Over the past decade Pakistan has been flooded with new cable and satellite television channels, many of which offer compelling news reporting to a television audience, who only recently had just one state-run source of information. Here Audience Scopes take a look at who are watching these channels and how these channels compare to the imposing Pakistan Television (PTV) network. The Pakistan Television network rules the roots in overall television ratings and it has the only terrestrial network with a national reach. However, the introduction of privately-run cable and satellite television stations in 2002 has caused significant changes in Pakistan’s media landscape.
It was less than a decade ago, that Pakistanis had just one network on their televisions, until the government of President Pervez Musharaff finally deregulated the licensing process which issues cable and satellite channels. Today, there are close to a hundred private cable and satellite channels that are available to those who have access to a cable or satellite connection. These regulatory changes have had significant implications for how news and information is disseminated, particularly in a country where television is the overall most accessed medium. Along with channels featuring entertainment, sports and religious content, there are a plethora of news channels available in Pakistan today. The state-run PTV News channel has been displaced by the private news channels such as Express News, ARY News and Aaj TV . In fact, as people climb the socio-economic ladder, they are more likely to shift from watching state run television to private news channels. Out of these many news channels, ARY News is one of the very well known and viewed news channels in Pakistan
ARY News is a Dubai-based Pakistani news channel launched on 26 September 2004. A bilingual news channel in English and Urdu, it is a part of the ARY Digital Network, which is a subsidiary of ARY Group. It has a large audience and one main competitor in Geo News. It was previously known as ARY One World until 2009 when it was re-branded as ARY News
Current affair programs with prominent Pakistani journalists are the strength of ARY News. Its program mix covers all the genres of news & infotainment, and most of its programs are presented by top international anchors such as PJ Mir, Javed Malik, Qurat ul Ain Hassan, Farah Farooq, Sadaf Abdul Jabbar, Kashif Abbasi, Wasim Badami, Iqrar ul Hassan and Asima Shirazi.
ARY News is one of the first dedicated international news channels in Pakistan. It has exclusive correspondents in almost all major capitals around the globe, a network of over 500 reporters and correspondents in Pakistan, and major international networks as exclusive partners for the exchange of news, information and other technical facilities. The channel also maintains a rich archive library with exclusive footage.
ARY News viewed internationally
ARY News is also viewed by the people in the United States. It is available there through Dish Network as well in the UK on Sky Digital.
Online streaming
After the 2007 state of emergency in Pakistan, many private TV channels were shut down by PEMRA including ARY News, but it continued live online streaming. The ban has now been removed.
Controversy
On November 16, 2007, after the pressure from General Musharraf, ARY News shut down. After the imposition of emergency in Pakistan, all private news channels were banned. On November 16, Musharraf ordered PEMRA to cancel ARY's license, and ARY shut down. The Pakistani government has claimed that Dubai Media City authorities have closed these channels and that the Government of Pakistan has nothing to do with it. However, Dubai Media Centre authorities have dismissed these statements had said that they had no hand in this at all.
ARY One World returns
After the ARY News owners signed the new PEMRA ordinance and accepted the conditions of government, coverage resumed on November 22, 2007. One important condition was that channel would not present any argument, whether from public or from opposition politicians, against the current government. Many human rights were cancelled due to this government act.
Hacking of aryoneworld.net
After the resignation of Musharraf the ARY News website was hacked and now has been restored.
Conclusion
ARY news is currently one of the mostly viewed channels not only Pakistan but even internationally its viewers are growing day by day. Even after facing so many controversies this channel has achieved a remarkable success and has also contributed towards the upliftment of Pakistani society by keeping them updated with current affairs.
2004 was the year when Pakistani Media had its first whole sole business channel “SunBiz” followed by two other business channels i.e “Business Plus” & “CNBC Pakistan”.
Talking about “Business Plus”, which was the first satellite based business channel in Pakistan, was launched in late 2004. It started off with a little technical setup which kept on growing year by year. The channel tried to gave a whole new dimension to the Pakistani viewers but failed to capture a big market share because its target audience was very niche.
