Isra Aziz How important is quality of journalism in Pakistani media?

پاکستانی میڈیا میں صحافتی معیار کتنا اہم؟‎ 

translation                                           

How important is quality of journalism in Pakistani media?

Isra Aziz

2k18/MC/65 BS-part III

Translation: Urdu to English

There is a row of tables on one floor of a multi-story building in a major city of Pakistan with dozens of employees are working on both sides. 

There is so much noise in a huge hall that no sound can be heard. Everyone is in a hurry.

It may be a fish market or a shoe factory. But it is a big newsroom on a big channel of Pakistan.

No one has time for thinking, understanding, or reading anything. The only pressure here is to submit the news before the deadline. At the end of the shift, each employee has to account for their daily performance.How many breaking news did you break? How many packages did you file? How many beepers did you beeped?  

Means, all the emphasis is on numbers, not on the quality of work.

The news that was broadcast as breaking news wasit worthy of it? Or they misrepresent it? Whether the introductory sentences of the ninety seconds package report file werethe same ones that were repeated and stretched to form the package?

In a given beeper, did theysucceed in explaining something with distinction and brevity? Or they were just giving the speeches in a loud voice without taking a breath.

It is not like that people who run big channels are incompetent or stupid. They know very well that filling an hourly news channel is not an easy task and how to run a business of 24 hours.

But when there is no news so you have to fabricate it. In such cases, setting or maintaining journalistic standards seems like an unnecessary luxury. I don't have any complaints about the employees working in the newsroom; I can only sympathize with them.

One of the main reasons for the problem is that most of the channels in Pakistan do not have an editorial policy of their programs. TV talk shows revolve around the faces and personalities. Anchors are associations in their own right. The personal opinion of the great anchors, their likes and dislikes is their policy which adjusted with time and circumstances.

Their programs are for the general audience but they have to take care of the most powerful sectors like what will the Army think? What will the Maulvis say? Will,it did not hurt the interests of the owners?

It is a question of survival for experienced Anchors.  Our media is considered to be independent but in some cases negligence can be dangerous. And if anyone had any confusion about this, it was ended after the attack on the journalist Hamid Mir.

It became clear to everyone that if the leading anchor of the country's largest channel could be targeted, so no one is safe here. After this incident, the style of self-censorship adopted by the media has not been seen before.

There is another batch of Anchors is one that is less anchors and more preachers that feed the talking points and the guest as well this line will be taken today and will be chanted for a while to passionate the nation with the love of the country etc.

Such an order comes within the institution as well as from outside, and is proudly carried out.

Such anchors have security clearance and are provided with access to the powerful chambers. They travel in tanks and ships, through which leaks are planted. It all includes in the best interest of the country.

The batch of critics Anchors are called as "sergeant Media". The bigger their name the bigger their work, that is why no sensible person takes their instructions seriously.

But the five fingers are not equal. Same as in Pakistan, some journalists and anchorsdo not hesitate to raise a question with courage despite all the difficulties but unfortunately they often seem to be limited to the smallest channels.

The people working in a news channel believe that there is less journalism and more clerkship. Advocacy control is 100 percent in the hands of superior people. As the ranks and salaries of the people increase in the administrative structure, so do the institution powers. The scope for creative work is not only reduced but discouraged.

Technology is changing rapidly. Over the years, there has been a growing trend among young people to read, listen and watch news on mobile phones. They don't want to listen only, they want to say something as well, and they want their voice to be reached to others that is why they use Facebook and Twitter. Likewise, more than half of the population, i.e. women, seem to be disgusted with the news channels.

If it continues like this, then who will watch the prime time news shows?

Sooner or later the media industry will have to correct its ways. The industry will have to be reformed. Otherwise, the industry of multi-billion dollar could have to face its declineprematurely.

When your news channels and your programs are no longer worth watching, then why people will waste their time staring at TV?

Media censorship: Does Pakistan followSaudi Arabia and Chinese models too?

TalatHussain

Last week, the Federal Executive Council of Pakistan Federal Union of journalists (PFUJ), the oldest national Union journalists in Pakistan, issued a stern statement condemning, among other things, increasing censorship in Pakistan.

The PFUJ has called on the parliament to raise a common voice to protect freedom of expression, which it says poses a serious threat to state institutions.

The statement lists several incidents ranging from physical attacks on journalists to manipulating the media industry in the form of new TV channels and radio stations where propaganda is carried out under the guise of journalism.

The death of journalism was warned into this statement as journalists and media owners have to impose censorship on them.

This is a serious indictment in every way about the freedom of the media in Pakistan. It is deeply saddened that the social and political freedoms gained through so many difficulties have now reached the brink of collapse.

But what happened next?

Season of Silence:

This statement proved to be a reflection of the desert. Most of the TV channels and newspapers ignored it and even quoted it as it was an insignificant piece of news. There are hundreds of TV talk shows on aired on TV every night, only three of them talked about it, but their style wassuperficial and apologetic too.

The parliament pretended that the statement had never been issued, which was lying in its daily fog. This statement could not go viral and dissolved in the air in the same way it came.

This shows how the censorship system works in Pakistan and how complex its dynamics are. PFUJ Is working with the National Press Club to hold protests and hold meetings with media owners and politicians but at the same time, PFUJ did not give any statement regarding the ongoing strict censorship in the country. It could not become a part of the national debate.

This may seem strange, but if you take a closer look at how systematically the freedom of the media is being undermined in this country, it is not difficult to understand.

This system has been set up in a very proficient manner. It has a significant number of freedoms of expression, provided that the opinion remains general and does not go into specific details. For example, it is not a problem to talk about whether the last election was free or rigged. You can spend a whole night debating the ideas of electoral politics and no one will put a hand on your mouth, no word will be cut, no sentence will be erased.

But the moment you come across facts, data, examples, evidences and names, etc., the process of sorting can be started. You are not allowed to talk about any of them. You are not allowed to talk in the rays of facts. You cannot describe your observations. You are not allowed to deduce how the whole system was working together to achieve a certain result.

Your opinion is free as long as you stay away from details. Your facts are restricted. Your general analysis is valid. Your conclusions and arguments are guarded. This oppressive and systematic concealments of facts of transcends all boundaries but on the record, events and statements even documentary facts become a no go area.