Topic: Lifestyle
Even though numerous news channels have sprout up within a few years, Pakistani media is still far from coming of age. The state owned PTV has the most resources but totally devoid of professionalism. Huge billboards block half the screen whenever a live event is being telecast, just to market their pathetic channel on other networks, both national and worldwide. In response, the private networks simply put their own logos on top of 'PTV-Exclusive' ones, so in the end the unfortunate viewer is left with a few bare glimpses.
This sheer lack of professionalism is rampant all across the media. Even newspapers in their pictures blur mic-logos of certain rival networks, as many News channels are owned by Newspapers.
Private news networks are no different. Geo TV for instance pointlessly brands each and every news item with its name, like Geo-education, Geo-travel, Geo-cricket, Geo-hockey.. the list is endless. There is an obnoxious stream of commercials interrupted occasionally by news breaks. Moreover, each news update is via telephone only, one wonders if its a Radio or a TV channel? And finally the redundant soap dramas.. that too on a news channel?!
Sheikh Rashid may be a happy man with this kind of media proliferation but most certainly I am not. It seems our media is so stuck in profit making antics that they have forgotten their real purpose. Its a shame when one channel proclaims itself to be the CNN of Pakistan. They at CNN put the story first, no commercials, no dramas, just news coverage and reports. That is infact true journalism and we here in Pakistan were far from that before, but sadly moving even further today.