The channel gives an in depth analysis of the financial markets of Pakistan and also covers global equity markets. It has a variety of analyst that share their professional views and expert advice for the investors for both stocks and commodity markets.
Programs like “Hotline KSE” were launched by me in April 2005. I was the Producer and the Anchor of the show and it has been on air for nearly 5 years. The program focuses on the views of the small investors which had major contribution in market capitalization but were badly ignored by any other channel. “Live Wire” is still the longest LIVE show of business plus that runs throughout the day during the stock market hours and covers all the important news regarding the stock market, economy and listed companies.
As far as the anchors of business plus are concerned, it is really important to understand that for every channel / program, the anchors play a very vital role in either making or breaking of the viewership of the channel / program. That has been always the weakness of Business Plus that they mostly invest in fresh blood hence risking their credibility who leave the channel after getting adequate training and recognition among the viewers.
Important steps that need to be taken by Business Plus to improve the rating and credibility in the target market are improving their PD by bringing in fresh and unique ideas, taking on board experienced and qualified anchors, investing more on technical aspects especially screen uplifting and more focus on business programs rather than current affairs.
Being a globally oriented media service, Al-Jazeera started the vision and mission and set for itself for adhering to the journalistic values of honesty, courage, fairness, balance, independence, credibility and diversity, giving no priority to commercial or political considerations over professional ones, and cooperate with Arab and International journalistic unions and associations to defend freedom of the press.
Aljazeera-English is a 24-hour English-Language news and current affairs TV channel headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It is the sister channel of the Arabic-language Al-Jazeera. The station broadcasts news features and analysis, documentaries, live debates, current affairs, business, technology, and sports. The station claims to be the first global high-definition television network. The channel aims to provide both a regional voice and a global perspective to a potential world audience of over one billion English speakers who don't have an Anglo-American worldview. Instead of being run under central command, news management rotates around broadcasting centers in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington, DC. Al-Jazeera English is the first English-language network headquartered in the Middle-East and one the few foreign media outlets to have agencies in Gaza and Harare.
The channel’s philosophy based upon the objectives of emphasizing news from the developing world, of "Reversing the North to South Flow of Information" and of "setting the news agenda" (also the channel's slogan). Some observers, including media scholar Adel Iskandar, have commented that this focus can be seen, in the eyes of Western viewers, as casting Al-Jazeera English as a global "alternative" news network, though the entire Al-Jazeera brand has been heavily mainstreamed in many parts of the world. Other Al-Jazeera English slogans and catchphrases include: "All the News | All the Time", "Fearless Journalism" and "If it's newsworthy, it gets on air, whether it's Bush or Bin Laden." Al-Jazeera's Code of Ethics mirrors some of these statements. The English brand identity and its "EVERY ANGLE | EVERY SIDE" promotional positioning was led by Director of Creative, Morgan Almeida, "to preserve the amazing Arabic heritage and extend this in a language familiar to diverse global audiences".
As far as the channel’s programmes and crew are concerns, most of the crew-members have joined Al-Jazeera from World’s renowned TV News Channels like CNN, BBC and the most rated programs are “The Listening Post”, “Witness”, “Counting the cost”, “Fault Lines”, “One on One” and “Riz Khan Show” etc.
Richard Gizbert presents the The Listening Post, a weekly show on Al Jazeera English. The show provides insight into how the news is handled by the world's media and it has been praised by critics. Aaron Barnhart, TV writer for the Kansas City Star, wrote that The Listening Post "might be the best media-critique program in English anywhere."Stewart Purvis, former editor-in-chief and CEO of the Britain's ITN, said "The Listening Post has delivered," and that its real value "is the breadth of its monitoring beyond the mainstream".
Witness - hosted by Rageh Omaar; a daily presentation of short documentaries from every part of the world, Ragheh Omaar visits for finding the facts and to be eye-witness for making his documentaries. His program was so admired during the incidents of Lal-Masjid in Pakistan.
