Floor crossing in media is common. Where anchors see more shine and sheen of notes, they swirl to that direction. Changing of channels is not as simple and straight forward as changing of jobs. Journalism is not merely a job. Every newspaper and TV channel is based on some philosophical theory and ideology, and people who join them adhere to same ideology. How come anchors can change their ideology every month? How come they can go from far right to far left, and anti-dictatorship to anti-democracy in one week by merely changing the channels. Some anchors like Talat Hussain have even completed the full circle, starting from Aaj TV and then landing back at Aaj TV after tasting bounty at various channels.
Anyway, this is Ramadan season and we see that every TV channel is telecasting Ramazan transmission. This is a new money minting method after the morning shows. You will find all kinds of drama going on in the Ramazan show. Music, dances, jokes, sitcoms with glamorous touches and theatrics, there is nothing which could be called as spiritual or religious about these Ramazan transmission. Dr. Aamir Liaqat Hussain who is also known as Balam Online in the words of Nusrat Javed, is the leading Ramadan Actor these days. From ARY to GEO and now at Express he stages Ramazan transmission drama for hours and do everything during the hours long show. I wonder how much money he earns from there, millions of rupees for sure for one day along with all the perks.
Hypocrisy seems to be the hallmark of these Ramadan shows. For example, in his recent columns not long ago in the Jang, Aamir Liaqat condemned the TV channels for spending their time with the Gullu Butt and not focusing on real issues. I was surprised to see that yesterday during his Pakistan Ramzan transmission, Aamir Liaqat was doing a sitcom with the Gullu Butt. This is just tip of iceberg. The masses are now hooked on this cheap entertainment in the name of religion. Some people say that earlier they used to pass their fast by watching Indian movies, but now they spend their roza time by watching Dr. Aamir Liaqat Drama. Go Figure !!!