Monday June 05, 2006

Pakistan bans Da Vinci Code film

Pakistan has banned The Da Vinci Code, which has been the subject of protests from members of Pakistan 's small Christian community. Culture Minister Ghulam Jamal said the film was blasphemous.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5045672.stm

New cultural policy soon

Culture Minister Dr GG Jamal said on Sunday a new cultural policy, featuring public-private partnership, would soon be introduced. “We wanted to make changes in cultural policy of 1995, remove some flaws and revise it according to the modern-day needs,” the minister said in a press release.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=9422

New policy on billboards in the offing

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal on Sunday said special emphasis would be laid on the protection of life and property of citizens while making new policy for billboards in the metropolis.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=9501

Zafar Samdani passes away

Noted journalist Zafar Samdani died of throat cancer here on Sunday. He was 72. Beginning his career as a reporter with the Pakistan Times, Mr Samdani joined Pakistan Television after its inception in 1964. He was one of the pioneers of PTV's news section. He retired from PTV as director news and after a stint with The Nation daily as a free-lancer, he joined Karachi 's eveninger The Star. Later, he joined The Frontier Post, Lahore , as its editor.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/05/top9.htm

Feature;

Rise of rogue radio

By M Ismail Khan

The use and abuse of FM radio for advocacy is widespread in many parts of the world. In East Timor , these were mounted on rumbling trucks moving from one part of the island to the other in order to air political messages. In Guatemala , they are utilized to strengthen gender voices in policy planning. In Nepal , these are cherished as development tools to empower the poor and marginalized. So, it is not really a big deal if in the NWFP, FM radio is deployed to fan religious extremism.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=9437

Young Voices : Are media weakening morality?

By Atia Naqvi

Of all the Mass Communication methods TV has the most impact on our lives. TV has expanded dramatically through the recent growth of cable TV transmission of programmes. But the question is, are the depiction of violence and sexual activities on TV transmission of programmes.

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/june-2006/5/nationalnews6.php

Letters to Editor:

Freedom of the press

General Musharraf, soon after taking over the helm of affairs said that the press would be free. He also declared that no one has to read all the junk these people now produce. All editors, journalists, columnists, letter writers, both in English and Urdu, have turned reams of white paper into black in the hope of making a difference.

http://www.thepost.com.pk/LetNews.aspx?dtlid=42901&catid=4

More:

“PEMRA issued 31 licenses in current fiscal” , Dawn, Page-16

“Journalist, Zafar Samdani passes away”, The Nation, Back Page

“New Culture Policy soon: GG Janal”, Daily Times, Page-B-3

“PTV regains viewer's interest” The Nation, Back Page

News sources :

The News: http://jang.com.pk/thenews/

The Nation: http://www.nation.com.pk/

Daily Times: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/

The Dawn: http://www.dawn.com

Spider: www.spider.tm

BBC South Asia : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/

Herald: http://dawn.com/herald/

Aurora : www.aurora@dawn.com

The Economist: www.economist.com

IFEX: www.ifex.org

Jang: http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/

Nawa-i-waqt: http://www.nawaiwaqt.com.pk

Khabrain: http://www.khabrain.com

Daily Development News: http://asp.isb.sdnpk.org/

The Post: http://www.thepost.com.pk/

Business Recorder: http://www.brecorder.com

Asia Media: www.asiamedia.ucla.edu

Compiled by, Sajid Go nd al Media Monitor, Internews Pakistan .

DISCLAIMER: The contents, including news and headlines, in this newsletter are reproduced from their respective publications ad verbatim as a public service to media observers. Internews does not author the contents and these, therefore, do not necessarily reflect organizational policy.  

Updated at 11:00 PST (06:00 GMT)