Who will Bell the Bad, Fat Cats?

One would agree with Nayyer Zaidi that Minhaj Barna is still revered, and will continue to be revered for what he has for the journalist community.

One would also like to take issue with Shaheen Sehbai vis-a-vis his placing Salahuddin in the same bracket as the late Mazhar Ali Kahn and A.T. Chaudhary. This perhaps is the greatest insult that can be heaped upon these noble souls.

One would also tend to take his list of ``living legends`` with quite a heaped teaspooful of salt.

And perhaps that would cleanse out the bad taste in the mouth this list of ``living legends`` in journalism leaves one with.

That said, one feels that about 99 and 7/16 per cent of journalism is of one and the same hue. A sickening YELLOW.

And the leading ights on the print media front, [whether it be the owners of the publications or the people who make a living with them], are the most to blame.

Things aren`t very complicated, Shaheen Sehbai. They are rather simple.

Pick up the files of Jang, Dawn, Nawaa-e-Waqt, Mashriq, etc, of the Ayub and Zia days, and you will know what I am saying.

It is the journalist community, and judiciary, who have most often sold away the people of Pakistan for a song, and then some.

The Hameed Nizamis, the Inayatullahs, the Khalil ur Rahman`s, the Altaf Gauhars, the Salahuddins, and yes, the Ahmad Ali Khans.

And the Muneers, the Maulvi Mushtaqs, the Anwar ul Haqs, the Sajjad Ali Shahs, the Ajmal Mians et al.

I believe that some very interesting points have been highlighted by Shaheen Sehbai in this article. Obviously accountability has to be across the board in any society, so journalists and people in the press should not be immune. But why just blame the journalists and not the system that uses their very special services?
If one lives in a society where integrity has become a cheap commodity and
materialism and power groups (always on the lookout for new talent) rule the day. If journalistic abilities become useful to them, then we should not be surprised that the two find each other.
We all as individuals live in environments where our particular biases grow
with us. The US is no exception where you will have journalists more sympathetic to one political party over another. In this country (US) journalists also happen to be much better paid then in Pakistan, and in some cases their stardom is achieved by their having developed the right contacts in key places, who are willing to ``leak`` information to them. And if need be this information can be ``manufactured`` in this country too just like it is in Pakistan.
But getting back to the all important issue of money ``Mujhe Pakistan Ja Kar Apni Gharibi ka sahi ahsaas hota hai``. For a country that is supposed to be flat
broke, there sure seems to be a lot of money floating around. The ``Rampant
Materialism`` described by Richard Reeves in ``Passage to Peshawar`` rules
the roost. And one is always forced to ask this question now as to what is honest money and what is not?
But a word of caution to Shaheen from a lateral journalist wannabe who basically took up this role for all the fame and glory and money that it has brought
me from my extremely encouraging community (Galis, much out of pocket expense, agent of this or that agency etc. etc. Thank god that I have a day job). Let us not be too judgmental of others although there is much truth to what you have written here about questioning the source of income versus lifestyles of some journalists. There are still some well-meaning people in your profession
who need not only to be encouraged but PROTECTED in Pakistan. We all know what is possible if one refuses to play ball with the establishment in this profession. Khalid Hasan, perhaps one of the most talented writers from Pakistan today, has surely discovered this in his past and has probably made adequate adjustments. But even though one does not have to always agree with what he writes (or photographs) one has to respect his many years of work in this profession and the sheer beauty of some of his prose.
And now the last and most important point here: ``Accountability`` has been much sought after in Pakistan during the past decade as if it is some magical buzzword that would liberate the majority of the population from its perpetual poverty. But can we be sure of the integrity of the people doing this accountability? Has it ever occurred to us that if Shaheen`s target journalists have lifestyles beyond their means, then where did the people who have rewarded them with such ``gifts`` get their money and how much do they still have? These are the real ``Fat Cats``.