Inside Story, by various presenter, is the top rated programs, provides analysis, background, and context on the day's top story from some of the best minds in the Middle East and around the world. More than just the news, Inside Story asks how we got to today and what tomorrow might have in store.
“Riz Khan Show” broadcast live, the Riz Khan show allows viewers from around the world to question world leaders, newsmakers and celebrities directly via phone, email, SMS, video-mail and fax. Hosted by internationally renowned journalist Riz Khan, the show gives you a voice in setting the news agenda on key issues and trends affecting lives around the globe.
“One on One” is more a conversation than a news interview, profiling celebrities and newsmakers from around the globe, with a focus on their personal histories, defining moments and goals in life. The programme provides an intimate look into their philosophy of life and the events and people that influenced their careers.
Beside all their stated unbiased news analysis about most of the international social, political and economic issues, Al-Jazeera is considered as Muslim’s International News Channel and facing so much criticism from European and American intellectual society for addressing Middle-East issues on the channel. Instead of having a large audience in the Middle-East and worldwide, the organization and the original Arabic channel in particular have been involved in numerous controversies, including in some parts of the Western world. Americans in general have an unfavorable view of Al-Jazeera. A widely reported criticism is the false allegation that Al-Jazeera had shown videos of masked terrorists beheading western hostages in Iraq. When this was reported in other media, Al-Jazeera pressed for retractions to be made. This allegation was again repeated on Fox News in the USA on the launch day of Al-Jazeera's English service, 15 November 2006. Later “The Guardian” apologized for incorrect information that Al-Jazeera 'had shown videos of masked terrorists beheading western hostages'.
Accuracy in Media (AIM), the US media watchdog group that campaigned to keep Al-Jazeera English off American airwaves in 2006, said today that Dave Marash’s decision to leave the channel confirms its warnings and fears. Marash, the top U.S. journalist at Al-Jazeera English, says that anti-American bias at the network was a factor in his decision to leave. “We have been vindicated,” said AIM editor Cliff Kincaid. “Marash’s departure will make it even more difficult for the channel to get U.S. media access.” In a Fox News Channel debate with Kincaid prior to the channel’s launch in 2006, Marash had claimed Al-Jazeera English would be editorially autonomous and independent from the original and pro-terrorist Arabic Al-Jazeera, based in Doha, Qatar. But AIM produced a report, “The Al-Jazeera Hall of Shame,” citing evidence that key Al-Jazeera English personnel had come from Al-Jazeera Arabic. AIM also produced documentary, “Terror Television”, documenting the channel’s pro-terrorist and anti-American bias, and commissioned a public opinion poll which found that most Americans didn’t want the channel to have access to the U.S. media market. In interviews after his departure, Marash confirmed that the English channel is under the firm control of the same people who control Al-Jazeera Arabic. “Marash has seen the light,” Kincaid commented. “But we had warned all along that this would be the case.” AIM’s campaign had prevented Al-Jazeera from finding a major U.S. cable or Satellite Company willing to carry it. “We tried from the beginning to expose Al-Jazeera English for what it is – an anti-American, Arab government-financed propaganda operation,” Kincaid said. “Now, hopefully, more people will take note.”
Alongside all the criticism the channel had expected to reach around 40 million households at start, but it far exceeded that launch target, reaching 80 million homes. As of 2009, Al Jazeera's English-language service can be viewed in every major European market, and is available to 130 million homes in over 100 countries via cable and satellite, according to Molly Conroy, a spokeswoman for the network in Washington. However the channel is noted for its poor penetration in the North American market, where it is carried by almost no cable networks except local networks in Toledo, Ohio, and Burlington, Vermont. On 26 November 2009, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved a request to add Al Jazeera English to the lists of satellite services eligible for digital distribution. Al Jazeera English has begun a campaign to enter the North American market, including a dedicated website.
ARY News launched on December 26, 2004, ARY News (formerly known as ARY ONEWORLD) is a Dubai-based Pakistani news channel. It is a bilingual news channel, which broadcasts news both in English and Urdu. It is part of the ARY Digital Network and owned by the ARY Group. Its broadcast areas include Australia, Europe, Asia, India, Middle East, United Kingdom and United States. Its sister channels are ARY Digital, ARY Musik, ARY Zauk and ARY Qtv. In 2009 ARY ONEWORLD was re-branded and re-launched as ARY News.
