or too long, I have struggled to answer the question: just how much intake of daily politics is good for ordinary Pakistanis? More or less 80 percent of a channel’s airtime is currently eaten up by politics. The question livened up again on October 21, when ball-to-ball coverage of Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan was aired by national media. No doubt it was a big political development.But did it deserve more than 24 hours of constant updates and analysis?

Being the start of a weekend, Saturdays tend to be light when it comes to breaking news. Even political parties know this very well and hence schedule their political activities and pressers accordingly.

One could have digested the wall-to-wall coverage somehow if there were no other major news around and wire agencies were struggling to keep their supplies at reasonable levels. However, the ‘return’ happened while brutal wars weregoing on in two places: Gaza and Ukraine. Besides, there is the skyrocketing inflation that continues to play havoc with people’s pockets.

Most news channels were flooded with paid advertisements a few days before the arrival. There needs to be transparency about the amount the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz paid for making and airing these political advertisements. There is no precedent of this happening in Pakistan. What these ads did was help most news channels sound strangely the same in the build-up to the homecoming. No political divisions or different points of view were visible. It was as if no other political force existed.

Two harshly opposing news channels sounded and looked the same. How was this possible? A partial explanation, of course, was the income from the advertisements. But could there be other reasons as well? Perhaps, time and social media will unearth and share the information over the coming days (like Maryam Nawaz’s audio leaks in the past). For now, it is a hushed affair.

It seems that all pro-Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf channels have been made to realise that the former prime minister is unlikely to return to power in the near future and they have to change tack or go bust.

A side-effect of the overwhelming political coverage by news media organisations in the recent years has been increasing hatred of ‘democracy.’ Many viewers are seen grumbling against the politicians during or after a talk show. The most popular one-line conclusion is that these representatives are good for nothing. Media frequently preys on the politicians’ weaknesses, thereby increasing the negativity.

A side-effect of the overwhelming political coverage by news media organisations in recent years has been the increasing hatred of ‘democracy.’ Many viewers are seen grumbling against the politicians during or after a talk show. The most popular one-line conclusion is that these representatives are good for nothing. Media frequently preys on the politicians’ weaknesses, thereby increasing the negativity.

State institutions as well as political parties wish to control the media. During the heyday of the print media, efforts to coerce newspapers took the form of an early morning ritual of burning their copies. Today, only the cable operators need directions. The absence of an even and smooth evolution of a democratic and inclusive state and society has allowed the dominant individuals from elite classes, groups and entities to use the news media for their cultural, political and economic objectives. These powerful lobbies build media narratives, some of which systematically demolish political parties and politicians.

It is said that media coverage of a political party is inversely related to its distance from the establishment; the greater the distance, the less the coverage.

At some media houses, the owners rather than senior journalists decide the news agenda for the day. Business reigns supreme and marketing considerations rather than a concern for a balanced and credible information stream determine choices. A statement by the caretaker prime minister this week prompted a strong rebuttal from the All Pakistan Newspapers Society. The prime minister, while answering a question about the pending summary of the Ministry of Information for an increase in the government advertisement rates, stated that the print media should change its ‘flawed’ business model. He suggested that instead of depending on government funding, it should generate revenue through ‘its own resources’. The APNS said the prime minister was ill-informed and that the print media owners were seeking no grant or subsidy from the government. On the contrary, they said, newspapers published government ads at subsidised rates. They also said the federal government owed a sum of almost Rs 2 billion to newspapers.

Most of the visuals at the Minar-i-Pakistan rally were appropriate and carefully choreographed. Pigeons instead of the PML-N’s trademark lion made the intentions clear. Nawaz Sharif has returned following reconciliation with those who matter. If the PML-N chooses to pick a pigeon as its new election symbol, it would do well to remember that the bird tends to return where it came from.

General elections are, hopefully, round the corner. The role of the media in making or breaking a party would be crucial. Let’s hope the coverage will be sensible and focused on public interest.

The writer, a journalist for 33 years, has been an editor at the BBC in Pakistan for over two decades. Currently, he is the managing editor at Independent Urdu