AT the breakfast table before going for work recently, I switched on the television. It was horrible to see one-hour news being aired on one of the leading channels. The commercial breaks were frustratingly frequent.

To make things worse, the quality of news being transmitted was simply pathetic, to say the least. There were clips of street crimes, news of burglaries, rapes, murders, etc., and then there were reports of birthdays of Indian singers and actors, with their clips of old songs. It was a waste of time. I recollect that in the good, old days, there was only one channel, and the news was of high standard.

As if to ensure the public is provided this dose of toxicity constantly, the same stuff is repeated in the evening. To save myself from this torture, I switched off the TV, and focussed on better things.

The advertisers should take note of the fact that spending money on advertise-ments during TV news bulletins does not give them any benefit. People now do not watch such trash anymore.

Hopefully, the authorities concerned will take up the matter with the management of all TV channels across the country, and ensure the news reported is of quality and is useful to the viewers.

Akber D. Vazir
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2024