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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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                        <description>The Express Tribune keeps you up to date with all the latest happenings from Pakistan and across the world!</description>
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			<title>Best in print</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363318/best-in-print</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363318/best-in-print#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 07:23:26 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363318</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[A look at some of the best stories and headlines from print.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[25.09.2011

Girl accused of blasphemy for spelling error 

Muhammad Sadaqat

It was a minor error that led to blasphemy charges, expulsion and the looming threat of death. The story of Faryal, a Christian eighth-grader accused of blasphemy for erroneously writing ‘naat’ as ‘laanat’ encapsulated the madness that defined the issue of the blasphemy laws.

10.11.2011

In the name of ‘honour’: Brazen Shikarpur killings shake Hindu community

Sarfaraz Memon

A tale of a love affair that turned tragic. Three Hindu men were killed for intervening on behalf of two young men of their community who had been apprehended two weeks earlier and charged with criminally assaulting a Muslim girl. The real story, as told by area residents, was that Seema and Sandeep Kumar fell in love and were caught while they were meeting at the house of Sandeep’s friend, Nakash Kumar.

24.10.2011

Agriculture investments: The smart money is betting on the Pakistani farm

Farooq Tirmizi

The headlines may be screaming about violence and extremism but the smart money is betting, very quietly, on Pakistani agriculture, reports Farooq Tirmizi. The story explored a small but growing trend towards investing in the Pakistani agricultural sector, one of the largest in the world in terms of its production of several key commodities.

12.02.2011

Mullah Omar wants you

Rana Tanveer

The story reveals that a wide repertoire of banned Jihadi literature continues to be circulated widely in Punjab. It also highlights an interesting revelation: banned periodicals have actually become more visible during the present democratic government.

09.10.2011

Masked men enter girls’ school, thrash students 

Azam Khan

The shocking story of sixty masked men entering a girls’ school in Rawalpindi and thrashing female students and teachers attracted a great deal of feedback from online readers. The article was particularly alarming because the police did not take any action against the miscreants as they manhandled the school’s occupants.

17.03.2012

Back from the Brink 

Fazal Khaliq

The story focused on a topic which rarely makes headlines— the Swat telefilm industry. The article discusses that the conflict in the region had a debilitating effect on the region’s culture, arts and films, but now the entertainment industry is picking up and many artists have moved back to Swat. The in-depth piece had quotes from many associated with the industry including actors, DVD shop owners, film-makers and editors and also discussed how many artists felt let down by the government and NGOs.

Headlines

29.09.2011 No Bonn voyage for Pakistan

25.12.2011 Firdous throws in towel, takes it back, wipes tears

04.09.2011 Sentences passed: Teammates to inmates

24.09.2011 Wife proves quite ‘handi’ in kitchen for all the wrong reasons

08.03.2012 Bushra Zaidi, the woman who changed Karachi forever, by dying

20.08.2011 Cycle of violence: Mr Rehman Malik, meet Karachi’s wives and girlfriends

13.01.2012 ‘Djinns killed my children’

27.02.2012 Child sexual abuse: Paedophiles in holy garbs molest kids, betraying parents’ trust

23.06.2011 On the line: ‘Pay us Rs320 if you want your father’s body’

06.12.2011 Advanced learning: The bright-eyed future

20.03.2012 Kohistan massacre: The guardian angels who saved lives

25.02.2011 Newborn twins buried under bondage of brick kiln

30.08.2011 A death, a birth and the family mourns both

30.08.2011 Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>City Karachi: A day at the desk - City editor commits suicide after killing herself</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363317/city-karachi-a-day-at-the-desk-city-editor-commits-suicide-after-killing-herself</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363317/city-karachi-a-day-at-the-desk-city-editor-commits-suicide-after-killing-herself#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:42:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[mahim.maher]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363317</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[“Mahim, wo story ke sath picture nahi he.” -- “Saifi, mera sar laga do.”]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[“King chips, chocolate biscuit, lemon biscuit, Lay’s blue-walli packet, one Pakola, one Coke, one Twix but if you can’t get the Twix get Bounty.”