COMPETITORS OF ARY NEWS
The main competitors of ARY News are GEO NEWS, Express News, AAJ News, DAWN News, PTV News, Dunya News and Samaa News. The main strength of ARY News is its current affairs program, which invites famous political leaders, analysts and journalists in daily talk shows. Prominent journalists of ARY News, which are its assets, include Javed Malik, Qurat ul Ain Hassan, Farah Farooq, Sadaf Abdul Jabbar, Kashif Abbasi, Wasim Badami, Iqrar ul Hassan and Asima Shirazi.
NEWS CONTENT ON ARY NEWS
The news content of ARY News is quite similar to the content aired from other news channels. But from a neutral perspective, ARY News doesn't take sides as far as political parties or leaders are concerned. At some point, it does feel as if ARY News is taking side of certain parties (PML (N) and PPP) in particular, but on a broader level, it gives a somewhat un-biased picture to the news events.
THE ARRIVALS – NEW CONCEPT ON ARY NEWS
ARY News is also showing a documentary by the name of The Arrival, which started airing from February 5, 2010. It talks about ancient history, pagan cults, secret societies and other important history related to Islam and other religions.
RE-BRANDING OF ARY ONEWORLD TO ARY NEWS
As far as the layout, graphics and the theme of ARY News are concerned, the re-branded ARY News is not as attractive as was ARY ONEWORLD. The reason being that ARY News uses dark colors which are quite shocking in nature and one cannot keep looking at the channel when the channel ID's and promos are running. Secondly, the news scroll bar at the bottom of the screen is quite hard to read as the font is quite thin and the letters are condensed, which creates a negative impact on the viewers. The red and orange color scheme looks similar to that of being used by the Indian news channel "Aaj Tak"
ARY NEWS – CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAMMES (Most Viewed)
OFF the Record
The program not only highlight the developments in the political sphere but is also a hard hitting talk show with 3 regular guests all with individualistic perspectives who field and dodge the stinging queries of Kashif Abbasi in his characteristic element.
Q & A
Q & A is a volatile political debate on the politics where PJ Mir takes analysts as well as players of the government and the opposition on board. The show puts leaders and experts in a Q & A Session to get the insights pertaining current and political scenario of the country.
Sawal Yeh hai
Sawal Yeh Hai is a volatile political debate on the politics of the province of Sindh. Taking analysts as well as players of the government and the opposition on board, Dr Danish probes into the direction and state of politics in the financial epicenter of the country and power games being played in the province and its impact on Pakistan.
11th hour
A hard hitting current affairs show in which Waseem Badami will provide in-depth analysis and perspectives on the most significant happenings of the day. The show will highlight the reasons and consequences behind the events and uncover the real truth.
Insight
This show puts light on Pakistan’s standing in the world with Javed Malik adding value with his International exposure providing an insight into the reactions and thinking of the world for the domestic, internal and international matters of Pakistan and their perception and impact worldwide.
ARY NEWS - INFOTAINMENT PROGRAMMES (Most Viewed)
Bakhabar Savera
The breakfast show that makes your mornings informative and enlightening. Sana Tariq plays hostess to this eclectic mix of political, entertaining, social and topical celebrities and provides an introspective look into their personal and professional lives.
Zimmedar Kaun
This show brings to the limelight issues of hardship being faced by the common man and makes a serious attempt to exposes the people responsible for it.
The Arrivals
A ground breaking documentary based on conspiracy theory, that will reveal the undeniable truth of the world domination by Antichrist forces and the Islamic beliefs relating to the end of times. It will discuss the signs of arrival of Antichrist (Dajjal), Imam Mehdi and Jesus Christ.
Criminals Most Wanted
A program that highlights and searches of the most wanted criminals of our country. Going on for years it is reputed.
