![us funding for pakistani journalists raises questions us funding for pakistani journalists raises questions](https://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/243969-penjournalistwriterreporter-1315026997.jpg)
Two Pakistani journalists filing reports home from Washington are drawing their salaries from US State Department funding through a nonprofit intermediary, highlighting the sophisticated nature of America’s efforts to shape its image abroad, The Christian Science Monitor reported on Friday.
Neither of the two media organisations, Express News and Dunya News, discloses that their reporters are paid by the nonprofit America Abroad Media (AAM) on their websites or in the reports filed by their correspondents. Though the journalists have worked under the auspices of AAM since February, AAM only made their links to the news organisations known on their website Wednesday, after being contacted by the Monitor.
“If an American journalist working as a foreign correspondent in Pakistan was paid in a similar manner, would it be morally or professionally acceptable for his news organisation or audience?” asks Badar Alam, editor of Pakistan’s English-language Herald magazine.
The amount currently allocated for the project is some $2 million over two years from the public diplomacy funds allocated by the State Department, according to State Department officials in Washington familiar with the project. That includes salaries for the two correspondents – Huma Imtiaz of Express News and Awais Saleem of Dunya News and a bureau for both TV channels.
Aaron Lobel, president of AAM, says his organisation receives donations from a number of private funders, too, which it mainly spends on its programs on international affairs that run on Public Radio International in the United States.
“The content production is done first and foremost [by] Pakistanis who are here and work with their channels back home to produce content,” says Lobel.
Sometimes the Pakistani journalists and editors at home come up with stories. But AAM also holds production meetings where the group’s managing director, Aliya Salahuddin, suggests stories, says Lobel.
“I understand the fears that define the joint ventures that comprise the US-Pakistan relationship. [But] we are very proud we have a good relationship with Dunya and Express. It allows Pakistani journalists to cover the US with a Pakistani perspective. I haven’t encountered any Pakistani channel that doesn’t want to work with us,” he says, adding that AAM is hopeful of partnering with more Pakistani channels in the future. Both reporters cover a wide variety of stories.
Making a clear connection
AAM’s ombudsman, Jeffery Dvorkin, insists there is no US government involvement with content production.
“My role as ombudsman is to help AAM ensure there is no effort by its funders, including the government, to interfere with any of the content produced. Thus far, there have been no efforts of this kind. Secondly, AAM continues to make it clear to the government and to all funders that in order for AAM to proceed with this initiative, the government could have no involvement in content production or selection,” he says.
The State Department official counters that both the US government and AAM ‘encourage’ the channels to make their ties clear. “We’re very proud of this program,” the official says. But eight months into the program, officials from AAM had not reached out to the channels regarding disclosure.
The official notes that this is part of a broader effort to reach out, including bringing Pakistani journalists to the US for short visits under the International Visitor Leadership Program.
Defending his newspaper’s decision not to disclose the source of Imtiaz’s funding, The Express Tribune’s [executive] editor Muhammad Ziauddin told the Monitor: “The lady reports in conjunction with the [nongovernmental organisation AAM]. The lady has been recruited by us in consultation with the NGO in a way we do not need to mention this. By putting that line we would be putting this into perspective but since we already edit [her stories] according to our thinking we do not need to. Editorially we sensitise it to a great extent.”
He adds that the process of building links with government officials is commonplace the world over. “I know a number of instances where a correspondent has landed in Pakistan and has been won over by our own information departments and briefed by our government agencies. Obviously they would like to keep his sources intact and at times he or she obliges [the government].”
Ziauddin adds that the partnership was conducted ‘as an experiment’ and in the future the newspaper intends to pay for its own correspondent in Washington, just as they do in London.
Awais Saleem, chief operating officer of Dunya News, also stated that since final control resided with the channel, they did not feel the need to declare the partnership with AAM to their viewers.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2011.
COMMENTS (36)
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Most of the present anchors are spies of US and promoting disturbance in the country and working for wesern civilization.they have no values but they are intellecually dpressed and financialy corrupt.
Nowhere more evident than in here.seriously. ET needs to serve the country and not what may be take even mistakenly as someone else's agenda. I am all for free speech but there is no un-fettered freedom & this is coming from someone who has practically lived thru out in the U.S. This is my honest opinion and I hope the editors/managements see it in the spirit of enlightenment , honesty & self-reflection.
US has been funding journalists through out the world and same is done by other countries and interest groups to further their respective causes. Even Pakistan pays to certain journalists and writers in USA and the UK to write as per its version of events. One should not be surprised of such things as we live in a global village. Readers are the best judge and regular readers immediately sniff the line being towed by any journalist. We should not be alarmed at all.Its neo normal in the present day journalism.
It is actually a system that works to advance the cause of the global market and promote commercial values, while denigrating journalism and culture not conducive to the immediate bottom line or long-run corporate interests.Actually the $50M that is paid every year to our media,I dont know how much this is true but this has divided our country and the world into an imagined dichotomy between evil and good.
Indeed, getting US Government money is bad. Getting yellow envelopes from Aabparah is kosher
I have been posting about this on many forums. I had on several occasions pointed out the US commitment to spend $50 million every year in pakistan media. These are just two. I can name many who write for this paper but get paid from some where else. And they don't even live in the US, they live in Pakistan.check out twitter and people who follow a particuler ambassador.
