Media wars Dunya and Geo slug it out all day

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There’s a war raging on in the media. And another in the hearts and minds of the people.
The Malik Riaz-Arsalan graft scandal has brought forth a facet of media that was the last thing on people’s mind, who marveled at the freedom and impartiality exercised by the country’s fourth estate while grinding the politicians for their alleged corruption and indifference towards the people.
Wednesday’s “exclusive” interview of Malik Riaz conducted by fiery Dunya News anchor Meher Bukhari, who a Norwegian founder of a trendy genre of journalism once called the “perfect type of candidate to promote Pakistan”, and Mubashar Lucman, the host of Khari Baat (true talk), was little expected to become for Pakistanis what the atomic bomb was for Hiroshima. While Dunya News spent the day in damage control exercises like downplaying its rival Geo News, claiming how the channel had lied to people at several occasions and backtracked, and talking to the people on the streets who instantly supported Dunya News for its upright stance and morals, all is still not well on the air waves.
Dunya News posted on its website that Geo News was admonished for airing baseless news against the judiciary in Arsalan case order.
Its transmission also kept repeating the following tickers, demonizing Geo News and its anchors:
(1)Hamid Mir was accused by Sheikh Rashid for arranging ‘paid’ programmes.
(2)Hamid Mir and Kamran Khan confessed in writing to the Supreme Court that they aired stories without verification.
(3) Shaheen Sehbai’s interview was uploaded without establishing the authenticity of its contents.
(4) Geo News picked up propaganda campaign against judiciary after Shaheen Sehbai uploaded the interview.
Not one to stay back, Geo News was persistent in its efforts to impress upon its viewers the channel’s “unflinching support for the judiciary and its impartiality”.
Sana Bucha, anchor of “Lekin”, jumped into the foray with Hamid Mir as one of the participants. The other three invited were the PPP’s Nadeem Afzal Chan, the PML-N’s Khawaja Asif and the PML-Q’s Sheikh Waqas Akram.
What these exercises will result in nobody knows, but some social media users said all would be forgotten in time as Pakistanis had poor memory and the anchors would soon be seen on other channels. A worthy argument indeed!
Earlier in the day, the Kohisar Police Station in Islamabad registered an FIR [First Information Report] against unidentified people for uploading “off-air” segments of Malik Riaz’s interview. The application was filed by the administration officer of Dunya News.
The leaked footage of the “off-air” of Meher and Lucman’s controversial guest Malik Riaz has not only gone viral but has in the process opened up an irrepressible can of worms. The “off-air” scenes show the two anchors taking instructions from an unidentified caller of not hindering Malik Riaz’s talk, Lucman itching to take a shot at Geo News anchor Hamid, and Meher considering how to make a question not look planted, were saddening for everyone who watched it.
Mubashar Lucman has reportedly been temporarily sacked, while Meher has been asked to resign within 24 hours or get sacked.
All these remain reports yet to be verified, but what is verifiable is that the credibility of media as an impartial voice has been extremely compromised.

13 COMMENTS

  1. The entire media with the exceptions of very few are blackmailers , get paid even from from the foreign countries .For the media owners its an money minting cow .people knew them and now have seen their true face .

    khalid

  2. If it was a game to confuse people and forget the NAB, PM contempt court, Drug scandels, Hajj scandel, missing persons scandel in balochistan it was very well played!
    Cause only 2 department were progressing in Pakistan, 1). Media 2). Judiciary
    The game confused people regarding who is right and who is wrong and each and every person is now focused on these issues rather than other important cases and this news as well said by this article 'Atom bomb on Pakistan.' Well played ISI, PPP and other corrupt people!

    • @Taha you are right that only 2 departments were progressing leaps and bounds,1) media 2) Judiciary. I hope you did not mean that they were progressing in financial terms.

  3. Geo news stance over Dunia news planted interview is correct with this passage of time as we already know that the culprits are exposed so they are doing everything they can to get them punished as conspiracy against institution is a crime.

  4. If we have a little tinge of self-respect or moral diginity, lets stop seeing Luqman & Bokhari once and for all even if they r found airing their programs on some other channel! Otherwise, keep bashing these stalwarts of freedom-of-speech and yet keep feeling depressed when you will find one of these "champions", the so-called "heroes" sipping cocktails with Don Malik Riaz !! These are terrible terrible times for a nation like Pakistan but even in these awful times, the Schopenhauerean youth of this country is producing world-class excellent music (coke studio), grabbing highest number of As in Senior Cambridge around the globe (Ali Moeen N.) and 30 million Middle class Pakistanis are creating amazing amount of wealth across the globe and in Pakistan (USD 13.5 billion yearly remittances)! Once, we, the Millennium-generation Pakistanis, will get rid of these mingy filth-ridden buck-hungry anchors, politicians and generals sitting in Isloo, we will rise InshAllah! Pakistanis only need a chance! A single chance!! Lets disown this loser generation of 70s and 80s grumbling in their cozy drawing rooms in Isloo, these white-haired maniacs, altogether even if they r our uncles or dads-friends!! Otherwise, this scumb-of-70s-80s-pressure cooker lid will blow us apart!

  5. Gradually the real faces of the so called elite are being exposed. More will follow. Can some body check the records of Bahria Town in the office of the Additional Registrar of companies, Companies Registration Office Islamabad, What is the total shareholding of Malik Riaz Family and others in the company. The names of the directors chairman legal advisor and chartered Accountants shall also be made known. Under the law Bahria town a company registered under Companies Ordinance 1984 is required to file its annual audited accounts anually, but it has not. Wy the Registrar/SECP not taking action against the company. Also it must be made known to the public what is the balance sheet of these media houses. also there income and expenditure statement alongwith cash flow statement.

  6. A free media is a cornerstone of democracy. What we have in Pakistan is just another facet of the 'world's oldest profession'. Google it, if the term is unfamiliar to you.

  7. Owner and top management of dunya news is involved in this Scandal, so i think dunya news should be shutdown

  8. I think a strong lobby is afraid of Dunya Tv popularity….and it a design activity….. conspiracy against st not only Dunya but against Pak media….We all should wait for alot of off camera conversation soon….Its a part of Great game against media…….Just wait for few more days…..

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