BY I R FA N H U S A I NI CAN`T say I`m a big fan of the Supreme Court`s current trend of taking on suo motu cases regarding everything wrong in Pakistan.

In fact,if our judiciary were to clear their backlog of 1.8 million cases pending before it, our litigious country would breathe a sigh of relief. The whole business of granting stay orders at the drop of a hat needs a thorough judicial review: just consider the fact that TV channels charged with contravening the Pemra code of conduct have filed no less than 600 stay orders with various courts, thus rendering the regulatory body totally impotent. Meanwhile, they go their merry way, vilifying their targets, and occasionally putting their lives at risk.

Fortunately, there are a few exceptions like the recent unmasking of one of Pakistan`s most popular anchors, by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, who took notice of his bizarre accusations. By claiming that the main accused in the brutal Kasur rape and murder of little Zainab was at the centre of an international child pornography ring, the anchor`s allegations could have derailed the investigation. As it is, the State Bank almost immediately debunked his claim that the killer had 37 bank accounts.

Even after his claims have been discredited, the anchor in question is still defending himself on his channel. In one incoherent broadcast, he rejected the oft-repeated charge that he had no journalistic background but had parachuted into senior broadcasting positions at large media houses.

Naming well-known TV anchors and broadcasters abroad who had no degrees in journalism, he sought to place himself in their ranks.

Infact, the subject one studies atuniversity has nothing to do with journalistic standards and ethics. In reputable TV channels like the BBC and CNN, presenters and anchors, no matter how famous and well paid, have to stick to the script written and cleared by the news desk. If the story is controversial, additional vetting is called in.

In Pakistan, however, anchors are the public faces of TV channels, and are extremely well rewarded. Some among the very popular ones have a direct link to the owners, bypassing the normal professional and managerial hierarchies other journalists are subordinate to. They thus produce their own scoops, and sprinkle their stardust on the channels they work for.

But this constant battle to top the popularity chart of ten becomes a race to the gutter. Although the chief justice has set up a joint investigation team to further probe the anchor`s accusations, it appears that there is not much to look into. Had there been any evidence, surely the anchor would have presented it by now to his increasinglysceptical audience.

However, he is not alone. Not that long ago, another senior anchor pushed a claim by a so-called inventor that he had discovered the secret of making a car that ran on water.

Evening after evening, the anchor would lament about how a Pakistani genius was being ignored by the scientific establishment. Finally, his persistence paid off, and the miracle car was publicly tested. Surprise, surprise, the whole thing was a hoax.

In most such cases of false claims and accusations, no apologies or explanations are ever forthcoming, either from the anchor or the management. And Pemra, as we have seen, has been made a spectator to this unprofessional conduct through a spate of stay order notices so easily granted by our courts.

Print journalism, by contrast, has higher standards for the verification of stories. One reason is that reporters are in a chain of command, and, for the most part, no newspaper staffer can bypass the editor to approach theowners. In reputable publications like this one, their stories are normally subjected to cross-checking and fact-checking.

Much to my occasional irritation, the editor of these pages and I don`t always see eye to eye with changes that appear in my published columns. Butmore orten tnan not, 1 see tnat tne alterations have been made due to either policy concerns, or where I have made a genuine mistake. The odd argument aside, my editor and I are literally on the same page.

This kind of back and forth is only possible because the deadlines in print journalism aren`t as tight as they are in TV where vicious rivalries and 24/7 rolling news of ten force ill-considered decisions, and the news editor`s role is severely curtailed. The results of this kind of journalism on the run are clearly visible in the shape of mindless discussions and poorly informed debates that have become the norm.

Half-baked opinions are peddled as f acts, and the same talking heads are invited to offer the same views night after night.

Unproven accusations are thrown around liberally, while most anchors encourage the most outlandish comments without challenging them.

In this environment of mediocrity and cut-throat competition, it is no wonder that unethical so-called media professionals flourish.• irfan.husain@gmail.com