Re: Does Pakistani journalist deserve freedom of press?
It's hard to be neutral when musharraf is clearly wrong.
As a person, yes, it is hard, but not as a media organization. It is part of their code of conduct.
Lets take an example: Many people on this forum consider your ideas and affiliations revolting. Many people subscribe to your ideas. For some people, you are clearly wrong and for some you are clearly right and for most it is not clear enough.
Re: Does Pakistani journalist deserve freedom of press?
As a person, yes, it is hard, but not as a media organization. It is part of their code of conduct.
Lets take an example: Many people on this forum consider your ideas and affiliations revolting. Many people subscribe to your ideas. For some people, you are clearly wrong and for some you are clearly right and for most it is not clear enough.
In your example then the higher authority would muzzle one side out of fear of the words and criticism. That is what the CE and his cronies are doing. Just because people there is no "clarity" you don't remove freedom of speech. Yet that is exactly what is happening.
Re: Does Pakistani journalist deserve freedom of press?
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/06/06/083444.php
Pakistan Tries Gagging Its Media
Written by Mayank Austen Soofi
Published June 06, 2007
Those with fond memories of General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s last true dictator, can sit back and wink. The two-skinned President-General Pervez Musharraf has crawled out of the pretensions of being a despot-democrat.
No longer would Karachi socialites have to undergo embarrassments of discussing the intricacies of “genuine democracy.” Lahori ‘intellectuals’ too could dump the concepts of “enlightened moderation” to their rightful place – trash bins. Hapless viewers are rid of maddening talk shows on uppity TV news channels.
On 4th June, the deeply unpopular Musharraf killed a genuine reform his regime had helped blossom. New restrictions have been imposed on electronic media. Amendments were introduced to the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Ordinance, 2002. PEMRA can now suspend the licences of TV channels if they operate illegally or violate PEMRA rules. Under a new section, the PEMRA authorities have been authorised to make new regulations without informing parliament. The new laws also deprive the media of the right to be heard at a Council of Complaints before being punished for violations.
The ordinance raises possible fines for violations from Rs 1 million to Rs 10 million (about $400,000). It also brings Internet Protocol TV, radio and mobile TV under PEMRA regulations. The new ordinance came into force at once. In a promising start, the government suspended the transmission of two private television channels - Geo TV and Aaj TV in major parts of the country.
No one must be surprised. The media had it coming. Taking Mr. Musharraf’s macho graciousness for granted, it sought to cross the limits by uninhibitedly broadcasting unprecedented public protests following the General’s dismissal of an independent-minded Chief Justice early this year. His government, or let’s say just him for the government hardly matters in the scheme of things, had started frowning over the increasing tendency of the press to criticise him, his policies, and worse, the army – Pakistan’s holiest cow.
Noisy talk shows asked Musharraf to throw away his army uniform. He protested that the dress “has become part of my skin”. (Soon enough a newspaper column appeared mischievously titled Must we now learn how to skin?) TV Channels broadcasted a fiery Superme Court seminar in which the dismissed Justice observed, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In spite of Mr. Musharraf strongly urging “the media not to politicise a purely judicial and legal matter,” the excited journalists refused to take the hint. Worse happened when Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, a military writer, recently published a book titled Military Inc - Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy. Taking on the army for its corporate entanglements, the talk-of-the-town book was denied a launch, as scheduled, in an Islamabad club. Stranger things happened. The book was sold out on the first day itself – an honor not enjoyed by the General’s 2006 ghost-written memoirs. Many suspect state funds were acquired to buy the entire first edition so that ‘gullible’ people remain unaware of the goings-on in the cantonments.
With the stifling of TV channels, print media fears it could be their turn next. They need not worry. Once a tiger has tasted blood, it won’t settle for grass. Pakistanis have seen too much to be lambs again. They just need to roar, a little louder than usual, and Mr. Musharraf would scurry away – his tail tucked between his legs.
Re: Does Pakistani journalist deserve freedom of press?
Well, actually Pakistani journalists are not looking for freedom of press, they are looking for freedom to lie and make money by selling lies in the name of journalism.
Let me ask you one thing, along your own line of thinking "Does Pakistani nation deserve freedom? Democracy? Independence?"
Re: Does Pakistani journalist deserve freedom of press?
Let me ask you one thing, along your own line of thinking "Does Pakistani nation deserve freedom? Democracy? Independence?"
Sorry to reply you after so long. Actually, I was (and still I am) having problem connecting to paklinks, hence delay in reply. As for what you asked:
Yes, I believe that Pakistan deserves freedom, democracy, independence, as well as freedom of press. Though according to me, what Pakistan got after 1947 is only 'independence'.
Freedom comes with knowledge as well as independence of livelihood from others. Unfortunately, most Pakistanis are illiterate and lack knowledge. They are also dependent for their livelihood on big landlords, Sardars, and crook politicians. Thus, those that control the ‘freedom’ of masses use that ‘freedom’ for exploitation.
Democracy comes with accountability that comes when there is literacy amongst masses and people are free from nepotism (tribal loyalty, provincialism, bradarism, etc). Without accountability there could be no democracy. Unfortunately, there is no accountability in Pakistan politics and masses are bounded by nepotism. Thus, without accountability and masses marred with nepotism, Pakistani politicians use ‘democracy’ to do corruption.
Freedom of press comes with responsibility. Without responsibility, freedom of press becomes freedom to misguide masses. Unfortunately, Pakistan got freedom of press without responsibility; thus today Pakistan press is just a tool to misguide masses. Without responsibility, Pakistani media use ‘freedom of press’ to do yellow journalism and earn money by misguiding masses for vested interests.
Re: Does Pakistani journalist deserve freedom of press?
Saleem bhai this is the age of internet. No longer can the crooks (read Pakistani military dictators and politicians) hide their wrongdoings from the public. Press freedom or not, every news is online within a few minutes to hours of it happening. Gone are the days when people used to sit down and go thru a Sunday or Friday newspaper inside out or watch the khabarnama as the main source of news. Now everything is online. Even the daily newspapers are not that upto date because the news contained in them is atleast 10-12 hours old. I get most of my daily news on the net. These days I hardly ever listen or watch news on TV or browse a broadsheet as I might have done say 10 years ago. Musharraf and his cronies couldn't lie to the public about the May 12 mayhem mainly because the events and the real culprits behind this atrocity are all on the web.
The media's job is to give you news. They never claim that their voice is the be all and end all. How you interpret the story is solely up to you based on your level of intelligence, education and experiences in life. That said the media has a responsibility to verify news first before they publish it in a newspaper or announce on radio/TV