Reporters all over the country are busy. Breaking news! Live coverage… Tickers… News reports… Headlines… News updates… and what not? All the news channels cover it. It is discussed in talk shows. The next thing you see… Columnists and journalists all over the country write and talk about it. Not surprisingly, it trends on twitter. It is discussed everywhere. From classrooms to bus stops to talk shows to CNG lines. Literally EVERYWHERE! It feels like the whole world’s talking about it.
And then… we move on. News channels find something new to talk about. Columnists find something new to write about. Anchors find something new to discuss while people find something new to care about! It’s like nothing ever happened in the first place. It’s like no such thing ever existed. It’s weird that the news everyone had been screaming about a day before is now just another YouTube video. It has had its time. It’s become too mainstream. No one cares anymore! The question is… WHY?
One main reason—the media stops covering it. The media stops caring. It is no longer discussed in talk shows nor in the news bulletins; mostly because something new replaces it. Another: “Breaking news”—which too, will be forgotten in sometime. Whatever happened to responsibility?
Whatever happened to “Justice for Shahzeb”?
It had been the talk of the town for too long. “We want justice”, “Justice for Shahzeb”, “If not now then when?”, “If not you then who?” The media was reporting. The judiciary was active. Sharukh Jatoi was brought back and arrested. Shahzeb’s parents forgave him. Once again, the news hit the screens. There was disappointment everywhere. And then…??
*Silence*
Justice what?? Shahzeb who?? Did someone say media??
Whatever happened to Agha Waqar’s water fuelled car?
Okay, so who doesn’t remember this one? The guy who claimed he could run a car on water. It made its way to the news studios. The “breaking news”. The headlines. The news bulletins. The talk shows. And then…??
*Silence once again*
Whatever happened to Sikander?
Probably the weirdest times in media history! Some dude with a gun, his wife and children brought Islamabad's Blue Area to a standstill for six hours. Millions watched the event live TV over the period. Then, Zamurd Khan came in. Sikander was shot then rushed to the hospital while his wife was arrested. But where is he now? Whatever came out of the investigations?
Was he punished? If so, then how? If not, then why?
*Ughhhh…. The silence!*
WEIRD… RIGHT??
So we all believe in freedom of press. But where’s the sense of responsibility? The media that calls itself the “fourth pillar of the state”, the media that makes everyone else accountable for what they do, the media that tells everyone else their responsibilities and obligations SHOULD no doubt, also be accountable to the public for what it does. Don’t you think?