Ras H. Siddiqui

Real Freedom of Press ensures Accountability:

Mr. Sehbai:

Thanks for opening up this discussion.

You named names. I am sure those who are more familiar with them will share their views here.

I would like to share this thought. If there is real freedom in Pakistan that would take care of accountability in all spheres, including journalism.

Real freedom obviously is much more than the freedom of the press that most journalists aspire for. I find most people in the Pakistani media, when engaged, talk about governement interference in their activities. That is ONLY one aspect of freedom of press/media. (Licenses, fees, paper, government advertisement intimidation, etc.)

Let us assume that as of today GOP removes all restrictions on publishing. Journalist can freely write about whatever they feel like writing about. Is that the freedom of press they aspire for?

Definitely not. This is only one aspect of freedom. Do you think under this newly acquired freedom someone can publish an investigative piece suggesting that Abdul Sattar Edhi is a child molester or Altaf Hussain is gay? The next day an emotionally charged crowd will burn down the newspaper offices.

Unless we have real freedom ----to act, to think, to speak, to gather, to do or not do anything ---- for all Pakistanis---- to be followed with a tolerant psyche --- unless we have that, we will continue to demand meaningless `accountabilty` from different parts of the body politic in vain.

If we attain that plateau of real freedom of thought and spirit all accountability will become redundant.

my two pennies worth,


rgds

t

rgds

t

CHOWK STAFF:

Thanks for this article.

Fellow Chowkies:

This was made available on www.dawn-usa.com site for any Pakistani Paper. The Frontier Post picked it up. Am not sure of the other papers.

The interact format there is rather primitive, and not user friendly. I suggested them to submit this piece here, alongwith Bilal.

rgds

t

I have no doubt that this article is a substantially accurate portrayal of journalism in Pakistan. It is also an example of extremely poor writing and shows how abysmally low is the standard of journalism--and English--in Pakistan. The author`s inability to do even the most basic fact-checking should be an embarrassment to all concerned: it is Gen. (r) K. M. Arif. Or did I miss the point and the man has been demoted as punishment for being Zia`s ``No.2`` man?

An excerpt from Omar Kureishi`s article in Dawn :

[The patron-saint of modern day spin doctoring was Goebbels. Hugh Trevor-Roper in his introduction to the Goebbels Diaries writes: ``To those who lived through the years of Nazism, Goebbels will always be remembered as Hitler`s `Minister for Propaganda and Enlightenment`, the unscrupulous propagandist whose shameless brilliance as a mob orator and a manipulator of the news vindicated the statement of Hitler, in Mein Kamph, that the greater the lie, the more chance it had to be believed.]

I have been saying all along that the Pakistani press is the epitome of yellow journalism. It has done great damage to this country by inciting sensationalism, misrepresenting and manipulating public opinion, character assasinations, criminally fabricating news reports and events and generally going to bed with the devil if the situation warranted it.

A case in point is the recent induction of a New York banker by the name of Mohammad Ali Khan in the National Reconstruction Bureau. The NRB is the premier think tank right now as the name suggests and is headed by a serving Lt. General. Mr. Khan has been inducted to advise on the proposed micro-credit bank and the Islamic banking system.

Most people would not have heard of this gentleman because the press has chosen to ignore his credentials. Mr. Khan is wanted in the US for theft and fraud and SEC violations. The NY mafia is after him for stealing from them. Now he´s advising the CE on banking matters in Pakistan. How could the press overlook such a juicy piece when they publish all sorts of unsubstantiated material about the previous government ranging from the contents of their bed rooms to secret marriages to financial irregularities ? Do they not monitor The New York Times ?

Here are the search results from the archives of The New York Times. Anyone who is curious and willing to spend $ 2.50 per article can download the full articles there. I didn´t spend the $ 7.50 as I already know the whole story .

Search Results

Your search for Mohammed Ali Khan returned 3 article(s).

January 2, 2000, Sunday

Was He Wiser Than the Wise Guys?

