And in the next five years…

Five years in the life of an English-language newspaper in Pakistan can seem like an eternity. They have not always — indeed ever — been easy and the threat from militants has touched our doors and injured, even killed, our staff on several occasions. The Karachi office is now something of a fortress, and the screens erected on the flyover that passes close to the entrance may prove to be an effective deterrent for those that wish us to be silenced or intimidated. We have published notwithstanding the threats and the staff has continued to put together a newspaper every day sometimes under the most trying of circumstances. The Express Tribune was founded as a newspaper that speaks with a liberal voice, that upholds the democratic process and good governance and champions the rights of minorities and those who are dis-empowered or disenfranchised.

We shall continue to do that, but persuading people to buy newspapers in an increasingly digitised world of free news content is perhaps going to be the greatest challenge of the next five years. All of the leading English-language newspapers of Pakistan have an online presence, and all have recognised that a large part of their individual and collective futures is going to lie with their content being available to anybody with an internet connection — for free. The Express Tribune has had a vibrant and interactive internet presence from the outset. It led the field in terms of connectivity with its readership, and news stories today are often followed by a string of comments that are of necessity moderated but nonetheless represent a real dialogue with the readership. Blogs have grown from being somewhat ad hoc to an essential part of the mission to explain that is part of the overarching news and current affairs agenda.



It is clear that monetising a free-to-air online edition is not going to be via paid subscription or a paywall as has been tried in a number of newspapers in the West. Such developments are completely dependent on consumers using credit and debit cards to pay for content and there are simply not sufficient numbers of people in Pakistan using credit and debit cards to make that a viable proposition. Advertising sales are realistically the only way forwards on this front, and those who grumble about advertising appearing on their free digital newspaper need to remember that the content that they are consuming is there because the revenue generated by advertising allows it to be.

The media in Pakistan, not unlike its politics, is undergoing something of a churn. A newspaper is no longer a single platform and is usually part of a wider conglomerate that speaks to a variety of customer populations. Not all the English language newspapers currently being printed are going to be here five years hence, and there will be new players emerging. Maintaining a liberal stance in a country that is experiencing an almost daily decrease in liberal space will also be a challenge. The freedoms of expression that we appear to have are in reality constrained, sometimes physically so, by governments that are discomfited by having their darker workings exposed to public scrutiny. Extremist mindsets have risen to national levels, and it is for newspapers such as The Express Tribune to be a part of the countervailing narrative, to speak up against the excesses of extremism and to offer editorial space to voices of moderation and conciliation. This is not a risk-free option, but five years hence The Express Tribune will still be flying a liberal banner, still challenging the status quo — because this is the job we chose to do.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2015.