“Ma’am mein abhi pump gaya tha. King chips khatam ho gae.”

“Mahim! King chips are over at the petrol pump.”

“Ok. Er…Lay’s.”

“Mahim ke liye Lay’s le kar ana, magr red walli.”

“Faraz!”

“Ji ma’am!”

“Aj kitne hue?”

“Ma’am, paanch likh dain?”

“Faraz!”

“Ok. Ok. Mein check karta hun.”

 

At least five people were killed in separate acts of violence. [Delete] 

At least five people were killed in Karachi on Friday. 

“Ma’am SIX!”

At least six people were killed in Karachi on Friday.

“What day is it today?” 

“Mahim, it’s Thursday. I just told you.”

At least six people were killed in Karachi on Thursday. 

“Mahim, wo story ke sath picture nahi he.”

“Saifi, mera sar laga do.”

“Mahim, wo, pura nahi aega.”

“Ma’am, 7!”

&nbsp;

At least seven people were killed in Karachi on Thursday.

At least seven people were killed in Karachi on Friday.

“Mahim. Sherry’s saying that he won’t be filing that mangroves thing today.”

“I’ll wring his neck. SHERRY!”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry but unless I actually go to the place. You know. And today I had to do the seminar.”

“Hmmm. Ok. Tomorrow?”

“Yah. Definitely.”

“Here listen. You guys. What the hell is going on? It’s 8:45pm and NOTHING has been filed. What does this look like? A monthly magazine? Saad? Noman?”

“Bas abhi file karta hun. Last sentence.”

“You haven’t even started typing.”

“Abhi aa raha he. Abhi. Bas abhi.”

“I’m going to wring your neck. The event finished at noon. What the hell have you been doing all this time?”

“Mahim, wo traffic… and bike mein puncture.”

“I’m not taking it today.”

“Mahim! Please. Pleeeeez.”

“Nope. Sorry. I’ve already told you a million times. The pages are already late.”

“Mahim, chips.”

“Thanks darling”

“Mahim, peg samaj me nahi aa raha tha.”

“What do you think the peg is?”

“Well, the guy said the usual stuff. All of it was the exact same stuff. We need more funds, the government is corrupt. They’re calling the Chinese in…”

“Whoa…. Whoa. Stop. They’re calling the Chinese in?”

“Ji Mahim.”

“Buddy! So that’s your peg, na. What’s the matter with you? You had it right all along. Just trust yourself and finish it up.”

“Acha. Chinese?”

“Yes, Chinese.”

“Ma’am. 8.”

“Faraz, mera number mila do. Nine people dead. Headline banega: Express Tribune ki city editor ne khud kushi kar li.”

“Ma’am woh, crime map pey jaega? Page 18 par?

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>National: Squint, groan… I survived the vampire shift</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363316/national-squint-groan%e2%80%a6-i-survived-the-vampire-shift</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363316/national-squint-groan%e2%80%a6-i-survived-the-vampire-shift#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:39:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Naveed Hussain]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363316</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[For years, I thought I was eternally condemned to the graveyard shift for journalists.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[For years, I thought I was eternally condemned to the graveyard shift for journalists.

My primary mission during this blacker-than-night shift was to help put together the outer and national pages and monitor fresh news developments until the edition was put to bed.

In all my years in journalism, I worked the graveyard shift, except for my unsuccessful escapades at broadcast. My longest stint at The News, six-plus years, was a killer. Literally.

Think of six-plus years in a perennially understaffed newsroom where greying reticent copyeditors did nothing, but slice off streams of verbiage. A sombre, cheerless, lifeless newsroom – as if caught in a time warp. It sapped my energy, my zest for life. Still I never thought of jumping ship, not because there were no options. In fact, I became addicted to that life.

But then the turning-point came: Migraine – a severe one! My neurosurgeon advised me to de-stress and change my lifestyle. I said, “I can’t.” And came his blunt reply, “Then quit the job, or else it’ll get worse.”

