By Yousuf Nazar 
The credibility of the government is low but so is the credibility of the media. The media coverage, with some exceptions, is compromised by commercial interests and the agencies.  Also, there is no transparency in terms of ownership, outside interests, and finances.
The politicians and the establishment get a lot of flak but it is about time the self-righteous media takes a critical look at its own state of affairs. We complain about dynasties in politics but is the media any better or different?
Let us talk about the conflict of interest.
Daily Times and Business Plus are owned by Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, who also served Musharraf as a federal minister.  How can they be impartial?
DAWN CEO's elder brother, Hussain Haroon has been appointed as Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN. It is a matter of record that M.A.H. Ispahani, Quaid-e-Azam' s associate, had called Yusuf Haroon an American agent, who had "˜Mujibur Rahman in his pay'.
ARY's owners were involved in the famous case (1994) of transfer of $10 million to Mr. Zardari's Capricon Trading account with Citibank Dubai.
GEO TV broadcasts programmes from Voice of America. How much money does it receive, if any, from VOA or other US sources? VOA is owned and controlled by the United States government. Its Board members are appointed directly by the President of the United States.
It is inappropriate to receive any money from a foreign government, directly or indirectly, or a propagate its views, for a media organisation that purports to believe in independence and objectivity.   Would GEO like to discuss, or can it discuss this aspect publicly?   Those who believe in the freedom of press, expression and accountability should also talk about their owners and probe if they too are compromised.   
Militancy is an illegitimate child of the establishment. So it does not matter who killed Benazir Bhutto - militants or the establishment?  But have we made any progress during the last one year in exposing and catching her killers?  
A dodgy news agency correspondent (Syed Saleem Shahzad of Italian Adnkronos International) claimed within hours of Benazir Bhutto's assassination that Al-Qaeda/Baitullah Mehsud killed her.
This was endorsed the same night and about two hours after her assassination by the editor [Najam Sethi] of a newspaper (Daily Times) in his interview to BBC Urdu service.  This newspaper's owner is now the governor of Punjab and was then a minister in Musharraf's government.
Three weeks later, on Jan. 18th the CIA chief confirmed that Bhutto's killer was indeed Al Qaeda and Baitullah Mehsud. 
Bingo. Problem solved!!! 
Now some of the "˜objective analysts' would say this is conspiracy theory.  Well, is Ron Suskind (formerly of the Wall Street Journal and Pulitzer winning journalist) also a conspiracy theorist when he, in effect, accuses Dick Cheney of condoning the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, in his book "˜Way of the World'? 
I was not surprised. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto told me on Sept. 3, 1977 that Jimmy Carter was behind his government's overthrow.