New technologies, citizen journalism changing Pakistan's media
The universal growth of electronic media has unquestionably reached the world’s sixth largest nation, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, panelists at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C., said at a February 27 discussion titled “Instability in Pakistan: Implications for the Future of Independent Media.”
And the possibility that the new technologies will contribute to a transformation in the entire media landscape is exciting, panelists agreed; especially in a country where media “has never been free,” said Sami Abraham, senior correspondent and producer of GEO-TV in Washington, D.C.
For so long, print newspapers were the sole media channel in Pakistan, Abraham said. And because of the nation’s high number of illiterates and rural residents, the news would just not reach the masses.
But now, nearly “everyone can watch or listen,” he said. And it’s “really mobilizing” people.
In recent years, new media has played a big role in organizing opposition to Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf’s regime, even in the face of heavy handed crackdowns on the media, Abraham said.
Increasingly, independent media outlets are broadcasting provocative information online, as are citizen journalists, through the use of blogs and other new media tools.
Much like the Internet, cell phones and “texting” are too becoming increasingly important tools “to inform and disburse,” added Steve Coll, president and CEO of the New America Foundation, staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, and former foreign correspondent at The Washington Post.
According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Pakistani government agency responsible for regulating the nation’s telecommunications, the total number of mobile subscribers in Pakistan is now around 76 million. Sending text messages is cheap in Pakistan – about 1 cent each.
Panelist Manjuz Ejaz, a writer, an economist, and a journalist for Pakistan’s Lahore Daily Times, projected that, increasingly, “the state will not be able to quiet, contain, or curb the media.” There is reason to be “optimistic” about the media’s future in Pakistan, he said.
Indeed, the Pakistani government is “befuddled” about what to do about the wide-reaching – and growing – capabilities of new media, Coll said. There is just “no way to shut down the discourse entirely anymore,” he said.
Contrary to Coll’s assertion, last weekend the Pakistani government succeeded in blocking the video-sharing Web site YouTube because of a "blasphemous" video clip that portrayed Islam in a negative light. The action caused a virtual YouTube “blackout” for two hours on Sunday, the BBC reported. The ban on the Web site was lifted Tuesday.
Thus, despite the insurgence of new and citizen media, the government continues to successfully launch attacks on the press, preventing discussion of the most important issues currently facing Pakistan.
Out of what Coll calls the “three constitutional functions of the press” – discourse, independent witnessing, and investigation – Pakistan’s media is meeting all but the third, he said.
“No one touches on the ‘real’ issues,” Abraham agreed, such as the judiciary, the army, the war on terror, and accounting for military expenses.
Moreover, journalists continue to face a powerful media monopoly – of what the panelists continually referred to as “four or five families” – which makes setting up smaller media outlets difficult.
While it is yet unclear as to how radically electronic media will alter the state of the media in Pakistan, it is becoming increasingly clear that the “primitive” state “must modernize” if it hopes to keep up with the media, Ejaz concluded.
The state must realize Pakistani society is “now run by machines,” he said.
Related Posts
-
Story
-
Story
-
Story
-
Story
-
Story
-
Story
-
Story
شات مصرية - دردشة مصرية - شات
شات مصرية - دردشة مصرية - شات مصري
شات القاهرة ، دردشة القاهرة ، شات دردشة القاهرة ، شات دردشة جامعة القاهرة
شات الاسكندرية - دردشة الاسكندرية - شات دردشة الاسكندرية - شات دردشة جامعة الاسكندرية
شات المنصورة - دردشة المنصورة
شات البحيرة - دردشة البحيرة
شات الفيوم - دردشة الفيوم
شات الغربية - دردشة الغربية
شات الدقهلية - دردشة الدقهلية
شات الاسماعيلية - دردشة الاسماعيلية
شات الجيزة - دردشة الجيزة
شات المنوفية - دردشة المنوفية
شات المنيا - دردشة المنيا
شات البحر الاحمر - دردشة البحر الاحمر
شات القليوبية - دردشة القليوبية
شات الاقصر - دردشة الاقصر
شات الوادى الجديد - دردشة الوادى الجديد
شات الشرقية - دردشة الشرقية
شات السويس - دردشة السويس
شات اسوان - دردشة اسوان
شات اسيوط - دردشة اسيوط
شات بني سويف - دردشة بني سويف
شات بورسعيد - دردشة بورسعيد
شات دمياط - دردشة دمياط
شات كفر الشيخ - دردشة كفر الشيخ
شات مطروح - دردشة مطروح
شات قنا - دردشة قنا
شات جنوب سيناء - دردشة جنوب سيناء
شات شمال سيناء - دردشة شمال سيناء
شات سوهاج - دردشة سوهاج
شات عسل ـ دردشة عسل
شات الشلة ـ دردشة الشلة
شات فلة ـ دردشة فله
شات دردشة ـ دردشة دردشة
شات شبيك لبيك ـ دردشة شبيك لبيك
شات العنابى ـ دردشة العنابى
شات حب شات الحب دردشة حب حب شات حب شات حبي الحب شات دردشة مصرية شات مصرى شات مصرية دردشة مصراوية شات بنات مصر شات سوريا شات عمان شات لبنان شات بنات شات المنصورة شات القليوبية شات المنوفية دردشة ليبيا شات السودان شات اليمن دردشة بنات السعودية دردشة السعودية شات سعودي دردشة بنات فلسطين دردشة بنات الكويت شات بنات الامارات شات بنات البحرين دردشة قطرية دردشة بنات قطر شات بنات الاردن دردشة عربية شات بنات تونس شات القاهرة دردشة القاهرة دردشة الاسكندرية شات اليكس شات الجيزة دردشة الجيزة راديو اف ام Fm Radio راديو محطة مصر شات الجزائر دردشة الجزائر شات مغربي دردشة بنات المغرب شات الشلة شات دردشة شات دمياط شات بورسعيد اذاعة القران الكريم راديو قران كريم دردشه الغردقة شات شرم الشيخ دردشة الاقصر شات اسوان دردشه المنيا دردشة الحب شات حبنا شات دردشة شات غرام دردشة غرام شات عسل شات عشق شات سعودي كول شات العنابي شات الملك شات برق دردشة برق شات دلع شات لمسة حب شات شوبيك لوبيك شات تعب قلبي شات عسل راديو روتانا
another citizen
another citizen journalism website in pakistan
http://tazakino.com
I fully agree w
I fully agree with Mr Rizwan Zamir and must appreciate his candid views about the Pakistani media. It is time that we should call spade a spade, especially foreign and western media who go berserk after any "brutal attacks" on the "freedom of media" in Pakistan.