Frightened at the prospect, I resigned and gratefully accepted a standing offer from DawnNews, and found some respite – an exhilarating, enlivening, and throbbing-with-life newsroom – in sharp contrast to my previous experience. And no graveyard shift, at least not for me.

I thought my future was broadcast journalism, that too at DawnNews. But despite oodles of enthusiasm, commitment and hard work, the channel couldn’t take off. Perhaps, a 24/7 news channel, catering to a microscopic Anglophone viewership wasn’t feasible after all.

Subsequently I accepted a lucrative offer from Samaa TV. It didn’t take me long to realise my mistake. My six-month stint at Samaa was, in one word, a nightmare.

Then one day I got a phone call – a call that landed me in print journalism again. I joined The Express Tribune while it was still in the embryonic stage. On my first day, what took me by surprise was a young, inexperienced team, though a couple of grey heads were there. Even the National Desk, the lead desk of a newspaper, the one that demands the most commitment and competence, was staffed by under-30s.

Frankly, I was sceptical. And I was wrong.

The team was young and inexperienced, but every member of it was energetic, enterprising and ambitious.

And The Express Tribune did take off. Today, ET is two years old. And in a short span, it has emerged as an iconoclast, shattering many myths, proving many critics wrong, setting new trends, and creating a niche for itself. It’s a waft of fresh air in Pakistan’s orthodox English journalism.

For me, working here is fun – more so, because there is no ‘graveyard shift’ at The Express Tribune. And my head feels so much better now.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Sports</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363308/sports</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363308/sports#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:37:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[faras.ghani]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363308</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[We like to make our readers aware that kabaddi, ludo, donkey-cart racing, malakra and dangal exist as well.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A few days before The Express Tribune’s first anniversary, Pakistan had lost a World Cup semi-final against India. Less than a month before our second anniversary, a Virat Kohli special reminded us again why India won the World Cup. Both, just as they did to most Pakistanis watching, hit us hard. Because just like most Pakistanis, we put our heart and soul into sports. Cricket is a clear winner on our pages, but we like to make our readers aware that kabaddi, ludo, donkey-cart racing, malakra and dangal exist as well.

We commented on why Shahid Afridi made a mistake when he retired after being sacked as captain, but we also told the world about Farhan Saeed who’d run into bowl as fast as he could – on crutches. Our national female taekwondo champion and National Games gold medallist is a girl who can’t talk or hear; an Asian Championship silver-medal winning boxer now mends punctured tyres to earn a living; and Anwar Ali, Pakistan under-19’s world cup winning hero, pressed socks to provide for his family’s needs.

We realise the importance of mentioning the record-breaking run Lionel Messi is on and how Tiger Woods’ comeback is gaining momentum despite a poor Masters. But, being a Pakistani publication with a drive to be different, we know it’s important to report beyond the match bulletins and scorecards.

As The Express Tribune completes its 24 months in circulation, we can proudly list several stories that we were the first to report - neglected athletes that we were the first to identify, deserving individuals that we were the first to give a platform to. All this not to increase our circulation but to satisfy the nation’s thirst for sports but also to tell them there exists a world of sports beyond it all – where individuals, their past, their efforts and their zest matters more than how many runs and goals they’ve scored.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Web: I love my job</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363309/web</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363309/web#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:35:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Jahanzaib Haque]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363309</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[My comment moderation team is cracking up approving comments bashing ET for “biased reporting” against Imran Khan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[It was the end of 2010 when our publisher, wrapped up one of our meetings with a casual “So I guess this is it huh? 12-13,000 people a day is the daily limit for a Pakistani newspaper in English.” He had that look in his eye; one of a wild dream of online publishing glory lost, but at least we tried our best and did a good job. I remember looking back at him incredulously and saying, “Not at all. This is just a fraction of our reach – we’ve only begun to explode!”

