You want to see media power?

Here is a news item published recently in the Arab press.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt has proposed to create an “Office for Arab Satellite Television” to supervise the satellite broadcast of Arab TV Channels. This proposal will be discussed in the meeting of Information Ministers of Arab League countries going to be held in Cairo on January 24, 2010.

An organization named Reporters Without Borders based in Paris, France said this is to implement censorship on TV broadcast. They claim this proposal is particularly targeted at Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, the Palestinian Hamas group’s Al-Aqsa TV and Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel.

Supposedly these TV channels criticize Arab governments.  I don’t know they criticize as a matter of policy or they broadcast news and commentaries which go against Arab governments or the Arab governments don’t like their people know.

Irrespective of any country, region or language there should definitely not be any censorship but at the same time TV channels and their broadcasters should also be responsible, reasonable and rational. They should not criticize for the sake of criticism.

Obviously, there would always be difference of opinion on many issues in any country of the world. A holy responsibility of the media is to present the pros and cons of both sides and let the audience decide and form their own opinion.