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RESOURCE CENTER - MEDIA MONITOR |
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Saturday August 18, 2007
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A daily review of media coverage of media and communications issues. |
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Media Regulation
Dawn Editorial, “Ensuring media freedom” |
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“Although the ordinance was later suspended, it is yet to be officially withdrawn. On Thursday, the opposition’s demand that the ordinance be tabled and discussed in the Senate was rejected by the chairman of the Upper House. For its part, the government claimed that negotiations with media representatives were going on, and as such there was no need to table the ordinance which would most likely be withdrawn at an “appropriate” time. There would have been no harm, however, in allowing the debate to take place. The government should also withdraw the ordinance immediately so as to dispel any impression that it is being used to pressure the broadcasters into framing a code of conduct favorable to the authorities. The Pakistan Broadcasters Association has already proposed a code under which gory scenes will not be telecast and ‘live’ coverage will come with a brief time delay. This is a welcome development and the PBA should see it through to its logical end, for violations of the code will only invite censorship. At the same time, Pemra must function as a truly independent regulatory authority rather than as a tool for bullying the electronic media.” |
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/18/ed.htm#2 |
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PEMRA Ordinance not tabled in Senate for second day |
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The government did not table the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 in the Senate for the second day on Friday despite the bill being on the agenda items’ list for the day. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi presented three of the four ordinances present on the agenda items except the PEMRA Ordinance. On Thursday, Senate Chairman Muhammadmian Soomro reserved his ruling on the opposition’s demand that the ordinance be presented in parliament in line with the constitutional provisions. In the same session, the opposition rejected State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kamil Ali Agha’s statement that the PEMRA Ordinance had been put on hold due to the ongoing talks between the government and media representatives. He said that the ordinance would be withdrawn at an appropriate time. To this, Opposition leader Raza Rabbani insisted that the PEMRA ordinance should be first tabled and then withdrawn. Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, presented a report on NATO’s role in Afghanistan and its relations with Pakistan. He said the committee had asked NATO to review its policy of exclusive reliance on military option and adopt political ways to ensure peace and security in the region. |
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\08\18\story_18-8-2007_pg7_11 |
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Opp seeks disapproval of PEMRA Ord |
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Opposition members in Senate have submitted a resolution seeking the disapproval of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority Amendment Ordinance of 2007. Signed by Asfandyar Wali, Shahid Bugti, Ismail Buledi, Farooq H Naek, Saadia Abbassi, Enver Baig, Professor Ibrahim and others, the resolution was submitted as notice under Clause 2 of Article 89 of the Constitution of Pakistan and Rule 123 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Senate, 1988
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\08\18\story_18-8-2007_pg7_12 |
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http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/aug2007-daily/18-08-2007/main.htm |
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Critique on Media
Letter to editor “Time on TV channels |
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Shabbeer a. Sheikh, “It is strange that TV channels display time which is not accurate. Some of the channels have their clocks away by more than one minute if compared with the GMT.
I request the TV channels to correct the time as it sometimes become very confusing.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/18/letted.htm#11 |
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Media Awards
Talented journalists to get awards |
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The Intermedia, a NGO, working for journalist's capacity building and strengthening freedom has announced awards for the media persons working on health issues. The Intermedia's statement says that the awards named "Safe Motherhood Award" will be awarded to those journalists who have played their role in highlighting the critical issue and newborn healthcare. The project is funded by the USAID in the recognition of the journalists.
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_IsbNews.aspx?dtlid=113015&catid=17&date=08/18/2007&fcatid=14 |
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Media Miscellaneous
“For a journalist there are no red zones” |
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Group Executive Director Dr. Shahid Masud in exclusive interview to Newsline comments, “Media was not opposed to Lal mosque operation but it was against the manner in which the action was conducted.”
(Newsline-66)
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“Pakistan’s media is exceedingly responsible” |
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Director Current Affairs Syed Talat Hussain in exclusive interview to Newsline comments.
(Newsline-68)
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Report card by Huma Yousuf |
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“The fatalities and injuries sustained by frontline reporters andphotojournalists prove that media representatives were well intentioned anddetermined to keep the public informed at any cost. And one cannot discount theeffectiveness of the overall coverage of the Lal Masjid encounter as incessantlive coverage, on-air banter and freewheeling speculations kept the nationriveted, riled-up and glued to their television screens for over a week.”
