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How electronic media has evolved in Pakistan

'Owners of media houses are responsible for media's commercialisation'

Our Correspondent March 27, 2015

In 2002, there was only one radio station that was government-run. In 2015, 143 radio stations are there out of which 27 are government-owned. STOCK IMAGE

KARACHI:

In 2002, there was only one radio station that was government-run. In 2015, 143 radio stations are there out of which 27 are government-owned, according to the International Media Support (IMS), a media development non-profit organisation.

These figures were screened for the audience as the panellists, Sherry Rehman, Taj Haider, Owais Aslam and Iqbal Khattak, discussed the state of media in Pakistan at the launch of the project of the Danish International Development Agency, 'Support to Media in Pakistan'. "Do we really expect the corporate media to raise voices for the rights of the working class?" asked Haider.

According to Rehman, the owners of media houses are the ones who are responsible for its commercialisation. "It is the domain of corporate invasion," she said.

Talking about media training and advocacy, Peshawar-based journalist Iqbal Khattak said that our focus is set on just the reporters and that there is no real intervention in the newsrooms.

News content

"News items are pretending to be news when they are not," said Rehman. "You can't have everything reported as news. Pakistan has now become the worst example of media monopoly." She urged that journalists should be clear about their purpose and define their code of ethics. Sherry said that journalism is about defining the public good and defending it. On journalistic responsibility towards public good, IMS Pakistan representative Adnan Rehmat said we need to figure out if media is an entity on its own or a part of the civil society.

Professionalism

Speaking about safety of journalists on field, Rehmat said that 'unsafe journalists mean unprofessional media'. He announced that the IMS will conduct workshops to help train reporters on safety measures in conflict zones and help build the capacity of newsrooms.

Role of media

"Denmark is named the least corrupt country in the world and the media plays a major role in that," said Danish ambassador Jesper Moller Sorensen after the discussion. Sorensen stressed on the role of media in democratisation and stability of a country and the issue of gender equity in Pakistani media. "There are less than five per cent women in employed in the media in Pakistan."

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2015.