ON Nov. 14, The Gulf Times in the Middle Eastern emirate of Qatar published a glowing profile of a young Karachi-born financial entrepreneur named Mohammad Ali Khan, who had returned to invest in his native land after ``a highly successful career`` i ...

Money and Business/Financial Desk

3410 words

By DIANA B. HENRIQUES

Click here to purchase this article



Article 4

May 13, 1999, Thursday

Metro Business; Ruling for Gambinos In Suit Over Broker

A Manhattan court has barred a former broker from selling his home after he was accused of stealing $2 million from two reputed members of the Gambino organized crime family. Those two, Thomas C. Gambino and Joseph Gambino, who are brothers, and Thom ...

Metropolitan Desk

246 words

Click here to purchase this article



May 18, 1999, Tuesday

METRO NEWS BRIEFS: NEW YORK; S.E.C. Sues Broker Accused of Theft

A stockbroker who has been accused of stealing more than $2 million from Thomas Gambino, the reputed mobster, and his family faces civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The S.E.C. brought the charges yesterday against the broker, ...

Metropolitan Desk

265 words

Click here to purchase this article



Does any editor have the inclination to pick up above news reports and quote them locally ? The answer is no. Because their kind of journalism teaches to bow before the mighty for scraps of leftover meals, and to kick the same mighty when they are vanquished and down.

This same press had cried itself hoarse when their colleague Najam Sethi was picked up and held without charges. Now dozens of people are caged in detention without charges since three months. Why don´t they speak up now ? Will they do it later when it´s convenient ?

Zeemax

``ACCOUNTABILITY BY THUGS``

Dear Mr. Sehbai

I totally agree with your beautiful article that newspaper or journalists are accountable too.

BUT WHO WILL DO IT? THE BUNCH OF RIGID, BIASED AND THUGS, WHO IN MY MIND 101% ARE BLACK SHEEP AND FORIEGN AGENTS. IT IS NOT EVEN AN OLD WINE, RATHER THERE IS STINKY, SMELLY AND ROTTEN WINE IN A NEW BOTTLE.

I FEEL SORRY FOR ALL THE POLITICIANS ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT, AND MEDIA AS WELL, WHO HAVE GONE SO VINDICTIVE AGAINST EACHOTHER THAT THEY ARE ASSURING THESE THUGS EVERY DAY FOR THEIR FULL COOPERATION AND BEGGING FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

I CAN ONLY PRAY TO ALLAH TO SAVE MY COUNTRY FROM ALL THESE CLOWNS. MAY ALLAH SAVE PAKISTAN FROM INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ENEMIES OF PAKIST. MAY ALLAH SAVE PAKISTAN FROM ``HANOOD-O-YAHOOD`` AS WELL. MAY ALLAH BLESS PAKISTAN WITH POLITICAL, FINANCIAL, STABILITY AND PAKISTAN BECOMES THE TRUE WORLD POWER. AaMEEN.

As a student of journalism, I`ve often interacted with teachers who are firmly entrenched in this profession. Most of them smilingly say, never tangle with a newspaper, never cross the path of an angry journalist. I would like to add here that a newspaper should not be used as a threat to people (as it is often done). I think it reflects on all of us that we tend to accept the fact that news people can make or destroy our lives. They`re not all saints and they`re not all professional. I hope when we of the new generation enter the field, we too will not fall in the same trap! Another thing which I would like to point out is that in the article it was mentioned that editors of newspapers should declare their assets like Gen. Musharraf...I think that`s not enough. The General has not gained any respect in my eyes by declaring his assets. After all, it was the newspapers who published his assets and who can question them? I think this whole accountability process is selective and very very cleverly manipulated by a select few people, but that`s going off on another tangent. :)

Dragon Slayer #31

How true!

The freaks change but the show continues; the tragic, painful, embarrasing, shameless, miserable show.