It is now 2012 and I am taking my daily dip into the vast ocean of Google’s real time site analytics. It’s only afternoon and we have 726 active visitors on the site – we’re averaging 75,000 unique visitors a day now. My comment moderation team is cracking up as they approve comments bashing ET for “biased reporting” against Imran Khan. They love having the freedom to approve any/all comments bashing the newspaper – besides, one of the moderators is a PTI supporter.

I feel calm and in control. What was once a desk of four people stuffed in a room that was meant to be a store room back in 2010, has exploded into a team of 15 in its own hall with access to over 100 reporters across Pakistan. A lot has changed, and my team can feel it too. We still frantically take notes from the TV as breaking news happens, but at the same time the phone is ringing with our own reporter calling in the updates; he’s finally realised the importance of his byline making it to the website.

As I switch over from browsing analytics to scanning Twitter for news leads, I try to remember when our paper fundamentally made the switch to an unofficial ‘digital first’ strategy. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but the website is sucking me back into its 24-hour cycle. I’ve got a direct message on Twitter asking me to report on the target killings in Karachi. I pass the message on to my shift in-charge who dials our Karachi crime reporter. Our crime reporter will be emailing a few paragraphs and a police quote from his smartphone – deadline: 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes for one of my subs to edit the story and add in the necessary contextual background. I thank my Twitter friend for the update, and remind the team to follow protocol and send the story over to the city desk for the print edition; convergence at its streamlined best.

The blog desk is sorting through their roster of regular bloggers to see who can address the latest spate of killings with a fresh angle while squabbling over whether an incoming rebuttal to an Imran Khan op-ed trumps a blog on an Islamic SMS spam. I’m free. Sort of. I still have to decide whether introducing a word limit to our comments section would actually play against or in favor of the trolls that inhabit our site.

I love my job.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Business: It’s not all about business</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363301/business-it%e2%80%99s-not-all-about-business</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363301/business-it%e2%80%99s-not-all-about-business#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:27:06 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[khurram.baig]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363301</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Some have felt that our stories at times seem like advertisements, but I disagree.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Business is often referred to as a boring and dry subject, especially when it is to do with finance and fiscal policy and less so when about the corporate sector. But still, it is never considered to be as big a draw for readers like sport, fashion, or politics.

But business at The Express Tribune is never boring, and it is certainly never bland. Over the past one year, the desk has also worked to change the way business and finance is reported on in Pakistan.

We haven’t just focused on economic policy at various levels of government or on highlighting the areas where Pakistan is lagging behind its neighbours. We believe that business and finance are key areas where there are a lot of good things happening. As such over the past year we have done a lot of feel-good stories that have also been genuine business stories, highlighting entrepreneurship at all levels, from the smallest enterprise to large businesses.

Some have felt that our stories at times seem like advertisements, but I disagree. If anything, these feel-good stories are positive advertisements for Pakistan and the best possible way to project a soft image. So, at The Express Tribune, our aim is to tell people both in and outside Pakistan that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking and this is where the growth will come from, both economic and social.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Creative: Filling in the blanks</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363304/creative-filling-in-the-blanks</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363304/creative-filling-in-the-blanks#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:25:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[amna.iqbal]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363304</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Question – Design? News? What? Why? What do you do again?]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[When you start off as a freshly ironed design graduate, you think you have all the answers. Reality, however, creases in until you’re a crumpled roll of paper lying in a corner. You don’t have answers. This could be a metaphor if you work anywhere else but it’s so literal – when you work for a newspaper – that it’s almost painful. FAQs when you work as a news designer:

 10 am. Assignment # 1. Page 1. Word count – 800. Space – 6 columns. Year – 0. Day – 1.

Question – Design? News? What? Why? What do you do again?

6 pm. Assignment # 343. Page 12. Word count – 600. Space – 3 columns. Year – 0.75. Day – 1. 

Question – Can we get a two-column infographic?

8:25 pm. Assignment #6273. Page 3. Word count – unknown. Space – unknown. Year – 1. Day – 1

Question – Can we get a full page layout for some stories that may or not come in on some issue that may or may or not materialize? Can we get atleast three options?

3 pm. Assignment #9268. Page – 13. Word count – depending on how many people will die in the city. Space – 6 col. Year – 1.25. Day – 1. 

