Aslam Azhar was head of the PTV. Maulana Kausar Niazi was information minister. Bhutto was presiding over a meeting of senior officers of the Information ministry in which he said he was being over publicised in the electronic media which is not good as the people would be fed up with him soon by seeing his face on the screen of the idiot box round the clock. The PTV chairman took his advice seriously.
One fine morning he was summoned by the prime minister Bhutto in his office for giving him a dressing down that why no mention was made of his famous speech which he had made in the Security Council in a documentary on the UN, telecast the previous night by the PTV, which he had per chance happened to see. The PTV chairman was taken aback because it was the same PM who had, a few days back, forbidden the PTV not to play him too much on the TV screen.
Most of the politicians in this country are prone to double talk. They do not necessarily mean also what they say so Bhutto alone cannot be faulted on this score. The point is that if a political personality would be given too much publicity in the media it is going to be counter productive. When Ayub Khan completed 10 years in power his information minister Altaf Gauhar foolishly hit upon the idea of celebrating his tenure in office through a massive publicity programme under the label of Decade of Reforms. It boomeranged and proved beginning of the end of his stint in office.
There has been a mushroom growth of TV channels , lately. Some of the politicians are publicity hungry and they fancy their public exposure. They are on the look out for an opportunity to pop into the headlines without realising that over projection in media causes one more harm than good. Make no mistake about it.
- Latest
- Trending