E – MasalaA weekly round–up of events and gossip from the world of glamour and entertainment. The show encompasses film releases, album launches, celebrity profiles, tributes and other news making events of the entertainment world.
Loose Talk
One of the most known satires on television “Loose Talk” comes on ARY NEWS with Anwar Maqsood and ARY News. The show focuses on current political and social issues in Pakistan where Moin Akhtar varies its character in every episode portraying common men of our society.
CONCLUSION
ARY NEWS has to go a long way if they dream of competing with other news channels with the likes of GEO, DUNYA, SAMAA, EXPRESS and AAJ. They have to make some of their programs from all categories take top of the mind approach among their viewers. For instance everybody knows about Bakhabar Savera but they don’t really recall other program of ARY NEWS other than the ones hosted by PJ Mir, Kashif Abbasi and Javed Malik.
ARY NEWS has been running many programs, which are, in my opinion, a waste of their resources but still they are popular and most viewed among the masses. To increase their brand image and create a unique selling proposition, ARY NEWS should produce programs like THE Arrivals, which talk about different non-political ideas, which can give ARY NEWS an edge over others….
In a democratic setup it is essential to have free and fair media of communication - both print as well as electronic to voice the deeds of the Government as well as the grievances of the masses apart from being the source of entertainment and sports.
The age of electronic media in Pakistan is still in grooming phase which solicits lots of maturity in days to come, as it is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.
We have at present 60 odd channels and out of which majority of them have focused on rate race for upgrading their viewer ship ratings without keeping in view the essentially required code of ethics to air news or talk shows based on facts or realities which all citizens of the country faces in their daily life.
It is imperative on the part of the journalist attached to a channel to enlighten their viewers by providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Since professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility.
Duniya television channel which is relatively youngest amongst the lot; is striving hard to compete with other market leaders by televising News on current affairs beside equally good talk shows, few entertaining programme; yet a too long way to go.
The thrust of Duniya in the remotest areas of the country still lacks which is evident from the delayed breaking news which GEO, AAJ and ARY air well in time.
The quality of talk shows like “Policy Matters” anchored by journalist Nasim Zehra and “Duniya Meray Agea” jointly anchored by Journalist Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq Minhas; are considerably good for the simple reason that these anchors are quite well reputed professionals with past expertise in both electronic as well as print media.
The lack of more professional journalist in this channel is also a major factor for not being able to catch the viewers as it is incidentally not being owned by a print media pundit which is evident from the sub standard reporting coverage.
To catch the viewership Duniya must adopt impartial policy as until now it’s more for the ruling junta then as independent channel.
The breaking news which viewers have become quite accustomed too (thanks to Geo, Aaj & ARY ) is not up to the required level of acceptance.
It would be in the best interest of Duniya if they discontinue the most pathetic programme of“Miss Duniya” which is too short of good script backed by poor and monotonous performance of Veena Malik. Same applies to for the pathetic show of “Hasbe Hall” which is much below mediocre level.
The set designs and color scheme has lot more room for improvement by acquiring the services of a qualified Interior Design professional.
Thequality of News casters is laudable despite lack of news contents; they are doing pretty good job.
Duniya is effectively restricted by the fact that it does not have the numbers of journalists on board as compare to main competitors like GEO, AAJ or ARY News. The Live coverage of events is basically confined to urban metros where as the market leaders covers even smaller town and at times villages too.
Duniya will have to will have to go forward by airing programme like old time yet still acceptable “Kasuti” and like wise informative shows in order to stand out amongst the electronic media giants to catch the viewership from the crowd they seem to have placed themselves in.
To recapitulate Duniya needs to be made much better by acquiring the services of renowned professional anchors from Journalist fraternity in order to meet the prerequisites of a basically News and current affairs television channel.
Media freedom or liberalization is one the most highly debated topics of the present times. While media liberalization on one hand allows the summation of information necessary for bureaucratic incentives, on the other hand it also helps citizens/ opposition to coordinate on replacing the incumbent ruler. Hence, there is a definite tradeoff for any government from a political perspective whenever a decision on media freedom is made.
