NON-FICTION: MEDIA’S CHANGING LANDSCAPE – Newspaper

Being a journalist myself, with a profession spanning nearly a decade within the subject, I’ve been rattling my mind in regards to the books I’ve examine my very own subject in a fast-changing panorama. I’m embarrassed to reveal that my information about my very own subject is proscribed, and so I’ve began choosing up books on the topic from bookstores. One just lately printed e book I obtained my fingers on is From Terrorism to Tv: Dynamics of Media, State and Society in Pakistan, co-edited by the erudite writers and teachers Qaisar Abbas and Farooq Sulehria.

I’ve at all times had immense respect for his or her nice contributions, which is why I used to be drawn to the e book by their names. Though journalism is a sombre matter, their writings are such {that a} reader is unable to place the e book down. From Terrorism to Tv delves deeply into the problems of “media, state and democracy in Pakistan” and, with contributions from students and journalists from varied cities of Pakistan, it supplies readers an overt alternative to remain abreast of the altering panorama of media in varied elements of the nation by completely different elements.

It’s a matter of pleasure for journalists that Abbas and Sulerhia have devoted their e book to 4 courageous Pakistani journalists — Masoodullah Khan, Nasir Zaidi, Khawar Naeem Hashmi and Iqbal Jafferi — who have been sentenced to flogging for protesting in opposition to media restrictions throughout the dictatorial days of Gen Ziaul Haq.

Talking traditionally and bluntly, the press has been in chains from day one within the nation. Our priorities, as regular, bear this out; from day one, whether or not in a civilian or martial authorities, the intention has been to curb the freedoms of the press, spiritual minorities and different susceptible teams within the nation. Journalists, particularly, have been punished for reaching for the reality. On the time of independence, like others establishments, the media was in a nascent type, and the powers-that-be continued to strangulate and suffocate it from the very starting, in addition to pushing journalists to the wall. As an illustration, in his seminal work on censorship within the nation, The Press in Chains, veteran journalist and creator Zamir Niazi paperwork quite a few situations of journalists being arrested, fines imposed on newspapers, and publications that deviated from the official standpoint of the ruling Muslim League being quickly or completely banned. In keeping with Niazi, 50 publications got warnings and 32 have been requested for safety deposits in just one yr, 1952-53.

However as a substitute of silencing the media business, it gave the defenders of press freedom all of the extra cause to push again. Oppression at all times provides start to resistance and the defenders of press freedom have been resisting for the final seven a long time. Had they given up, we’d not have the little media freedom we do have within the nation to talk fact to energy.

A important, informative and argumentative assortment of essays on the altering face of media in Pakistan

Within the first chapter, titled ‘Strolling in Circles: Democracy, State and Freedom of Expression in Pakistan’, Abbas and Sulehria comprehensively talk about the evolution of the media within the nation’s suffocating and difficult atmosphere. No matter picture journalists have of their thoughts in regards to the state of press freedom is kind of represented precisely on this chapter, and it’s a scary picture. The editors mince no phrases as they lay down precisely how difficult the scenario is. As an illustration, they rightly argue that “the state shouldn’t be the only establishment at the moment, as a number of forces have emerged to govern media shops.”

All through Pakistan’s historical past, newspapers and periodicals important of the governments’ insurance policies have been given exemplary punishments by completely different means. The publications have been both closed down outright, or have been strangled economically. The e book supplies a number of examples of techniques utilized by each the civilian and martial governments to deliver newspapers financially to their knees, by withholding authorities commercials or imposing newsprint quotas — a component Dr Tauseef Ahmad has additionally mentioned intimately in his personal e book Azaadi-i-Sahafat ki Jiddojehad Mein Akhbari Tanzeemoon Ka Kirdar [The Role of Newspaper Organisations in the Struggle for Press Freedom].

However, jihadist newspapers have flourished within the nation. As an illustration, within the second chapter of the e book, Faizullah Jan examines how jihadi publications have helped increase extremism. His research is geographically restricted to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He showcases the story of Abdullah, whose father Mohammad Ilyas despatched him on jihad to Kashmir the place he was killed by Indian forces. Curiously, Jan writes that Abdullah had been an avid reader of jihad-expounding Al Qalam and Zarb-i-Momin — weekly newspapers printed by apparently proscribed militant organisations Jaish-e-Muhammad and Al-Rashid Belief, respectively — for 12 years earlier than his expedition.

