Why So One-Sided?
Last night, my wife missed the ten o'clock news and asked me if there had been any update about Pakistan. Strangely, given the day's developments, there hadn't.
The night before, the BBC had reported on the state of emergency declared by President Musharraf last Saturday and the subsequent arrest of lawyers and judges. Tonight, we were treated to scenes of police beating and arresting supporters of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was briefly placed under house arrest to prevent her from holding a rally. Yet yesterday we were told nothing of Pervez Musharraf's renewed pledge to hold parliamentary elections before 15 February, as planned, and to stand down as head of the army, if and when the Supreme Court validates his recent election as president for another term. Indeed, still no mention was made of this tonight.
The world is complex enough to understand without the media making it more difficult (and depressing) by only ever reporting negative circumstances. That said, on its website, the BBC does have an interesting analysis worth reading: Is Musharraf-Bhutto conflict all it seems? Just a shame they couldn't find a bit more space in their television news to present a more balanced report.
2 comments:
Early on Saturday mornings they have a programme called 'Points of View'. Perhaps you would like to send a copy of your Blog to the programme for inclusion next Saturday and see what the BBC Spokesman's reply is?
G in Oxfordshire.
I heard that President Musharraf was pledging elections prior to Feb 15 and I heard Benazir Bhutto's response that she wanted a timetable to elections on Radio 4. It seems as if it is the TV news that was lacking.
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