Besides intensifying politics liberal media may also result in increasing rates of corruption which has negative impacts on other important economic indicators. If one goes by the news alone, it would seem that every country that has strived for media freedomis now suffering from rampant corruption. For instance, the he New York Times has published 99 stories about corruption in Brazil since the country allowed media freedom in 1985.
Pakistan itself is a highlighted country in this regard as many believe that the worst political situation of the country has occurred in the past 7-8 years after President Pervez Musharaf allowed the freedom of media in its true sense. Whereas a contradictory view on the same places media responsible for the political and economic crisis. As by bringing everything to public knowledge the media can promote country wide crisis and revolt.
Talking about ethics of a state owned network, PTV, on the other hand has always been perceived as a pro-government channel because of its policies of not revealing news and events that may highlight the government’s position. Over the past many years, and before the inception of private media, the Pakistani population was of the view that our country has been doing really well. This view was due to the fact that there was only one TV channel that was portraying what the government wanted them to portray. With the inception of private media in the early years of President Musharaf, the public got to know the real side of political and economic realities of the country.
The inception of private media let to the shift in the viewer ship patterns of TV in a way that people started trusting private media more than the state media. PTV, however, tried to stick to its policies being a state owned channel but failed miserably in gaining confidence of the public. Realities, along with a bit of ‘masala’ led to public attention.
It was necessary for PTV to regain its popularity keeping in view non-revealing policies of the government and in spite of shouting and crying out loud that PTV is no more a pro government channel and is a pro Pakistan channel, the efforts led to no conclusion. Unfortunately, our state owned channel is still a channel with no ethical values and is lead by the head of the state.
Dhoom TV"Har Jaga, Har Waqt" is a Pakistan-based private Entertainment Satellite TV channel which uses PakSat-1 for its transmission and delivers general programming.
The channel is owned by Mr. Ilyas Shakir who is founder and CEO of the channel. Mr. Shakir also looks after the local newspapers such as Daily Qaumi Akhbar and Daily Riyasat published from Karachi. Besides that, two other weekly digests are also published i.e. Weekly Khawateen Digest and Weekly Qaumi Sports under the management of Dhoom TV.
The channel is prominent for telecasting current political affairs that prevail in Pakistan and also telecasts other entertainment programs that attract the youth class as well and also to those who are more inclined to current affairs programs and get a chance to take a break for entertainment to relief from normal tensions.
The channel at some extent very informative for the category of viewers’ class who enjoy the programs about the news of various records being held, actual and informative info for e.g.Dhoom Amazing News presented by Ms zainab khan and her other colleagues covering topics such as discoveries of Ancient places, various championship competitions being held around the worlds, innovations, events and other festivals as well. Below mentioned is the link to go through some features of amazing news coverage for the traditional dish made by 2200 chefs, and so are the other instances of the show which are shown on the channel.
Hence the channel is not less than to recognize as News-cum-Entertainment Channel.
However like other Pakistani channels it does possess some weak points such as the anchors are not that strong in communication skill/delivery and also appear less confident that what one finds on prime channels such as Geo, Duniya, ARY and Express. Therefore, the channel is not popular for any of the TV Talk-Show programs as telecast by others, hence, the channel also gains the less popularity comparing to others. For which the channel should improve not only its contents and but context as well. Above link feature is an enormous example of this fact because the contents and info were quite interesting but lack of a good delivery presentation somehow couldn’t have that strong and powerful impact.
Moreover, it is also noted that the channel does not produce news originated at its own, rather they are copied that have already been telecasted earlier by other channels and very rare news are produced which are originated by the channel itself, hence the channel does not gain the as popularity comparing to other TV channels.
Some other programs that are telecast by the channel including program Media Watch by Ms Roha Zaidi covering the news regarding availability of Mineral Resources tapped at various places, Hidden Truth through which some news on political affairs and incidents that had occurred in past projecting historical Wars incidents and information of Weapons & Artillery and occurrences of incidents such as 9/11, Iran-Iraq wars etc.