Question –Why can’t we change of the color of the people dying on the map?

5 pm. Assignment #9980, Page, Word count, Space - unquantifiable. Year 2. Day – 1. 

Question – What do you do again?

 

Every day is a new day. This stale cliché becomes the only constant in your life if you work for a newspaper. And if you work as a news designer for the first newspaper in Pakistan with a design team, the ‘newness’ is compounded to almost experimental proportions.

Two years on and I still get asked what it means to work as a news designer. The problem, I eventually realized, was in the question. We do not design news. You can’t design death, destruction, acid attacks, riots and all the other horrors that consist of our daily news supply.

Newspapers are not about news anymore. We live in a world filled with news on the go. Quick bites grabbed between rushing from one end to the other are bound to give you indigestion. Newspaper, hence, are now the place you go to have a relaxed meal that will be conducive to conversations, catching up, analysis and re-evaluation. And that’s where design comes in. We fill up the space that you walk into so that you want to sit down and stay.

Doing this on a daily basis, hence, entails starting afresh all over again. Every day is day 1 since you never know who might walk in and then ask: “So ... what is it that you do again?”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Magazine</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363299/magazine</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363299/magazine#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:23:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zarrar.khuhro]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363299</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Much like Smaug, the huge winged dragon in JR Tolkein’s The Hobbit, I’m a compulsive hoarder.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Much like Smaug, the huge winged dragon in JR Tolkein’s The Hobbit, I’m a compulsive hoarder. Only I don’t hoard gems and treasure (impossible to do on my salary), but rather stories and information. I hold on to pieces for ridiculous amounts of time in the hope that some subtle alchemy will make them gel into a single, comprehensive magazine issue. This generally involves a lot of brainstorming (for ideas), a lot of flattery (for reporters to actually get interested in the ideas) and finally a great deal of pleading (to get them to actually file on time). As a general rule, deadlines tend to be fairly arbitrary although that little fact is not ever conveyed to the writers. It simply won’t do to say: “I love your story on the tribe of one-eyed transvestite beggars and I realise I called you every twenty minutes for a week to get you to submit it, but I can’t run it until I have my background piece on the myth of the Cyclops and how it leads to cultural myopia among third grade students. So shall we say I’ll print it three months from now?”

It was all a little scary at first. Coming from a TV background to a weekly magazine was one heck of a culture shock. I’d freak out if stories weren’t edited in twenty minutes or if breaking news took place a day before the magazine had to be sent to the printers. In the latter case I’d force everyone to drop the issue in hand and put together something on the current topic in the next three hours. I’d bask in the adrenaline glow and congratulate myself, until I was called to the editor’s office the next week and asked, ‘why on earth would anyone want to read the same thing on Sunday that they’ve been reading all week long? Don’t you think we’ve heard enough of the possible ramifications of Hafiz Saeed switching from using mehndi to Kala Kola?’ And so on.

We’ve managed to put together some issues that I am particularly proud of, like the one on cocaine, and the one on Pakistan’s very underground gay community (yes I am an illuminati pawn out to destroy the moral fabric of the country, didn’t you read my Facebook profile?). Along the way we also started a new segment called ‘Positive Pakistanis’, which highlights the considerable good that people do in this country. Currently, my latest obsession (finding good local cartoonists) has borne fruit and we’ve been running local comic strips in the magazine. Hopefully, that’s something that will continue and won’t die of content fatigue like the ‘ten things I hate’ section did. And if it does then, well, it’ll just be a good reason to freak out again.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Life &amp; Style</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363298/life-style</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363298/life-style#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:20:51 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[maha.amin]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Life &amp; Style]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363298</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Content generation is the most challenging (and stressful) aspect of managing the Life &amp;amp; Style desk.]]>
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				<![CDATA[I’m often asked how I manage to generate enough content to fill two full pages of Life &amp; Style every day. It’s a great question, because content generation is the most challenging (and stressful) aspect of managing the Life &amp; Style desk. There simply aren’t enough events, shows and releases happening regularly in Pakistan to fill two pages every day – which is why we constantly have to innovate and plan ahead.

