Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The Inadequacies of Pakistan’s Liberal Media

From a tool for state propaganda to playing whistle blower in high profile scandals,the media of a country yields incredible potential by holding the reigns to the sway of public opinion. The interminable manifestation of violence in the country fuelled by religious extremism has by design or default blackened more pages than any other subject in the past decade.

They lie at both ends of the spectrum each vociferous of its ideological spinal cord;from Nawa-i-Waqt with adherence to the two-nation theory as its slogan to the Daily Times that refuses to print remotely pro-radical news. But the bloodcurdling fatwas cum op-eds in right wing papers aren’t solely responsible for invoking the honor of heaven bound ghazis and mujahids. Part of the onus for this must be borne by the liberal end of the spectrum that takes on an apologetic stance in matters of religious extremism.  The sway towards violence,sensationalism and its successes are clear. So does this mean that the media has tried and failed in fulfilling its purpose of objectively disseminating information?

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