was a child I saw Jang Daily newspaper in my home. Then I grew up and I asked my dad I want The News too. In late 90s I was doing M.Sc. when my teachers were telling everyday to read news papers and asking which ones do we read. As soon as I told Jang and The News they seemed satisfied, because according to them these two were the best and authentic sources of information in Pakistan.
Then began the period of electronic media and Geo was among the very first private news channels that were given licence. We used to listen to Geo News more than any other channel, my mother would always call from the kitchen and say "it is 9 pm please switch to Geo". Later one other news channel that was appreciated in my home was the Dawn News because they did not sensationalize every thing like many others.
When I was in UK and then in USA I always wanted to watch some Pakistani channel to keep myself updated; Geo news and Geo's talk shows were definitely top of the list because they never showed or published incomplete information based on only text messages of a reporter standing on the site of an incident; rather their reporting was complete and comprehensive. I was never a regular viewer of any one talk show, Hamid Mir's show was too political for me at times but I knew he is a daring person who does not hesitate in highlighting and opening up discussions on the issues that no one else dares to do. I kept visiting Pakistan in between and I was seeing other channels also competing strongly with their high quality programs. Journalists, Anchors and News analysts were doing a remarkable job. Yet I could smell a mafia developing there too and I mentioned it at times to my friends. There were very few analysts and anchors who had a clear position on the issues and they were doing the critique with evidence.
As a PhD scholar I have developed a perspective of my own. Now I agree and disagree to others' narrative on the bases of my experience, knowledge and evidence. I do not agree to everything said by anyone. It is impossible. I can see people on various channels supporting or sabotaging certain agendas. The conspiracy theories in past 13 -14 few years have become a strong part of our common narrative on print and electronic media. We have made it a habit to put everything on foreign "agencies" and prove our "agencies" doodh ki dhulli. People like myself who have a little knowledge of international and national politics try to explain it to people, but the common narrative is not that easy to be negated.
In past few weeks first attack on Hamid Mir and then the issue of morning show in Geo has left me heart broken once again. Not because I like everything about this channel or that I agree to every word that Hamid Mir ever said; but only because the minds of our younger generation are once again being manipulated badly. We suffered in the ages when there were no electronic media available other than a national TV, our exposure to information was limited, so we could not develop our independent thinking. Today in the age of electronic media, social networking and open access through ICT, we are once again behaving so ignorantly... I don't know what else do we need to stop following political agendas blindly.
