One so called big media house is always in state of colic pain whenever PTI holds a rally, whether in Peshawar or Karachi or across the globe. The pain is such that it cannot fathom the real numbers of the protestors, the eyes turn blurry and it mind is in a fix.
Good journalism is good for democracy but, unfortunately the most popular news feeds in most countries have degraded into poor-quality sensationalism, and biased news which is effecting democracy and degrading society. Aside from the biases that are to be expected from corporations and editors, in particular portray the events in an unrealistic way. The warnings of academics about the institutional biases of Murdoch’s news outlets are longstanding and the bias is so great that it has a statistically detectable effect. In the USA, a University study from 2011 found that those who watched Murdoch’s Fox News channel were less knowledgeable about current events even than those who watched no news at all – in other words, Fox News spreads misinformation7
The same is happeing in Pakistan. Downmarket media publications reflect – and exaggerate – many of the fears of society itself. News outlets have dropped most fact-checking and critical analysis steps in order to churn out news more cheaply and quicker and as a result daft and untrue stories are appearing in mainstream news.
Newspapers pick on this fear and concoct alarmist stories from everyday events and statistics; for example they publish alarmist articles on dangers of not siding with the West , while there are almost no good-news stories about great strides made by our youngsters in IT despite massively improved circumstances. Fears become amplified and made more real by their appearance in headlines, creating a hysteria about a topic whereas in reality things are much more mundane and acceptable.
The new brand of commercial owners transformed journalism from an investigative enterprise that sought to uncover truth, raise issues and debate politics, turned into an industry of mass-produced “churnalism”, operating as cheaply as possible. News speeds through news factories manned by overworked journalists who have little time for research or investigation. The total number of stories processed by journalists in a day always exceeds the number of actual human beings talked to about those stories. Workers rarely get out of the office, and, the numbers of phone calls made are scrutinized by time- and money- conscious bosses.
Most news outlets purchase news from news agencies. The most well-known of them are The Associated Press and Reuters. Even if they often intend to supply unbiased news to the world, social scientists know that multiple human factors come to distort the process. A selection bias leads to agencies only collecting news which they think meshes within the commonly accepted protocols of what news should be, and, even worse, news is selected because it is sellable.
Combined with the dwindling numbers of journalists and the much greater volume of news that the produce (churnalism), this means that our news is more decentralized and biased than ever, but in a system where each individual player cannot do much about it nor even see the selection bias in order to avoid it if they wished. Not only does this bias reduce the style and scope of news sources, but, when the news story makes its way to a news outlet, it then has to content with the editors and policy of its news sponsor.
Sensationalism replaced critical thinking in a race to halt the declining sales of newspapers. In abandoning truth-seeking as the cause of story-telling, journalism became a source of misinformation. Nick Davies quotes the news editor of the Sunday Express in a leaked memo from 2003:
“We are aiming to have six sex stories a week. In an ideal world, we should have a “cabinet minister affair” story. Sex and scandal at the highest level of society always sells well […]. We must make the readers cross: the appalling state of the railways, the neglect of the Health Service, the problem of teenage pregnancies, the inability of bureaucrats to get enough done properly, etc, etc.”
Jim Murray, Sunday Express news editor (2003).
The combination of commercialism, staff cuts, and profit seeking leads to sensationalist reporting without regards for whether the underlying story is true. The chief problem of human beings is passivity […]. If you watch television all evening, or read too long, you feel a ‘freezing’ of your mind; it congeals; your eyes become capable only of a blank, dull state.”
“The Occult” by Colin Wilson (1971)30
This is exaclty what is happeing to our own media. Take for example the TV, they don’t call it the idiot box for nothing. Three studies suggest that watching too much TV makes you stupid, at least as measured by school grades and test scores. “The billions of people who rely on the mass media for information have suffered the worst injuries of all under a bombardment of falsehood, distortion and propaganda.”
“Flat Earth News” by Nick Davies (2008)38
Pakistani media institutions and journalists are generally considered dishonest due to the perception of being biased and being under the influence of corrupt political leaders. This negative perception has established the notion of media incredibility and distrust among the masses (Manuel, 2013). Even the present prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has accused media persons of hiding the corruption of former governments through their planted programs and stated that “people have lost interest in meaningless current affairs shows” (Shabbir, 2020, para. 2). With the advent of digitalization, the assumptions and accusations that the mainstream media are biased have been a subject of considerable debate regarding the credibility of Pakistani media,
The corruption of journalists, particularly reporters and photographers, is very common as well. They often receive envelopes from politicians, government officials, and political activists (Ahmad, 2011), and are involved in twisting the facts and figures with the intent of deception for their vested interests (Sumbal, 2011).
arch, 9(3), 293–306. https://doi.org/10.15206/ajpor.2021.9.3.293
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Abstract
The news and views of Pakistani television channels are extensively shared on digital media for information or analysis where the general public discusses overt and covert agendas by mentioning their factual and presentational style. This study contributes to the contemporary studies of media perception through focus group interviews with 72 randomly selected master’s and bachelor’s students studying Media and Communication at the School of Media and Communication Studies, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan to provide information about the feelings and observations of future journalists and media literates. In summary, the findings of our research exposed the negative perception of Pakistani electronic media among the participants due to what they perceived as biased, inaccurate, and unethical reporting.
