Should entertainment shows educate? "The Federal Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, has directed the PTV management to submit its report regarding ad hoc appointments soon. He has also directed the top PTV management to explain why a number of contractual appointments against huge salary packages were made in the state run television." This is an extract from a news report which has appeared in a newspaper (6th May 2005) under the headline "Minister takes notice of adhocism in PTV".(It made one think of the numerous other reports which appear in the media about adhocism in the establishment).
This news report attributed to official sources who told the newspaper that the Information Minister had taken notice of "adhocism". The report went on to say that PTV has acquired the services of over 15 consultants and the Minister has directed the PTV management to submit its plans to fill eight director level posts. Sources said that the PTV management recently made 11 more ad hoc appointments against Rs573,000 to create a 'creative unit'. The report further said that the entire unit visited Islamabad in March 2005 to make plans for improving the quality of PTV programmes.
The unit members stayed in the Capital as PTV guests for a month costing Rs400,000 to the state-run television. PTV Managing Director Arshad Khan reportedly defended high salaries for the team, saying that good salary packages were necessary to attract people from the private sector.
One can contemplate this kind of a news story in the context of more and more TV channels coming up in the country. The competition between the channels would obviously lead to a competition to pay more to the staff. One would also anticipate that there would be a shortage of trained and talented media people within the channels, at this point in time, for a foreseeable future.
I notice that I have some pending thoughts that have queued up over the weeks. A sort of backlog of the channel surfing that I have done. One instance, a bit of an interview that was telecast in Rising Pakistan by PTV in the last week of April. A visiting theatre personality Bina Sharif was being interviewed by talkative Tauseef Haidar. She has moved from Pakistan to the United States, to New York city in particular. Manhattan to be precise.
Not only was she very enthusiastic and emphatic about explaining the significance and status of living in Manhattan, and how expensive the place was, but she also stressed that she had been living there ever since she moved to the US. And she was totally candid in her views about the quality of the theatre in Pakistan, describing it as third class, and also sounded disgusted with the elite of Islamabad, and their superficialities.
She compared them to the people in the US who were open, friendly and casual. To a question she said that she did not have any friends in Pakistan, and visited this country only for some relatives who reside here.
One question she got no answer from the interviewer Tauseef was "why are Pakistanis so pretentious and given to ridiculing others?" That's a good question and one wonders whether it has something to do with the nouveau riche who seem so visible and domineering in Pakistani society today.
Having said this reminds me of the interview with Khalid Saeed Butt, the thinking artiste that we have who was chatting sensibly in the morning show during the outgoing week. He was emphatic that the problem with theatre as with television here was that it was obsessed with the entertainment goal. He seemed to be advocating the concept and the philosophy of art for society's sake. Not art for art's sake.
He explained to a rather naïve looking Tauseef, that what television was doing in Pakistan was that it had no educative, instructive or informational value, as a result of which meaningless entertainment was being provided to the masses. Interesting observation, this one, and one wonders why more people are not saying this.
Also pending is the need to take notice of the lengthy, possibly over done coverage of the welcome and congratulatory reception that was held in Islamabad for the Pakistan cricket team, that beat India in the One Day International matches last month. It was an official celebration and so were the bouquets.
Therefore PTV had its full focus and floodlights on the flowers (not brickbats as losers they get that) that were being showered on the cricketers who had returned from India. I may mention here that the Pakistani cricket team is now in the West Indies and from next week begins another round of cricket that will be telecast, and cricket viewers have something to be glued to.
Right now the exclusion of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar from the team is being discussed by the channels, with Shoaib Akhtar making public statements that he does wish to know why he has been dropped from the West Indies bound squad, when he considered himself to be fully physically fit.
Interestingly the PTV programme was called Hai Koi Hum Jaisa. The Prime Minister hosted a "grand dinner cum reception" at the Convention Centre, which was followed by a musical and variety show that was aired live on PTV. Obviously there was music and dance, and comedy too. That is the standard entertainment package. I am distracted by the thought of the very sophisticated award distribution programmes that are telecast by the Indian channels, like Sony and Zee and Star Plus.