This last strategy – planning ahead – is key to Life &amp; Style’s continuing success. Every member of the team, whether he or she is a reporter or desk staff, is on the lookout for new trends, possible features and upcoming talent. Our job doesn’t end when we leave the office. We get our inspiration for stories from every aspect of our culture and daily life, so we’re constantly wired. We try to stick to a seven-day schedule that gets chalked up on Monday, and then we take it from there.

Luckily, the team is thoroughly committed to its job, and thanks to our extensive forward planning we’re proud of our ability to produce highly researched pieces. The Express Tribune also prides itself on encouraging new talent and providing them coverage that they would otherwise not receive. While always important, this is essential in a country like Pakistan where culture, fashion and arts reporting is not emphasised and where entertainment activities are limited. After two years, we can reflect on our past successes with fondness, but we never allow ourselves to be complacent – there is always a bigger, better story lurking just around the corner, and rest assured, we’ll serve it to you with just the right amount of pizzaz!

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Political reporting</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363313/political-reporting</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363313/political-reporting#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:18:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[gibran.peshimam]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363313</guid>
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				<![CDATA[Weaving political narratives, instead of isolated reporting, has become somewhat a hallmark of our reporting.]]>
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				<![CDATA[As soon as it was launched, one of the main criticisms of the paper was that it was weak in terms of “substantive political reporting”. Given that the paper was cutting-edge in terms of appearance, content was, I suppose, the easiest target.

The obvious stereotype here being the often-misplaced false dilemma of beauty-versus-brains.

The criticism still held sway on our first anniversary – and I’m fairly certain it still does on our second.

But the fact is that, while the criticism may have had truth to it initially, it certainly no longer does.

The storm-troopers of purity will still disparage and quip, “Achha hai, layout zabardast hai … magar poltikul nahi hai, you know?”

A first impression can be a powerful, and most unfair, opponent.

We have worked particularly hard on the political reporting of the paper, and a daily reading and comparison of the three top English papers will testify that the Trib has made tremendous strides in this department, particularly over the last year.

Weaving political narratives, instead of isolated reporting, has become somewhat a hallmark of our reporting. We’ve been accurate with even the minutest of quotes and details, and taken care to not fall for the lure of the righteous populism of one rival, or the self-censoring conservatism of another, when it comes to political reporting.

In terms of exclusives, we have had a number of stories hit the bulls-eye. One recent example is our report on the ruling party’s use of secret Intelligence Bureau funds for political purposes in 1989 and in 2008-9 – a matter that has now been taken up by the Supreme Court.

This has been the result of a lot of hard work by a lot of people – both bylined and nameless. Now that we’ve caught up, the next step is to get ahead.

In this effort, we have moved towards specialising our political coverage. Having been moved to the position of Political Editor, I have been entrusted with a lot of great projects ahead.

Stay tuned for Year 3, because we’ve got a lot in store to feed your insatiable appetite for the often twisted world of Pakistani politics – served up like it has never been done before.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Note from the publisher</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363312/note-from-the-publisher</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363312/note-from-the-publisher#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:16:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[bilal.lakhani]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363312</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The newspaper’s online presence has been, what I consider, our greatest edge.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Over the past year our newspaper has come of age. Many wonderful individuals have come and gone, leaving their mark on the pages and on the way we see ourselves. In the process, The Express Tribune, as an institution, has become stronger. Although sometimes one is nostalgic for the initial idealism which often burst onto the pages in eccentric and interesting ways, on the whole the changes have been good for the paper and the quality of journalism has consistently improved.

Thanks in part to the steep learning curve and inevitable growing pains, we have also moved beyond being seen as a paper only for the young and we now attract a more broad-ranging readership in terms of age and demography.  The paper has arrived, carved out its niche, and has now begun to sink ever-deeper roots. I’m proud to say that we have done this without losing sight of our original ethos and principles.

