Media and telecom industry meet on neutral ground

Event helps strengthen contacts between two historic antagonists.

KARACHI: Traditionally, the telecom sector and the media - or more accurately, journalists - have not got along very well. For the most part journalists feel that they are not free to report on the media without restrictions and the telecom industry perhaps feels that they are made the target of unnecessary criticism and are often held accountable for sins they have not committed.

Basically, Telecom is telecom and journalism is journalism and never the twain shall meet, is what the situation has been like, if I am allowed to steal from Rudyard Kipling here.

Surprisingly enough, the basic problem, has been communication, or lack of it. It is an issue of trust. The media feels telecom needs to be held accountable for various transgressions, some real, some perceived – and the telecom industry feels it gets a raw deal and is wrongly made out to be the bad guy.

And this has been unfortunate, because both sectors are basically in the business of communication, of assisting the flow of information, and as such can be of tremendous help to each other.

And recently there was an initiative that, while perceived by many to be a simple public relations exercise, actually did a lot to try and break the ice between the two sectors and created a platform where professionals from both sectors got together and tried to work on a possible roadmap of how both sectors can work together, and at times, agree to disagree.

Mobilink, the largest cellular provider in the country was the host, and 49 print and broadcast journalists from six cities across Pakistan - who report and write on IT and telecom were the guests. I prefer the term participants, for all.

The aim of the conference was to provide a platform for the participants to come together to share their opinions and experiences. The conference also aimed to lay the grounds for an increased mutual understanding and cooperation between the telecom industry and the mass media.

As homage to the contributions of the media to the country, Mobilink termed the conference as ‘iMPress’. The name was intended to have multiple connotations, primarily highlighting the ability of the press to iimpress, with the name expanding into ‘Intelligent - Media and Press’.



The conference, organised in Bhurban, was titled ‘Conceiving ideas for the next media generation’, and had multiple brain-storming sessions that were moderated by Shireen Naqvi of Navitus and the Mobilink Corporate Communication’s team. The objective was to encourage the participants to learn from each other’s experiences, discuss best practices and develop a plan to enhance effective communication between the industry and the media.

A lot of subjects came up for discussion including the following which generated the most interest:

1. How can media educate consumers to use mobile technology to improve their quality of life?

2. How can the telecom industry assist media in working more effectively?

3. How can the telecom industry assist journalists to increase their knowledge of the telecom industry?

4. How can the telecom and media industry work together to innovate for the future?

5. How will the evolution of the smart phone and mobile services impact the future of Pakistani media?

6. How do the media perceive the success of the telecom industry in the arena of Corporate Social Responsibility?

7. How can the media and the telecom industry cooperate to educate users on the socio-economic benefits of mobile technology?

One of the most important takeaways from the conference was the consensus that the telecom industry could assist the media by providing capacity building opportunities. Participants highlighted that the telecom sector and media should work more cohesively to enable a positive and powerful impact on society.

Participants also stressed the need for establishing a media hotline to expedite gathering of information on the telecom sector. The participants also stressed that media perceived Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a marketing tool used by companies rather than an initiative of social well-being. The participants from the media suggested that there was a need to position CSR activities in a better way to project its true image.

Another key issue that was discussed was improving the lines of communication between media and telecom, to increase trust and develop a stronger working relationship.

The conference concluded with an emphasis on the need for impartiality, a focus on national interest, truth, responsibility, objectivity and professionalism; and everyone was in agreement that it was better to channel energies towards the development and empowerment of the new generation of media persons.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2013.

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