The western media should also investigate the level of corruption in the Pakistani media.
Mr Rizwan has rightly pointed out media's weaknesses. But Pakistani media invites corrupt people as guests in their programmes because they themselves are involved in corruption except for few honest journalists.
I would suggest western media to investigate corruption in Pakistani media then focuss on curbs on media. I am sure western media will then know the real causes of curbs against freedom of press in Pakistan.
The role of ele
The role of electronic media has been satisfactory so far with the exception that media is playing absolutely no role to set new trends to educate people on corruption issues.This is very true that probing into corruption issue is scarce. Rather it mostly invites people for comments who have plundered the state funds while they were in any form of responsible position.When such kind of dishonest people give their comments on that does not correspond to their character.Character is the topic which should be on top of media's agenda to set healthy trends in general people. There was a time when people in Pakistan used to hate their corrupt neighbours.Media is making absolutely no debate on the source of high income of people who were once poor before joining any resposible public positions & became rich in days.Probably this is because of the fact that the corruption (looting & plundering of state funds meant for to help the deprived ones)has become a fashion in Pakistan and media people are with no exception.There is a great need to train young Pakistani journalists & to give them motivation to work on investigative journalism and to stand on issue without offering their price to sell before the corrupt ones for petty amounts.
Police "attack"
Police "attack" on Geo's Islamabad office may be "dastardly" (read pre-planned and in consultation with Geo) act. But the question remains why policemen never touched the cameras or the crew filming the whole scene.
Police in Pakistan may be brutal but they are certainly not mentally retarded. Whenever a thief breaks into a house he never wants to leave his footprints. Had it been a real "attack" police must have also smashed the cameras and baton-charged the cameramen filming the "brutal attack".
Anybody who thinks Geo has done a heroic act could tell how many billions of Pakistani rupees the television channel got as insurance claim after the incident. Why the TV channel started projecting President Gen Pervez Musharraf soon after the attack telecasting interviews.
The fact is that electronic media in Pakistan and especially Geo have played havoc with the country. They are doiing no service except creating rifts and divisions and spreading hatred.
Media have really a role but then journalists should not be agents of political parties and members of judiciary who are equally corrupt and disgraced.
I think Pakista
I think Pakistani media played a splendid role in educating the people about various current affairs. The coverage, by and large, was neutral giving the view point of those opposed to the wrong policies of military dictatorship. The attack on GEO TV network was a dastardly act committed by the police on the orders of high ups in the government.
Media is exploring its freedom in this country that has witnessed a lot of press muzzling and censorship. I hope the coming times will give media its place as a very important actor.
Pakistani Citiz
Pakistani Citizen Reporters based at Islamabad, reported the ongoing judicial crisis eloborately. But unfortunately that was not mentioned in these deliberations taken place in WASHINGTON DC.
I am surprised
I am surprised to see that no one in the panel talked about corruption in Pakistani media. It's easy to criticise the government, but why nobody talks about how political parties have planted their "agents" in the garb of journalists in newpapers, especially in TV channels such as Geo and some others.
Can anybody from these experts tell why police "attacked" Geo's Islamabad office and smashed everything in sight, but they didn't touch the cameras and the crew recording the whole scene. It was perhaps "your are on candid camera" thing!! Isn't it??
Nobody talks about biased coverage of judicial crisis and never talked about how deposed and disgraced Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry manipulated media with support of these political parties' agents in the media.
Nobody talks about it was the same Justice iftikhra who validated Gen Pervez Musharraf's coup in 1999 and his uniform and every legal or illegal act when he was the chief justice.
Government may have done many things wrong, but media has a role to play and should show both sides of the picture instead of projecting corrupt and transforming villains into heroes.
Post new comment