To Meher's rescue

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 17 June 2012 |  Amal Mirza

Dunya TV's anchor Meher Bukhari faces pressure following a leaked interview with Malik Riaz. Despite management's actions against Mubashar Lucqman, influential allies may protect her.

Summary

KARACHI: Within hours of the Malik Riaz “off air” video going viral on the net, the Dunya TV management sprang into action, summarily sacking Mubashar Lucqman, one of the anchors conducting the interview, and giving the other, Meher Bukhari, 24 hours to resign. The implication was that she would be sacked if she did not resign.

Well, it’s well over 24 hours and Meher is holding on. Is it possible that she’s plain lucky, is more tenacious than Mubashar or knows more powerful people than he does? And while Mubashar was summoned for an in-house inquiry, he tweeted as much; Meher seems to be getting away scot free. A day after the scandal broke she tried to clarify her position in her program.

She offered this jewel: “I only did what any other journalist would have done.” The implication in that sentence is admission of guilt. She put her foot in her mouth that belied her own advice to Mubashar in the staged interview with Malik Riaz. “Be professional,” she had told him.

Was Meher being professional when she tried to clarify her own position in regard to the interview and having allegedly accepted Rs50 lakh as a wedding gift from the property tycoon? It seemed more like an act of self-preservation; this from somebody who personified composure and confidence to the extent that it could be mistaken for cockiness.

But now comes the shocking part; a couple of powerful men have come to her rescue and in all probability will save her from getting sacked, thus compromising the Dunya management’s effort to distance themselves from the leaked interview. Once again influence will win over the truth.

As unbecoming as it is, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, a good friend, apparently sided with Meher, saying it was illegal and unconstitutional of the person who had leaked and posted the damaging interview. He said nothing of the contents within or the implication that it had been a staged interview.

The minister stressed that during breaks of live TV programs, politicians and journalists usually chatted and joked. This is because they know each other quite well. Kaira backed Meher’s argument that usually questions are pre-decided with the guest to make him comfortable with the upcoming content. She said it was normal procedure.

If it is as she says the implication is clear… the interview does not have integrity because it is a contrived one and therefore an unprofessional act has been committed. As a so-called journalist she should know this. To insist that she is right is making a mockery of the profession and all itstands for.

Likewise, PML-N stalwart Khawaja Mohammad Asif also defended Meher saying that although a nexus was apparent between Lucqman and Malik Riaz, Meher’s role did not fit the scenario. He entirely bypassed the issue that Meher had been part of an interview that was staged and therefore dishonest.

The public may or may not be interested in knowing how much money she got and from whom, but they certainly do not like to be made to look like asses and that is something Meher has conveniently and selfishly decided not to take into consideration. Her credibility is lost and she should leave it at that.

KEY POINTS:

• Mubashar Lucqman was sacked after the viral interview with Malik Riaz.
• Meher Bukhari was given 24 hours to resign but has not done so.
• Prominent politicians are defending Meher, complicating TV management's decisions.
• The interview raises serious questions about journalistic ethics.
• Public credibility is at stake following revelations of a staged interview.