But the statement implies as if it were the show of/by the `leaders`, elected or otherwise. No, the actors are the `voters`, the `constituents`, the Pakistanis. You and I; and nobody else. The freaks are the Pakistani people themselves. Remember, we get leaders we deserve. God doesn`t send them. We `choose` or accept them.

A Gnostic

The investigative reports, having substance of course do not go to the press/on air. The very fact that no body mourns the ouster of any government is evidence enough that the people at large are intelligent and enlightened enough to ignore the propaganda and slander. The article itself and the replies thereto do bring one common point that all government spendings, may they pertain to any agency must be audited and brouhgt to public notice. A PAINTER PAINTED A LION SO REAL THAT IT ATE UP THE PAINTER!

As for the quality of journalism, in a very reputed organization during elections a news editor reprimanding the photographer who did not bring photos of a public meeting where a “opposition” leader was to address and did not turn up, said, “ Here we are ready with the full story (without leaving the desk) and you do not come with photographs!

KAMBAL TO MUJHE CHOR DE MEIN HI KAMBAL KO CHORTA NAHIN.

Some time back I had requested the chowk the following to create a sort of competition for the Pakistani media/journalism/proprietors of the papers etc. Mr. Sehbai’s article to my mind does encourage consideration to this effect.

A page, “COMMENT”, or by any other suitable name can go a long way in providing a vent to the public opinion. Presently an invitation is made by way of replies to an article, luckily the replies do not have to conform to atleast literary standard.

Help the silenced majority with a voice by allotting them some space for their views on events and news as it appears in the news papers governed and sponsored by vested interest, if not yellow, atleast pale at best. Although the newspapers do boast of space named “Letters to the Edidor” but the space is when scrutinised closely devoted usually to regular names. A commoner seldom finds his letters printed. I am not sure of Bangladesh though, Indian Electronic media seems quite independent.

I suggest that COMMENT can be dedicated to such commoners. The rules of the game can be similar to chowk articles and replies thereof, but a little more liberal. Need can be felt from the replies to the recent article, “Heggemony of the ruling elite in Pakistan,by Abdus Sattar Ghazali”. In my view the replies have been a little too harsh especially by people accustomed to perhaps freer newspapers and the critics perhaps do not realise that the poor person throughout his career, in Pakistani and Middle Eastern Society, has been groomed to handle briefs and handouts doled to him. He never had any chance to express his own version, or independent reporting.

The result being the Ayubian martial law is termed “BLOOD LESS REVOLUTION”, 1970 Electons: FAIR, I do not know about other cities, in my view, from those constituencies that I visited and witnessed the elections Bhutto should have been disqualified. Disturbances resulting from the administration apathy over the fatal road accident at Karachi more so remembered as Bushra Zaidi Case, were termed Ethnic Violence because so it suited the administration. And to top it all the articles and replies thereto in chowk over Kargil and the recent military takeover in Pakistan can be compared with any newspaper/network in Pakistan in their openness and diversity of views.

The present regime has invited suggestions and opinions through e-mail and other postal services in an effort to redress the common grievances by a citizen, which will take some time to gain cofidence of the masses and by then it may not be thiere. Presently the correspondence/communication is not made public, one does not know if once again his plaints have been victim of eyewash. Some Indian network has come up with a commendable idea of posting to them any kind of corruption noticed by the public.

I hope that this suggestion will get some consideration, which can be the beginning of an independent e-news journal.

Your suggestion Mr. Sehbai befits you. Either Newspapers should say that they agree with the columnist like Husain Haqqani or stop thrusting them on public.

I as a common man can only laugh at your novice. As a news paper reader, I read the column of Mushtaq Qureshi an extreme rightist, with moderate Irshad Ahmed Haqqani, with pro-left Hasan Ali Shahzeb. Articles by N.D.Khan of peoples party, Nafees Siqqiqui, Maqbool Ahmed, some MQM leaders including Altaf Hussain, some Muslim League leaders, some old guard like Aslam Baig and Hammed Gul to name a few. And we form our opinion.Does the newpapers subscribe to all these different opposing views.