Besides that based on current political affairs that prevail in the country, a comic news program presented which projects various political personalities with cartoon features. This program is given the title Cartoono Ki Mehfil which strikes as a five minutes show with regular intervals during Short-Breaks intervals of other regular shows which explain the story behind the cartoon published in different newspapers on the politicians of country.
The channel also presents Karachi News which provides information regarding Welfare Trust run in the city by various philanthropists, NGOs covering the subjects such as environmental problems including health and hygiene factors, Sports, Athletes and academic news, financial aspects cover in assemblies.
However, it has been noted that Dhoom TV does not smartly handle the news being conveyed through Sub-Title. In this respect controversy noted as during the course of routine important news, the sub title presents the news of irrelevant subject, like while telecasting the programs on International politics movement, the channel shows the slide title appearing with news about the social/family disputes which given an impression of inconsistency.
Hence the channel is currently viewing acceptable and of course some of the good shows to its viewers, since it has to still come up with more creative ideas and concepts with a presentable deliberation of contents to compete with other competing local channels at the edge. As the channel needs to gain much more popularity and to be recognized if wants to be the part of rate race.
AAJ News, started as AAJ TV a hybrid TV channel with news, current affairs and entertainment content. It is now a complete news channel with news and current affairs content.AAJ went through a smooth transition from a hybrid to a pure news channel as they wanted to launch a different and complete entertainment channel. Because of their failure to do so, they again are planning to move into the hybrid category again, in order to gain female ratings with an objective to increase advertising revenue (most of the Pakistani advertisers target the female demographic).
Apart from branding and business, AAJ News is among the top five news channels in Pakistan with almost same kind of sensational content, they are among the top five horses in the news breaking race to show the unfortunate realities of our country live, without even taking under consideration what to show and what not to show on screen.
Another major problem with journalist of any channel is biasness; AAJ TV two main anchors plus news department supports anti- MQM and Pro-Taliban or Jamat-e-Islami sentiment. As we can see in the 12th May clips that Talat Hussain (main anchor) was showing only MQM people firing what about the other side of the road.
I really don’t feel any difference between our all news channels. AAJ TV is just another news channel, with same issues, content and MASALA!!
CNBC stands for Consumer News and Business Channel. CNBC was launched by NBC Universal initially in the US in 1989. The channel quickly rose to market leadership in television business news when the new cable network broke ground as the first to broadcast directly from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Today, CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 402 million homes worldwide and The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers around the world. In 2007, the network was ranked as the 19th most valuable cable channel in the U.S., worth roughly $4 billion. (Wikipedia.com)
CNBC Pakistan is the premier 24-Hour bilingual language (Urdu and English) business and stock market related channel in Pakistan, which reports financial and business information, presenting in-depth and up-to-the-minute coverage of regional and international affairs from a Pakistani economic perspective. Founded in 2004 by CNBC ASIA to broaden their reach into Pakistan’s expanding capital markets, inaugurated by Pakistan's former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz & Set up by Mr. Zafar Siddiqui on 15th November 2005.
CNBC Pakistan is the channel has leveraged its strong brand and business journalism expertise to the business community of Pakistan. It is currently owned by Vision Network Television Limited. Approximately 250 employees work with CNBC Pakistan. Its headquarters are located at the Techno-city Corporate Tower in Karachi.
CNBC Pakistan is a notable addition to the Pakistani media landscape, utilizing the global resources of the CNBC network, delivering continuous flow of relevant engaging news from all of the Pakistani markets and from business centers around the world. Broadcasting according to the highest international newsgathering and reporting standards are the USPs of the channel.
The channel is already poised as the most important media outlet in Pakistan for the economic sector, reflecting the sustained growth and opportunities in the nation’s financial markets.
VISION of the channel:
CNBC Pakistan aims to be the leading channel in Pakistan for business and current affairs information. Our aim is to highlight the business, economic and political issues that promise a better future for Pakistan.
Critical Analysis of CNBC Pakistan’s Program Content:
CNBC Pakistan operates out of Karachi and has offices in Lahore and Islamabad with affiliate stations in Quetta and Peshawar
I analysed their program content keeping in view the ethical responsibilities of the channel, its target audience and content categories.