Pakistani media institutions and journalists are generally considered dishonest due to the perception of being biased and being under the influence of corrupt political leaders. This negative perception has established the notion of media incredibility and distrust among the masses (Manuel, 2013). Even the present prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has accused media persons of hiding the corruption of former governments through their planted programs and stated that “people have lost interest in meaningless current affairs shows” (Shabbir, 2020, para. 2). With the advent of digitalization, the assumptions and accusations that the mainstream media are biased have been a subject of considerable debate regarding the credibility of Pakistani media, and this study is set to investigate this issue among the new generation of media persons. It is noted that famous Pakistani media outlets compromise their journalistic values daily by using their standards, and the age of digitalization is strengthening the perception among the masses that journalists are not performing their ethical duties and responsibilities properly (Ali, 2021). Nowadays, the primary objective of Pakistani media houses has changed towards profit-making instead of spreading the truth without any pressure. The race to cover breaking news has replaced the practice of news verification and source validation (Ali, 2021).
“Meanwhile, professionals who believe in credibility, objectivity, and honesty as essential parts of ethical journalism are becoming sidelined” (Abbas, 2012, para. 1). The corruption of journalists, particularly reporters and photographers, is very common as well. They often receive envelopes from politicians, government officials, and political activists (Ahmad, 2011), and are involved in twisting the facts and figures with the intent of deception for their vested interests (Sumbal, 2011). In this new age, when the Internet has become a dynamic source of information, media credibility has gained great attention from the masses and critics (Wathen & Burkell, 2002) particularly due to the diffusion of electronic media in digital media (Garrison, 2003). No doubt, Pakistani news channels emerged in this new millennium as an appealing source of information and analytical debates and obtained people’s confidence. However, the digital age has raised many queries, and the main question is the accessibility of credibility of electronic news media.
In Pakistan, where the tertiary Gross Enrollment Ratio is very low, 9% in 2018 (Hunter, 2020), today’s university students will play a critical role as opinion leaders and the future leaders of Pakistani society. Among these students, those studying media are likely to have more nuanced and detailed opinions about the current state of journalism in Pakistan. Understanding the opinions of these media students is an important step in understanding media credibility in Pakistan. This study has attempted to delineate the perception of media learners regarding the credibility of news channels in the contemporary era, which will contribute to academic and industrial future perspectives.
Literature Review
The impact of communication and the free flow of information has moved the world into “a borderless town,” a real concept of Marshal McLuhan, and in the recent scenario, civilization could not grow without organized structured communication and knowledge (Hungbo, 2007). No doubt, the news media is a vibrant source of obtaining world information and it has an impressive role in shaping public opinion and in changing the minds of people and their narratives. However, people have also analyzed the sources and made an opinion about media organizations and platforms. Their views about media are based on the analysis and investigation of the topics covered by news media, which form positive or negative perceptions (Bracken, 2006; Choi et al., 2006). The quick flow of information and easy access to huge information repositories and many opportunities for social interaction in this digital age has drastically altered the behavior of people toward media content. The practice of affirming the credibility of news channels’ content has become highly consequential among political and social groups and individuals in the contemporary world because of its profound influence on our social and political spheres (Flanagin & Metzger, 2008).
Social scientists around the world investigate the issues and phenomena regarding public perception and people’s interests in news media. A scholarly discourse has emerged in recent years to analyze the factors responsible for the uncertainty of public confidence in the news media. News media is considered to be manipulating the public views with its conservative biased reporting and with an uninterrupted stream of standardized opinion and an unchecked flow of news and sensationalism gathered from every corner of the world. News media are influencing public opinions by disseminating basic and shallow knowledge and are creating a huge number of uniformed individuals, often armed with irrationality and biases (Quackenbush, 2013). The elements involved to shape public opinion are expressive of the political inclinations and “game framing, in which political issues are treated as strategic contests” rather than any clear intentions of professional responsibility by the journalists (McLeod et al., 2017, p. 41). This could lead to increased perceptions of media bias (Willnat et al., 2019).
The journalistic values, which are linked with ethical values and principles of journalism like credibility, truthfulness, neutrality, accuracy, fairness, impartiality, un-biasness, and factuality provide a desired way for journalists to examine the problems and issues of the society (Maras, 2013; Schudson, 2001). While writing stories, journalists should not add their political, social, or cultural affiliations and should keep their personal attitudes away from the news stories, because journalistic biases can be identified by reading the news content of the journalists (Hackett, 2009), which create negative perceptions of the news media in the society. Moreover, user-generated comments on online news websites provide prompt analysis and affect the reader’s interpretations and their perception of media credibility (Lee, 2012).