Are you suggesting that Newspaper should make a certain policy regarding its orientation and publish accoding to that orientation. This was precisely I was saying before that Inspite of policies of Newspaper owners our journalism is much better than what might be expected in our society. I have found the articles of Husain Haqqani as very informative. And help me to see the situation from his perspective.

If he was reporting like some non media advocate journalist do. Unauthenticated news and planted news or news to blackmail certain persons for personal gains.

We should not forget that our society is a very pluralistic society, with many many streams. The so called intellectuals of higher class has almost no influence on common man except in their own circles (reminds me of communist movements in Pakistan). The people you are trying to say that their articles should not be published only reflect your brought up in a coercive culture which cannot tolerate opposing or even a different point of view.

Do you want to thrust your opinion on us.

Hello Bilal

The Nayyar situation is interesting. We should try to ask him about it. Does he know that his

article is being censored by The Nation? If he does, does he plan to do anything about it?

Nayyar is among the few mainstream journalists in

India who suport peace and friendship with Pakistan. So it is entirely possible that he is

happy to reach a section of Pakistani readers through The Nation, who are generally accustomed

to reading hostile material about India. As a price for this access to Pakistani readers, he might be prepared to tolerate some censorship. He probably gets paid for his articles too. I don`t

know how important that consideration is to him. He is very widely published, and it is unlikely that financial considerations would affect his position in this regard.

As we are discussing Kuldip Nayyar, I am tempted to make another observation regarding the broader issues under discussion here. Nayyar is a very prominent intellectual in India, and enjoys full citizenship rights. He can frankly express his opinion. I had hoped that he would use his position to support the right of the people of Kashmir to engage in peaceful advocacy for self-determination. He has not done so. Instead, he has berated the Hurriyet Conference for demanding that foreign observers be present in Kashmir during elections, on the ground that a sovereign state would never agree to this kind of demand. Nayyar`s voluntary adherence to a narrow conception of national interests is illustrative of the general conduct of mainstream profesional journalists all over thw world. In India too, it is only some human rights activists and left wing intellectuals who are politically marginalised, who support the right of Kashmiris to engage in discourses demanding independence. The only honourable exception that I am aware of is veteran

social democrat Balraj Puri, who has cautiously argued that the idea of permitting peaceful advocacy of independence should be seriously considered.

Best wishes

tariq

In response to Tariq (Reply #: 23)

Dear Tariq:

It is nice that you are on the Chowk once again. Last time, we talked about the antisystemic social movements (I just checked my archives).

You are right that some of our journalists are very courageous. The American setup despite its greatness has many serious flaws. Pakistani journalism is relatively young. It lacks experience, maturity, and the support of common people. Our journalist need to play a more honest role in our national development (not simple recourse to hidden or overt pleas for patriotism, loyalty, etc.). Like our politicians, they need to come to the people without an element of arrogance.

Recently Umair posted a piece by Kuldip Nayyar on one of Chowk forum, reproducing it from the Nation, a Lahore-based newspaper. Somebody (perhaps ``concerned``) saw another version of the same article in an Indian newspaper. A similar discrepancy was observed for another article of Kuldip Nayyar. In complaining, concerned wrote: ``the glorious tradition continues....`` He added: ``. . . all the damaging references to Pakistan [sic] have been deleted``; ``even the title of the original article has been changed``; and ``is `the nation` a real newspaper?`` Evidently, the credibility of the Nation is at stake. I am not a journalist, in Sehbai`s sense. However, I offered the following plausible reasons for this discrepancy:

(1) Nayyar is himself sending different versions of his article to different newspapers.

(2) The Nation has edited Nayyar`s articles with his consent.

(3) The Nation has edited without Nayyar`s consent, and Nayyar does not want to make a big deal about it.

