Broadcast news media as much at peril as print

It was amusement-cum-derision with which a number of viewers received news of Bol TV initiating a program – an actual, honest-to-God program and not a one-off interview – with former president Asif Ali Zardari. Though some within the PPP say it was just an interview. This is hot on the heels of other, similar programs. One with another former president, Pervez Musharraf. And one with the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak.

The channel seems to be pushing the envelope for what is appropriate for a Pakistani new channel to do. Only weeks ago, there was debate over how appropriate a program with currently active politicians, like the one they have with the PPP’s Kamar-uz-Zaman Kaira, the PML(N)’s Sheikh Waqqas Akram and the PTI’s Shafqat Mehmood would be. Now, with much heavier hitters in the fray, that particular program seems absolutely tame in comparison.

Now it would be easy to make fun of Bol TV. Some would be thinking these are the tactics of a channel desperate for ratings to differentiate itself and actually get politicians, who are otherwise supposed to be fielding questions by anchors on air, to be having their own programs instead. The logic: that it would make for decent content without having to splurge on a big name as a TV anchor. The one flipside: by there being no moderation (the assigned hosts are an anonymous blur of pretty little things) the program would be unfettered party propaganda. But having high – or any – standards wasn’t what Bol TV was going for in the first place.

The above is pretty basic reasoning. That’s what one would think on first thought.

But is Bol onto something here? Something that the others will try to follow? I don’t mean this in the sense of Bol TV having the foresight that the other channels don’t have. I still think Bol TV is a desperate channel but am merely extending that adjective to all of the channels.

You see, when the print media was (and is) taking a beating from the massive online onslaught, broadcast media was watching by. A little smug with the knowledge that it would never meet a similar fate.

But is that to be the case for long? Specially with increasing internet bandwidth, and the cellular networks in the scheme of things.

The proliferation of cheap, fast internet was accompanied with the rise of massive social media networks which completely eliminated the need for a third party for individuals, corporations and, in this case, political parties.

Through tools like Facebook Live within Facebook, politicians can address their followers directly, circumventing the need for television channels in the first place. Except here, they get to complete their sentences.

The PTI is perhaps the first political party to have realised this. Last year, they had their first web-only video presser. The TV channels could attend if they wanted. But why send over a DSNG van when they could get the same video feed off Facebook from their offices? The video resolution was already broadcast ready, but increasing bandwidth is going to make sure it is even better.

What is the more valuable commodity here, a platform to broadcast content or being the one worthy of being broadcast in the first place?

It is time the politicians realise that they are to be treated with respect. They are supposed to be asked uncomfortable questions, yes, but are supposed to be accorded with the decorum as a representative of the people is supposed to be. In the Pakistani news media, when anchors or reporters interact with someone from the political class, they act as if it is they, not the politicians, who are representatives of the people.

At the moment, the equipment and apparatus of the TV industry is still stuck in the 80s. One doesn’t mean that literally, of course. The editing process is completely on computers now but the outdoor broadcasting apparatus is still stuck in that era. With extremely cheap technology, a single reporter can go wherever there are cell phone signals. Expect a lot of creative destruction. And also expect a lot more players in the media game. If Pemra isn’t issuing new TV channel licences, there sure as hell isn’t much by regulation regarding starting a new website.