“The credibility of traditional journalism stems from the established experience of highly skilled correspondents and editors as well as from the depth of news coverage offered through analysis, discussion and comment on the events” (El Semary & Al Khaja, 2013, p. 60). Credibility research has two basic components, reporting accuracy and believability of source. Reporting was measured through the judgement of journalists’ expertise, competence, honesty, openness, and caring attitude. In this regard, research work was done with a special focus on message comprehensibility, completeness, and fairness of the news story, and consistency of the opinion. These qualities create source credibility as previous work has indicated that the audience believes in journalists’ ability to dig out the truth and its fair analytical presentation. The journalists exhibiting a rational point of view are considered a reliable source, and people believe in their political evaluation and criticism of the government. However, people analyze and scrutinize message content, and it is evident that accurate reporting and well-founded communication affects perceptions of believability and credibility assessments (Gaziano & McGrath, 1986; Metzger et al., 2003).
The traditional media (i.e., print and electronic media), which is considered the backbone of a society (Panday, 2009), can play a profound role in this regard with its objectivity: provision of factual information and expert opinion regarding the issues and events. Scholars have also analyzed the different approaches to probe objectivity in news media like validity and trust in media (Bracken, 2006; Choi et al., 2006; Tsfati & Cohen, 2012), and it is found that citizens in a democratic society believe that media is the only platform that can raise their voices at the local as well as the national level and get their issues resolved (Hackett & Zhao, 1996).
However, journalists’ political associations, cultural affiliations, and partisanship reflect in their report writings and critical analysis. They don’t embrace standards of journalism, portray the news stories according to their frame of reference, and analyze the issues with their values and sentiments. Certain questions were investigated by the scholars, like: Do journalists remain objective when writing news stories? What practices does a journalist follow in reporting facts? It is found that journalists promote sensationalism instead of writing and promoting the facts of a story (Quackenbush, 2013). Their associations and affiliations depict in the content and analysis while writing a news story, and they do not avoid portraying the unverified stories and biased interpretation (Keller, 2013).
Methodology
This research used focus group discussions as a discovery tool to analyze the perception of news channels of Pakistan in terms of credibility and objectivity, because focus groups can provide information about the number of ideas and feelings about current issues as well as highlight the differences between the groups and individuals’ perspectives (Green, 2007). The study’s protocols focused on trustworthiness, fairness, accuracy, and confidence in reporting and current affairs’ programs. Five questions about fairness, bias, and competency were asked, which we further discussed in the results. The researchers selected groups of students from different degree programs in Media and Communication from the School of Media and Communication Studies, University of Management and Technology, Lahore. This school has more than 700 students enrolled in BS, MA, and M.Phil. programs. The eight groups of male and female students (n=72) were selected using simple random sampling from three different degree programs, two from M.Phil. (n1=8; n2=9), two from MA (n3=8; n4=9), and four groups from BS (n5=10; n6=9; n7=8; n8=10), based on the number of students in each of these programs. To conduct this research effectively and to get reliable and valid results, a moderator was trained by the researchers. Both male and female participants were encouraged to respond and share their thoughts and views regarding Pakistani news channels. The interviews were conducted in Urdu, and the summary was translated into English.
Results
This focus group study used the values of journalism, fairness, factuality, expertise, and integrity to measure the perception of electronic news media among respondents. All the opinions and statements in this section are summaries of or quotes from one or more of the focus group discussions.
When asked their perception of “Is Pakistani electronic media fair?”, most of the respondents from all groups mentioned unfairness and imbalance in the news stories, particularly about political news. Students expressed that on national issues, journalists may seem to discuss the problems of the country on their talk shows, but it has no productive outcome because they mostly discuss the issues with incompetent politicians, who create the problems, instead of interviewing experts and professionals. Their programs are similar to the political entertainment shows where guests, mostly politicians, insult opponents; even some anchors add fuel to the fire to attain scandalous fame. One student added that “the electronic media in Pakistan is very popular among the masses and it has an immense influence, but the distortion of social reality is visible in their programs due to their inclination towards a specific political party while fairness demands no favoritism and no discrimination.” Students believed that journalists twist the facts and information based on their agenda, and it seems clear that some media channels are broadcasting their news, particularly current affairs programs, for the government or for the opposition and portray an absurd image of the media to the nation. People have started believing them to be either fake news providers or incredible sources of information due to their favoritism.
A follow-up question, “Is Pakistani news media biased?” was then asked. Several respondents said that news channels are politically and ideologically biased. They said that you can see clear inequality in coverage, time, and opportunity provided to the representatives of different political parties on controversial issues. An incompetent and improper representative is selected against the person of the favorite party. Further, use of language in news reporting and concluding remarks of current affairs programs show their biases. Anchors criticize the manifesto and practices of opposition parties and try to manipulate the news, either political or non-political, in terms of political and administrative points of view without a fair investigation. They support the ideology and point of view of their allied party or parties and criticize opponents most of the time for no reason.