People often ask me – and I ask people in turn – what explains the success of the paper? More often than not, the answer I receive (and now give), is our presence on the internet and on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. People say we have a good-looking and easy to navigate website, that we are ‘all over Facebook’ and that our Twitter presence is very active. Although the internet poses fundamental issues, especially to the business of our business (the print industry itself), the newspaper’s online presence has been, what I consider, our greatest edge.

Last year, I claimed that our online circulation or ‘traffic’ was neck to neck with the country’s most widely-circulated and oldest print newspaper. Today, I claim with increasing confidence that we are now the most read Pakistani English newspaper. An article that gets printed will have more readers – and ultimately more impact – if it is published in our paper versus any other.

Initially almost our entire online readership was from within Pakistan, but today only 44% are from within the country, a fact that I find astonishing.  25% of our total online readers now hail from the UK or the United States and the rest are from just about every country in the world that has internet access.

Although we always understood the importance of the internet, what I personally underestimated was the virtuous cycle of network and social effects this would lead to. As more people read us and share us, other people also feel compelled to read and follow if only to be abreast of the conversation taking place. It’s a snowball effect.

Which brings me back to the theme I started with: coming of age. As we have accrued more readers across the world, and as increasing attention is directed at us, maturity becomes paramount. We have grown quickly from a new newspaper into one that is seen as leading the pack. And as a leader we are now held up to a higher standard of responsibility. As expectations grow higher, the need for us to live up to those expectations also becomes greater, and so does the need to move forward in a more methodical way.

This does not mean that we won’t push the boundaries, or that the journalism we produce needs to be any less bold or dynamic. Far from it. But it does mean that we have a responsible and attendant understanding that now, more than ever, what we print and publish matters. Almost any piece published in The Express Tribune today will surely offend someone out there. It will have its supporters and detractors. But what is guaranteed is that it will have a reaction, and often a visceral one. And as we think about the coming year and how our journalism can play a role in helping our country progress, this is important to note and consider.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>Op-ed</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363314/op-ed</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363314/op-ed#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:12:15 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[omar..quraishi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363314</guid>
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				<![CDATA[The team that takes out the pages every day did not and has not come with any kind of baggage.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Two years ago on April 12, 2010, our very first issue came out. The very first issue had no letters to the editor because we didn’t have any in advance. But two years later, I am glad to say that despite being a brand new paper, we have carried genuine letters every day of our publication. Over the past year, while the desk has seen lots of very good people come and go, we have managed to maintain the quality of the editorial pages.

In fact, we keep getting new writers all the time, and that is a sign that the pages are being widely read and appreciated.  Readers will also be surprised – perhaps pleasantly so—to know that the desk has always been staffed (save a week) by an all women-staff, excluding, of course, myself. And most of these young women are relatively inexperienced— or were when they started off, not like the dozens of years of experience that one would find at editorial pages in other newspapers such as Dawn or even The News. In a sense that has perhaps been the pages’ strongest point – that the team of people that takes out the pages every day did not and has not come with any kind of baggage (barring of course myself, who has now been working in op-ed for the past 12 years) – since for most of them it has been their first, or at the most, second job.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>From: The editor</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363310/from-the-editor</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363310/from-the-editor#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:09:53 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[kamal.siddiqi]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363310</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[We are quoted, criticised and appreciated, but we are never ignored.]]>
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				<![CDATA[As The Express Tribune completes its second year, we look back with satisfaction at the way our paper has matured and emerged as one of the leading dailies of the country. We are quoted, criticised and appreciated, but we are never ignored.  We have helped change perceptions and encouraged debate. People have accused us of working on an agenda, but what they cannot say is that we have disregarded anyone. We talk, we listen, we communicate.

We have given voice to the voiceless and taken up issues and topics that others shy away from. We have sent reporters to all corners of Pakistan and abroad to report on issues that affect us. This is the strength of The Express Tribune - our belief that everyone deserves to be heard and there are many stories that need to be told.