This time there was the highly impressive IFAA awards ceremony that was telecast over the weekend. This was held in Singapore and it was a major attraction for the majority of viewers. Sometimes, as a matter of competition and challenge Pakistani channels come up with other entertainment packages, but in most instances they are unable to provide the competition that is required. In such instances too, Pakistani channels are enormously handicapped by the lack of high standards of professionalism, and the cultural ambience that is available to Indian programmes.
Have you not noticed the way in which even the audiences in the Indian programmes are fully involved and therefore responsive to the artistes on stage? Have you not noticed the emotive extent to which those audiences are involved, and by contrast Pakistani audiences which more often than not simply sit stiff and bored. At best they smile, and clap half heartedly.
Returning to the Hai Koi Hum Jaisa programme, there was also a march from the Blue Area to the Parliament House where the cricketers were received with enthusiasm, and a "dastar bandi" was also held for them. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for the team when it returns from the West Indies. Hai Koi Hum Jaisa again!
It was interesting to see journalist Kokab Farshori move from news reading to compering a talk show called Aap Key Roo Baroo on PTV on Monday night. He was talking to the Federal Communications Minister, Shamim Siddiqui, and even though I did not watch all of it,(and quite obviously so) I found fairly informative the answers that the Minister gave. He sounded noticeably humble and down to earth, and wasn't making tall promises !!! There was a good amount of caution in the way he was handling the question that came from Kokab Farshori, as well as the invited audience. It was good to see a high level of focus on the Pakistan Post office, and the ambitious plans that the government has to make all the post offices platforms to provide the people with computerised identity cards in the foreseeable future. Sounds like a good idea. Infact, why Pakistan's post offices have not been utilised for more public dealing is something that does need to be pondered.
And before I forget I must underline the fact that Aaj TV has been available to me all through the week, with occasional ups and downs in the quality of the service that the cable operator is providing. While I have been tuned into its news bulletins and current affairs shows I am tempted to reproduce a comment from a professional who said spontaneously that it was a "cleaner and better version" when compared to... For me it was very significant to see on-the-spot candid coverage on Aaj TV when Talat Hussain was talking to the journalists who were protesting outside the Parliament House on the World Press Day earlier this month. The journalists' comments and resentment at the attitude and actions of the government, which of course is a small indicator of the changing political mood, and the weather in the media world itself. More evidence of this is easily available in the current affairs shows, where opposition members are found speaking with growing anger and rising impatience. Will this snowball into some kind of mood for the Federal Budget that is due in the first week of June? It remains to be seen.
I saw the Huma Show on Aaj TV on Thursday afternoon, and it was a cheerful, contemplative Imran Khan who was expressing himself on a variety of themes, including his personal life. But as against this he was in a totally different frame of mind and heart when he was sitting with Federal Interior Minister Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao in a current affairs show that was looking at the internal threat in Pakistan. Imran Khan was once again accusing the establishment of the absence of the rule of law in the country.
But let me end with the regular ARY question-answer programme that went on air early in the week. It was compered by P.J. Mir. The participants were Senator Enver Baig of the Peoples Party, Kashmala Tariq of the PMLQ and Parvez Rasheed.
The first question that was handled related to the Washington Post cartoon (dog being a principal character) wherein there was an interesting and varied opinion. Reasons why the American daily used the cartoon were given and it once again highlighted the cultural values that divide societies, and how these are reflected in the media. A great deal of attention has been focused on the Washington Post cartoon.
The National Assembly has taken notice of it, so have other platforms, and television channels like Geo have taken it up in the Kamran Khan show, in which he spoke to a university professor, Dr Zahid Husain Bokhari, who took a moderate stance, generally speaking. Not often that one gets to see a balanced view on TV channels in a world getting sharply divided, and taking tough stands and uncompromising positions!
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