Let’s Get One Thing Straight
I’ve been in this game for 23 years. That’s right, 23. I started back in ’99, when the internet was still a baby and we actually had to talk to people to get stories. I’ve seen it all, or so I thought. But Pakistan’s media? It’s a whole different beast. And honestly, it’s exhausting.
I’m Sarah, by the way. You might know me from my days at Dawn News, or maybe you’ve seen my byline in The News International. I’ve won awards, I’ve made enemies, and I’ve definitely had too much chai in my time. But enough about me. Let’s talk about this mess.
First, The Good
Look, I’m not gonna sit here and say it’s all bad. Because it’s not. We’ve got some amazing journalists in this country. People like let’s call him Marcus over at Geo TV, who’s been digging into corruption cases since before it was cool. Or my old colleague, Dave, who’s been fearlessly reporting from the frontlines in Balochistan. These are the people who make me proud to be in this profession.
And the public? They’re hungry for real news. I remember last Tuesday, I was at a café in Lahore, and this guy, let’s call him Ahmed, came up to me and said, “Sarah, we just want the truth. That’s all. No spin, no propaganda. Just tell us what’s really going on.” And I looked at him, and I said, “Ahmed, I’m trying. But it’s not that simple.”
Then, The Bad
Oh, where do I even start? The pressure from the government? The threats from God knows who? The fact that we’re expected to report on 214 different stories in a day, with only 36 hours to spare? It’s a nightmare.
I was talking to a source last week—let’s call him Zain—over coffee at that place on 5th. He told me, “Sarah, you know as well as I do that half of what’s printed is just noise. It’s not news, it’s not information. It’s just noise.” And he’s right. We’re drowning in noise.
And don’t even get me started on the sensationalism. I mean, come on. We’ve got entire news channels dedicated to speculating about some celebrity’s pregnancy health advice guide instead of reporting on actual issues. It’s ridiculous.
A Quick Digression: The Time I Almost Got Fired
So, about three months ago, I was working on this story. It was big. It was gonna expose some high-up official’s shady dealings. I was feeling pretty good about it, you know? I’d done my research, I’d talked to my sources, I was ready to go. Then my editor calls me into his office. And he says, “Sarah, we’re not running the story.” And I said, “What? Why not?” And he said, “Just… we’re not.”
I was livid. I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I kinda lost it. I threw my pen across the room (which, in hindsight, was probably not the most professional thing to do). But I was frustrated. I still am. Because that’s the reality of our media landscape. We’ve got stories that need to be told, and we’re told not to tell them.
And The Ugly
But the worst part? The absolute worst part? It’s the fact that we’re complicit in it. We, as journalists, are part of the problem. We let ourselves be swayed by political agendas, by financial incentives, by fear. We let ourselves be manipulated.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and this journalist from Reuters—let’s call her Priya—she looked at me and she said, “Sarah, you guys in Pakistan, you’re not even trying anymore.” And I wanted to argue with her. I wanted to tell her she was wrong. But I couldn’t. Because she’s not wrong. We’re not trying hard enough.
We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to be better. We owe it to our readers, to our sources, to ourselves. We owe it to Pakistan.
So, what’s the solution? Honestly, I don’t know. I wish I did. But I do know this: we’ve got to start somewhere. We’ve got to start with the committment to tell the truth, no matter what. We’ve got to start with the determination to hold those in power accountable. We’ve got to start with the courage to say “no” when we’re told to bury a story.
It’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be hard, and messy, and probably not completley succesfully at first. But it’s gotta be done. Because the alternative? The alternative is that we continue down this path, and we lose what little credibility we have left.
And that, my friends, is a future I’m not willing to accept.
About the Author: Sarah Ahmed is a senior journalist with over two decades of experience in Pakistani media. She’s worked at some of the country’s most prestigious news outlets and has covered everything from political scandals to natural disasters. When she’s not chasing stories, she can be found drinking chai and complaining about the state of the world.
