Over the years, media has played a pivotal role in bringing about an unprecedented change in the society. It has acted as our collective conscience. Several towering personalities from media rose to the occasion and never gave up despite the odds. These journalists hailing from both print and electronic media are beacons of the bright future of this society. However, I also think that some journalists compromised their objectivity too. They harangued on petty issues, often involving ego problems. This was especially evident in case of the foreign trips of VVIPs where they failed to distinguish between national priorities and personal issues. There has been a great deal of hue and cry in the media over the issue of visa rejection of several journalists who were to accompany the PM on his US visit. Need I remind those journalists that issuance of visa has always been a prerogative of the embassy or high commission of that country and not ours. Going to the US was a different story prior to 9/11. Previously, one would apply for visa and proceed without any hiccup if one was a journalist. Presently, insurgency against US interests worldwide has forced substantial raising of security measures by the US authorities. If one does not like the new security regime, one should stay at home. -KHUBAIB USMANI, Islamabad, via e-mail, August 1.