There is a proliferation of aamil/faal/astrology/fortune tellers on pakistani/urdu channels these days. This isnt just limited to the marginal channels, mainstream widely watched channels like ARY give primetime broadcast time to Aamils/fortune tellers/astrologists/quacks on shows like Bakhabar Sawera or whatever is the equivalent programme on that channel.
On the one hand there is a strong market for quackery in Pakistan. And a free media should be free to exploit this market.
On the other hand we have a clear case of misleading the public and perpetuating an extremely unhealthy tendency in our people (wasting money on witch doctors/astrologists/bangali babas etc) by promoting this nonsense on primetime tv, and legitimizing this garbage. People in Pakistan routinely avoid going to proper doctors and see quacks until the problem is so severe they need to be rushed to emergency care. Instead of raising awareness about the dangers of resorting to nonsensical piri faqeeri our media is selling out public interest to make a fast buck.
Should government be in the business of imposing minimum standards of sanity when it comes to religious beliefs? Should we be concerned about protecting the public from frauds selling them false hope, false comfort, false health?
Re: Media freedom vs Protecting the public interest
You brought up a great topic! I personally think these sort of programs should seriously be censored by the government. I remember during old times it wasn't as bad like ptv didn't show stuff like astrology and fortune tellers but now its all over the place. I honestly think even in the government you have politicians and a great majority of public who believe in these things therefore i don't think it would be possible to pass a law since quackery is so widespread in pakistan. Here in USA we watch geo and ary and I see all these ads of pir babas on a daily basis and I am pretty sure most of them are frauds. I remember couple of years ago in our city they publicized a pir baba in a newspaper and he made millions of dollars and it turned out to be a fraud, they reported it to the police but police can't do anything here since everyone willingly gave him their money, lol. The least media can do is run an advisory before the ad that they can't guarantee the authenticity of the amal or treatment or whatever they call it and if the viewers choose to contact this person they should do so at their own risk.
Re: Media freedom vs Protecting the public interest
It shouldnt even be from the government perhaps. That is too often the invitation for the government to curb the media for its own reasons that have nothing to do with the public good.
Pakistan needs a Ralph Nader. Consumer advocacy NGOs that take on these media corporations and keep them honest when it comes to safeguarding the public good.
And yes the minimum responsibility atleast of these media orgs is that if they must cater to the the market for this nonsense, advise beforehand that this is a crock.
Re: Media freedom vs Protecting the public interest
The all-in-all freedom of media will definitely come with a price. Nowadays, western country channels are airing governmental ads warning against certain media tricks but how effective are they? Why allow such things in the first place?
Is it so difficult to draw the line between what is good for the society and what isn't? If not, we don't need all out freedom of the media.
And yes the minimum responsibility atleast of these media orgs is that if they must cater to the the market for this nonsense, advise beforehand that this is a crock.
Do you think that will work? What is the point of showing the ad and then giving a hasty counter message like: "Tambako noshi sehat ke liye muzar hai. Wazarat-e-sehat hakumat-e-Pakistan."