The jihadi phenomenon shouldn’t be new within the nation; it has been patronised and promoted for a very long time. Some writers attempt to discover out its roots within the nation from 1977 onwards, however some go deeper into the background. By way of Sulehria’s writings, I assume he has an avid curiosity in extremism-related subjects. In his chapter ‘Jihad on Display screen’, Sulehria is of the opinion that the nation didn’t embrace Islamicisation till 1977, when Gen Zia got here into energy by imposing martial legislation. “To legitimise his martial legislation, a means of Islamising [sic] the state and society was unleashed.” He additional writes, “Whereas varied components within the rise of Islamisation [sic] in Pakistan have been explored, no research has been carried out to look at the function of state-sponsored tv and movie manufacturing in relation to Islamisation [sic].”

The chapter that triggered me most is ‘The Price of Doing Their Job On-line: Harassment of Girls Journalists’ by journalist-turned-academic Ayesha Khan, who delves deep into the harassment of ladies information reporters and journalists within the nation. Her research is additional fascinating due to a latest episode wherein a gaggle of feminine journalists and commentators sought safety in opposition to what they termed “vicious assaults” directed at them by social media, allegedly by individuals linked to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) authorities.

Talking traditionally and bluntly, the press has been in chains from day one within the nation. Our priorities, as regular, bear this out; whether or not in a civilian or martial authorities, the intention has been to curb the freedoms of the press, spiritual minorities and different susceptible teams within the nation.

In a sexually pissed off society reminiscent of ours, it isn’t shocking that feminine journalists are victims of on-line harassment. After my assessment of Hazara author Hasan Riza Changezai’s e book Qissa Haaey Natamaam [Unfinished Stories] was printed on this newspaper, I acquired a wierd message from a banker desirous to know whether or not I had a Hazara girlfriend or not. Though I often don’t reply to such messages, I requested why the particular person needed to know. He replied, surprisingly, that he had presumed it was so since I had written a few articles in regards to the neighborhood.

Coming again to Khan’s chapter, though on-line trolling and harassment of feminine journalists has been existent from the very outset, she writes: “in Pakistan, on-line trolling of ladies journalists accelerated in 2016 following the homicide of Pakistani social media movie star Qandeel Baloch.”

In keeping with journalist Farah Zia in ‘What Freedom? Reflections of a Working Journalist’, the Kargil Warfare taught one key lesson to the federal government in energy: it wanted to create extra space for digital media to have larger propaganda instruments at its hand. Because of this, non-public tv channels sprang up within the nation following the 2002 interval, to counteract the Indian non-public tv channels that have been already in place within the 1990s.

Regardless of the ever-increasing variety of non-public tv channels, in keeping with Khan there are nonetheless solely a handful of ladies journalists within the nation — solely round 5 % of the journalism neighborhood. In summing up, she writes that a number of research have instructed being a girl is cause sufficient for being trolled on-line.

All of the chapters within the e book are equally essential, however most equally essential is the final chapter, ‘Overlaying the Periphery: Balochistan as a Blind Spot within the Mainstream Newspapers of Pakistan’ by Adnan Amir, who discusses information and media protection of Balochistan. Amir rightly states that Balochistan is sorely uncared for and never given due significance and house. He analyses the amount and high quality of stories protection given to the province in two mainstream Pakistani newspapers and argues that “Balochistan is roofed by the mainstream media solely when it presents tabloid fare for what may be referred to as ‘catastrophe journalism’.”

Final however not least, the e book portrays journalism by completely different contexts and angles as to the way it has advanced by completely different a long time. It’s important, informative and argumentative, which is why it’s a worthy learn.

The reviewer is a member of workers. He tweets @Akbar_notezai

From Terrorism to Tv: Dynamics of Media, State and Society in Pakistan
By Qaiser Abbas and Farooq Sulehria
Routledge, India
ISBN: 978-0367425821
216pp.

Printed in Daybreak, Books & Authors, January 31st, 2021