In a country where the quality of discourse continues to deteriorate and there is an increasing lack of tolerance to listen, appreciate or respect diverse views, we persistently work to report freely and fairly, without prejudice or fear. We know we owe this to our readers, many of whom are young Pakistanis who want to break the shackles of the past and enjoy the fruits of democracy – which include a free and vibrant press.

Despite the ups and downs of journalism in Pakistan, we have moved from strength to strength – our stories have been noticed by the powers that be, our credibility lauded by the Supreme Court and our commitment appreciated by various quarters. Today our paper continues to expand and our website has become an important, credible news source on Pakistan and the region, the world over.

We are affiliated with the International Herald Tribune, yet stand out for being very much Pakistani. Our team of talented editorial staff, ably supported by our creative, production, marketing and circulation teams of vibrant and distinguished men and women are all homegrown. Their divergent political ideologies and socio-economic and religious backgrounds add richness to our paper.

At The Express Tribune, we work hard at training our staff, we invest in them, and we bring out their best. We are employers of choice and have received awards for our gender friendly policies in the newsroom. Ours is a world of commitment and innovation.

We will not compromise on our standards and will not fall short of our goals. This is our promise to you.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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			<title>From: The executive editor</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363311/from-the-executive-editor</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/363311/from-the-executive-editor#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 12 06:07:39 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[M Ziauddin]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=363311</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Express Tribune is the only newspaper in this country today to have its own Ombudsman.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Express Tribune is the only newspaper in this country today, or perhaps in the whole of South Asia, to have its own Ombudsman. Conceived long ago in the developed world, the office of the media ombudsman serves as a sort of a court where members of the general public and the government are encouraged to take their complaints against cases of violation of good media practice. The media is obliged to redress the grievances of the complainants if so ruled by the ombudsman by publishing a retraction along with regrets or an apology.

When we decided to have an ombudsman’s office of our own, soon after launching the newspaper in April 2010, we looked around for a person of unblemished character, impeccable integrity and high level of  credibility to hand over to him this unique responsibility. Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, one of our national icons, was therefore the automatic choice of our editorial board. When we approached him with the idea, he very graciously and readily honoured us with his consent. His only precondition was that it would be a totally voluntary arrangement without any financial obligations on our part. This suited our mutual objectives, because this meant the ombudsman would not be beholden to the newspaper in any manner whatsoever.

To our great relief and satisfaction, during the two years since he became our ombudsman, not a single complaint (neither from any member of the public or from the government) has reached Fakhruddin sahab against The Express Tribune. Well, there was one case, but that too had been taken care of by the newspaper on its own even before his query reached us.

The reason: Perhaps a large majority of The Express Tribune’s readers are not yet aware of the existence of the ombudsman’s office, though the newspaper carries an announcement to the effect every day underneath its Letters’ section (page 7). Of course, most editorial decision makers at The Express Tribune would like to believe that we ourselves also deserve a little credit for the fact that people don’t complain to the ombudsman. This may be due to the extra care we take in avoiding breaching good journalistic practices, our fail-safe SOPs in promptly handling the occasional complaints sent directly to us and also perhaps our blogs and comments sections which allow readers to express their feelings in full and without any let or hindrance. They disagree, differ, criticise, analyse, evaluate, and argue to their hearts’ content (monitored closely by us for expletives and/or hate speech), and sometimes even point out errors that we ourselves have made. This facility alone may have stayed the hands of many who otherwise would have gone to the ombudsman with a complaint.

We decided to appoint an ombudsman because we believe that social and technological changes have rendered obsolete the age-old gatekeepers that obliged the media to follow a universally accepted code of ethics—strict adherence to accuracy, fairness, consideration for the right of privacy, protection of sources and genuine independence. So, we thought it advisable to put in place a self-regulating mechanism to enable us to avoid being overwhelmed by irresponsible practices and at the same time also protect our credibility and reliability. This does not mean that we have not committed any mistakes or even blunders over the last two years, but that we are constantly trying to minimise their occurrence and that we aren’t averse to criticism, so long as it can help us bring you a better newspaper.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.]]>
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