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http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsAug2007/mediaaug.htm |
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The press has evolved rather poorly over the 60 years |
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Ghazi Salahuddin a journalist and editorial director Geo TV comments, “the press has evolved rather poorly. This is because it was born during the freedom movement, it is congenitally conditioned to political statements and tends to opinionated.”
(Newsline-90)
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Seminar on ‘Pak movement and the press’ |
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The press institute of Pakistan will hold a one day seminar on ‘pakistan movement and the press’ at the PIP Auditorium 4-C LDA Flats, Lawarence road on Saturday says a press release. Majid Nizami will preside over the seminar while federal information minister will be chief guest.
(Nation-12)
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Access to information a must for accountability |
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Panelists observed on Friday that timely access to reliable and authentic information was vital for good governance, as it ensures transparency and accountability in matters of public administration. They were speaking at a discussion titled “Disaster Watch”, which was hosted by Rural Development Policy Institute (RDPI) and the Practical Action South Asia. The speakers were of the view that the dismal state of governance in Pakistan was largely due to the lack of freedom of information, which impeded the capacity of the citizens to effectively monitor public institutions. They stressed that transparent governance remained elusive if there were no laws to ensure citizens access to public information. Without adequate information citizens of the state cannot formulate informed opinions on issues of national importance. According to them, the intent of the rulers to transact public administration as secretively as possible owes much to the colonial hangover. |
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/18/nat18.htm |
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Television
Peshawar: PPP-S slams PTV decision on Pashto programme |
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The general-secretary of the NWFP chapter of the Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao), Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, has criticised the decision to transmit a one-hour Pashto programme from PTV National instead of PTV World and PTV-1, saying the move will deprive a large number of viewers of programmes in their mother tongue. In a press statement issued here on Friday, he claimed that the decision was aimed at driving Pukhtuns away from their mother tongue. He contended that PTV National could only be viewed on cable and people of areas where cable television services were not available would be deprived of the telecast. He said Pukhtuns, being the second largest nation in Pakistan, had constitutional and legal rights to promote their language, script and culture without any hindrance. |
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/18/local38.htm |
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Radio
Mullah Radio by Rahimullah Yousufzai |
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“While many in Sawt doubt his credentials, Mulana Fazlullah has garnered immense support through his radio preaching. The fear among Sawtis is that his militant campaign will instigate military operation in the serene valley.”
(Newsline-42)
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Movies
Indian movie banned |
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Pakistan Films Censor Board has reportedly refused permission to screening Indian movie ‘Qafila’ in Pakistan. Reliable sources disclosed carries certain derogatory dialogue regarding Muslims and Pakistan. The full board of censor is soon to review the movie and is certain to ban its exhibition, the sources added.
(Nation-13)
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Khyber Agency tribe bans CDs shops |
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Tribal alliance of Kotri Khel tribe Friday announced ban on CDs and video centers in Jumrud jurisdiction and said they should be closed withina week time otherwise these shops would be set on fore according to traditions in the area.
(Nation-19)
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Internet
Internet service interrupted |
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Interrupting internet service caused disturbance to all the users on Friday resulting in heavy loss.
Naveed, a net cafe owner in Satellite Town, told The Post although it happened for the first time, yet they had many problems related to internet service like slow speed. He said internet service providers did not provide the pledged data transfer speed.Sources told The Post fault in fiber optics was the cause of interruption. |
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_NatNews.aspx?dtlid=113027&catid=2&date=08/18/2007&fcatid=14 |
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Telecommunication
Telecom sector creates 80,000 jobs |
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About 80,000 jobs have been created by the telecom sector while people have also benefited from the sector in many ways, a recently launched research study revealed on Friday. The study said more than 500,000 indirect jobs have been created through the telecom sector. The study is entitled, ‘Telecom Liberalization in Pakistan: Implications for a Common Man’ and the author is Ali Salman of a Lahore-based consultancy firm called Development Pool with support from a German foundation. The study further reveals that telecom sector is presently providing more than 10 percent of total employment while the share of telecom in GDP for 2005-06 was 2 percent. The study maintains that liberalization agenda is considered as a welcome change. According to findings of the survey done under the study, 46 percent users of the telecom services believe that Internet charges are low and affordable while 40 percent users are indifferent to Mobile Number Portability and 80 percent users now benefit from value added services as compared with 34 percent four years ago. |
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\08\18\story_18-8-2007_pg5_4 |
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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) |
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