(4) The Nation has published Nayyar`s articles without his permission, and Nayyar does not want to make a big deal about it

I think, it is the responsibility of our professional journalists and newspapers to inform the common people about the way newspaper industry works. What are your views about this issue?

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

Hi Bilal

Nice to be able to talk to you once again.

I do not disagree with anything that you have said. You are right. Journalists come in many shades. Even within the mainstream media, there are those who concientiously subscribe to a particular conception of ``national interests``,

and are not consciously behaving in an opportunistic manner when they uphold it, and also enrich themselves in the process.

I do not believe that journalists in Pakistan are better or worse than those in other countries in this regard. In fact, given the greater risks faced by them, it would be fair to say that many are quite courageous. Sometime ago, the veteran US journalist who had edited the Washington Post had written his autobiography. He boasted about his close personal relations with the US political elites. Another veteran, gave his autobiography the title,``Making IT``. More important, coverage of issues is extremely business friendly. The interest of big business is upheld as the general interest of society. Workers, farmers, teachers, are portrayed as ``special interests``, with selfish motivations. I was struck by the account in the NYT of the repeal of the laws to prevent the emrgence of monopoles in insurance and finance which had been enacted in the afterath of the economic collapse of the 1930s. It described the close proximity of corporate lobbiests to the White House and the congressional actors as something natural, and to be taken foregranted. This is in contrast to the fuss made about politicians who are believed to have the support of trade unions. I could go on and on. Then there are the explicitly racist columnists, A M Rosenthal and William Safire.

Okay, take care,

tariq

In response to Tariq (Reply # 21)

Dear Tariq:

In response to Mr. Shaheen Sehbai`s article, Mr. Husain Haqqani clarified his position by identifying himself as a media advocate. Haqqani distinguishes between journalists with hidden agendas and media advocates. According to him, ``The term `hidden agenda` presupposes concealment of intent. For example, a journalist conceals his political or other commitments and thereby hides his objective of promoting a cause or interest. A media advocate, on the other hand, is up front about his/her advocacy function by declaring publicly who or what he/she supports.`` Although this is an interesting analytical distinction, these two categories of journalists are not mutually exclusive. I asked Haqqani to explain his position about the issue of mutually exclusivity. He chose not to answer my question. I asked the same question to Sehbai. He has also chosen to maintain silence about it. Perhaps my question has no real worth or perhaps our journalists are not used to free and critical exchange with their readers. However, in my post to Sehbai, I maintained that: ``The answer of this question, . . . needs to be informed by the hard reality of everyday life in Pakistan.`` Both Haqqani and Sehbai have preferred not to avail the opportunity to provide a sense of such a reality vis a vis journalism in Pakistan.

I am unable to understand why Sehbai`s article has failed to publish in any major Pakistani newspapers, except the Frontier Post. Although I don`t support Sehbai`s approach for the accountability of the journalists, a relative indifference of the journalist community toward his article suggests an element of arrogance. The journalists should be accountable to themselves and their readership, but they should be able to write fearlessly and any attempt to curb the freedom of press must be opposed vehemently.

I think, your notion of Chamchageeri is well taken for countries like Pakistan. However, it cannot and should not be over-generalized. Here I want to suggest a distinction between those journalist who support the status quo and those who don`t (you may call them progressives). Chamchgeers are definitely those who always support the status quo with an internal desire to benefit from their support. Those who don`t fall in this category but generally support the status quo are weak, simplistic, uncritical, indifferent, or apolitical. Pakistani journalists fall in a wide variety of categories from the pole of Chamchageers to the pole of staunch progressives. Realistically, an overwhelming majority of them (should) fall somewhere in the middle. Life definitely becomes a little hard if you move toward the pole of progressivism. In Pakistan (at least), it becomes considerably unbearable if your progressivism starts making difficulties for other people, particularly the ruling elite in their heyday.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad