Tactics to suppress media counterproductive
Syed Anwar Mahmood was addressing a seminar on his experiences on working with the media
Syed Anwar Mahmood was addressing a seminar on his experiences on working with the media. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
Using pressure tactics to coerce or suppress the media is not only useless and fails to yields the desired results, rather it ends up bringing a bad name to the government.
On the other hand, the free flow of information, as well as access to information, is imperative to ensure a smooth government-press relationship.
This was stated by Syed Anwar Mahmood, who spent around four decades working to bridge the gap between the government the media. Mahmood was addressing a seminar on his experiences on working with the media. The seminar had been organised by the Department of Mass Communication of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on Wednesday.
Mahmood, who served as the federal secretary of information in former president General (retired) Pervez Musharraf’s government, said that the Information Ministry serves as a bridge between the government and the media.
He observed that the pressure tactics to suppress the media never proved to be useful or result-oriented. Rather, it brought a bad name to the government and damaged national interests.
Noting that it was a tough job handling the media, he said he always tried to use his office and personal contacts to get proper coverage of government activities, rather than resorting to pressure tactics.
Having served in key posts in the government’s information hierarchy during various governments, Mahmood said he had come to the conclusion that the “national interest could be well served by the free flow of information and by maintaining high professional ethics and good moral values.”
“Controlling the media through ads, print quota or press-advice had been counter-productive. The governments in the past faced serious consequences due to their anti-media policies,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2017.
Using pressure tactics to coerce or suppress the media is not only useless and fails to yields the desired results, rather it ends up bringing a bad name to the government.
On the other hand, the free flow of information, as well as access to information, is imperative to ensure a smooth government-press relationship.
This was stated by Syed Anwar Mahmood, who spent around four decades working to bridge the gap between the government the media. Mahmood was addressing a seminar on his experiences on working with the media. The seminar had been organised by the Department of Mass Communication of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on Wednesday.
Mahmood, who served as the federal secretary of information in former president General (retired) Pervez Musharraf’s government, said that the Information Ministry serves as a bridge between the government and the media.
He observed that the pressure tactics to suppress the media never proved to be useful or result-oriented. Rather, it brought a bad name to the government and damaged national interests.
Noting that it was a tough job handling the media, he said he always tried to use his office and personal contacts to get proper coverage of government activities, rather than resorting to pressure tactics.
Having served in key posts in the government’s information hierarchy during various governments, Mahmood said he had come to the conclusion that the “national interest could be well served by the free flow of information and by maintaining high professional ethics and good moral values.”
“Controlling the media through ads, print quota or press-advice had been counter-productive. The governments in the past faced serious consequences due to their anti-media policies,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2017.