MANY Pakistani Americans watch Pakistan Television to keep themselves abreast with the events back home. They cannot in the meantime help comparing Pakistani telecast with that of American TV.

And they notice that though Urdu television has emerged to be a good news source, it needs to polish its working.

Here are some of my comments: Pakistan’s news shows are unnecessarily noisy. The jingles they use for opening are no longer in fashion. They interrupt them to give breaking news that are usually longish and repetitive.

Such insertions are also made in talk shows without caring for the content underneath. Anchorpersons fail to stop guests from shouting at each other at the same time.

Apparently Pakistani networks do not follow a code of conduct while using the airtime for promos and commercials.

True, promos save the network a lot of production money but their repetition becomes sickening.

They also need to undergo revision. Expression like “when will people’s problems be solved”, and “problems faced by Pakistanis, whether they are here or abroad are the same”, are unrealistic.

Commercials are undoubtedly the lifeline of all media effort but they must embrace technology that keeps London advertising from coming to New York, Washington or Los Angeles.

Obviously, we cannot be lured by restaurants, furniture stores and grocery shops in England. Similarly calls to prayers in Europe cannot be applied to North America simply because of time lapse.

AKMAL SHAH Woodbridge, VA

Opinion

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