The only thing I found strange about this article was that why the paper has published an article against one of its own editors? I certainly can't believe the "Free media" hogwash in this regard.
This double dipping may not be illegal but it certainly is unprofessional, unethical and immoral. The journalists could be paid as much as anybody wants but they have to declare their “employers”. It simply is deception when a journalist pretends to be independent when they are actually secretly paid by a certain lobby. This is just one more example of our moral plight and only shows how much corruption has become an excepted part or every walk of life.
This will never going to change.Our media corporations have to pay their bills and Western powerful corporations are becoming major influences on our mainstream media and around the world. These multinational corporations own media stations and outlets in Pakistan and around the world. Moreover, even as numbers of media outlets increase, the ownership is becoming ever more concentrated as mega mergers take hold. If you all just spend your precious time and observe the way in which the news is covered, which items are emphasized and which are played down, the reporter's choice of words, tone of voice, and facial expressions, the wording of headlines action the top, and of course the columnist and editors remove any remaining doubt from our minds as to just what we think about it. The insidious thing about this form of thought control is that even when we realize that the entertainment news is biased, the media masters are still able to manipulate most of us. This is because they not only establish tacit boundaries and ground rules for the permissible spectrum of opinion.
@Mariam b: and also to watch or read more than two media outlets in order to get good picture of the scene
vaw, such a naive statement "they did not feel the need to declare the partnership with AAM to their viewers", he does like the vievers to watch whatever they re broudcasting without acknowedging the right of the viewers to know who is paying for the news. these media organizations in pakistan are the touts of foreign intellegence services giveing information and hiding the TRUTH, rea journalsim, from so-called viewers. It is strange that every government that comes and go failed to regulrize the media in Pakistan. Some journalists are taking salary in millions and some in Dollars with an indefinite amount of money. No one Knows about it. On the other side, newspapers reporters, correspondents, sub-editors, with low profile have not been paid for months and months. Frontier Post, Waqt TV, Daily Pakistan Lahore, Osaf, and countless of other local and national media outlets have had grabe money from journalists. The question that worries me most; who will talk about it?
The US publicly announced that they were going to spend $50 million per year on propaganda for Pakistani audiences back in 2010. The money is used to finance pro-american media outlets and journalists:
http://www.defence.pk/forums/u-s-foreign-affairs/48845-us-plans-50-million-media-aid-pak.html
What a surprise........................ A serious far left agenda is being pushed on daily basis in Pak media.
BTW, how Express 24/7 English channel is funded? I don't see any advertisements on it? Can someone explain.
@ET , I know u will not like this comment but please post it to see what people think.
Of course if raises doubts on the credibility of those two correspondents.
mass media only gives mass hysteria all we need to do is to keep our surroundings well
Huma Imtiaz startled me with her tone in Foreign Policy magazine (foreignpolicy.com). Before going to Washington, she had different approach. She can be found on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/HumaImtiaz
How did the Express Tribune publish this? And it's copied verbatim from Christian Science Monitor! Shouldn't the Express Tribune have published a clarification version of this rather than just an allegation themselves?!
The status of all foreign correspondents in Pakistan is extremely suspicious, I respect Issam for publishing this piece and questioning ethics within his own types. I wonder if he'll now face backlash for this expose
a private channel broadcasts voa program on daily basis while many radio stations do.umpteen pakistani journalists those specially from KPK are involved in many programs of US govt..many questions arise..if their work may remain objective and independent.
This piece has been plagiarized from the original Christian Science Monitor piece, penned by Issam Ahmed:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/0902/US-funding-for-Pakistani-journalists-raises-questions-of-transparency
FYI ET, your credibility now really is shot to pieces.
The status of all foreign correspondents in Pakistan is extremely suspicious, so I respect Issam for publishing this piece and questioning ethics within his own types. I wonder if he'll now face backlash for this expose.
There is no problem with this venture if there is no direct involvement of US government. But, anyways, this venture has raised eyebrows since its inception.
It's important to know how most of our media is being run by outside funds. The electronic media, or some sections of it, has always been thriving on conspiracy theories and has seen an outside hand in everything that happens under the sun in this country. Now they should come clean on all the outside funds and interference in their own affairs. The NEPRA should also investigate the role of Saudi and Irani governments in channelling propaganda through their acolytes in both electronic and print media. It's all the more necessary because of late I have seen quite a few student organisations calling for ending blood letting in Bahrain and Palestine while they have not said a single word about the death of hundreds of people in Karachi and other parts of the country. Similarly, other outfits have extended their full support to Col Qadafi and the Saudi King for oppressing their own people. I think it's high time we try to put our own house in order and end all outside meddling in our affairs.
Only two???? I suspect these types of reporters and journalists are very much there in all leading media houses. Please give some more details for the consumption of public.
I am glad that this is published itself at ET
By permitting the few media giants to control our news and entertainment media, we are doing more than merely giving them a decisive influence on our political system and virtual control of our government; we also are giving them control of the minds and souls.
Its a bit strange that express should post this article about one of its own editors? Did you know about this before? Bullying of Huma to discredit her? Why? would appreciate some clarification about this
The line that saves us:
The cat is out of the bag now.....only confirms what we have been suspecting for long time...I will support any movement to stop Saudi and American involement in Pakistan's internal affairs.