The most positive thing I noticed about this CNBC is that it’s not biased towards any political party.
The main offerings of the channel are as follows:
Markets and finance related programsMonday to Friday (Throughout the day)
Current affairs shows in the eveningMonday to Friday (Evening)
News bulletins on the hourMonday to Saturday
Late night entertainment programs-do-
Being a business channel, it only broadcasts repeat programs and news from 3:00PM-8:30PM which obviously goes with its persona.
Being a business channel, CNBC Pakistan has done a lot of justice catering the needs of the business community in Pakistan. The popular shows among business community include AAP KI MARKET which is hosted by Aadil Jilani and Shehzad Akber Ali Mithani, POWER LUNCH is also most watched program in which business entrepreneurs and experts are interviewed.
Shows of CNBC Pakistan that I found different and yet engaging for the target include ghar ka kharch hosted by Sabeen Mushtaq, who talks about managing house hold budgets from daily expenses to marriage ceremonies. Another unique show which I haven’t scene on any other news or business channel is TAX TIME which includes debates, elaboration and clarifications on Tax related issues whether from Income tax to Capital Value Tax. After the budget, FBR officials were invited in the show to discuss the changes suggested in Taxation Regime which clarified a lot of misconceptions that rose after the speech of finance minister.
Apart from Business scene, CNBC addresses the social and economic issues through a program called AWAM KI AWAZ whereas infotainment & entertainment programs include SPORTS CENTRAL, MUSIC SCENE, RED CARPET and FILMY SCENE.
Shows that I found typical include Agenda 360 hosted by two lawyers who give their own perspectives of the story on the issues happening round the week. Again, this goes to the debate of reporting of facts vs creating own opinions. Another typical youth show aired at CNBC is BADALTA PAKISTAN in which the anchor invites guest speakers to address issues of the youth he gathered by visiting educational institutions. Similar shows have been aired on GEO I believe. UFF TV is also based on the theme of 4-Man Show and Hum Sub umeed se hain.
News are broadcasted round the clock at the hour and besides business news, the rest of the news content is the same as on other news channels
Consumers’ rights protection & Marketing and Advertising Industry are the two areas where I believe CNBC Pakistan should focus and come up with interactive shows.
Plus they need to gear up their marketing activities on social media besides their website like GEO, TV ONE etc.
That’s All Folks! Power Lunch is about to begin. Gotta go!
Samaa News is sister channel of CNBC Pakistan. It is housed in the same building as CNBC Pakistan and in fact shares the Master Control Room with CNBC Pakistan. (wikipedia)
There was a time in Pakistan when entertainment, news and culture all was summarized in a 3pm to 1am package on PTV and then Geo News came into being and everything changed.
Pakistan is the only country where we have news channel almost 20 times more than that of entertainment. ARY is said to the 2nd Pakistani news channel launched on air when Geo was already a brand name. It was difficult to compete with a name which was everywhere but they failed miserably because the name wasn’t good enough for Pakistanis, ARY ONE WORLD.
It was difficult to digest a news channel for a highly uneducated nation which doesn't even have news in its name. It did affect them the result was ARY ONE WORLD turned to ARY NEWS finally.
ARY news is not known for their biased approach. They have quit a balance among those who are running the show. Examples are some talk show hosts from Mazhar Abbas to Dr. Danish and from KashifAbbasi to the new President himself Dr. ShahidMasood, balance has always been the key for ARY.
It wasn't very easy to compete with the best there was, but Dr. Masood played an important role starting shows like “End of Times” and “Hidden Truth” and there was only better to follow, his show “Views on News” was one of the most selling show on air. ARY kept growing with KashifAbbasi and PJ MIR doing their jobs perfectly by keeping their target audience interested in their respective shows.
ARY has been labeled biased too, but with Dr. Masood going all against government they had PJ Mir who was totally a Musharaf’s agent, and even know when KashifAbbasi has all issues with PPP and MQM there are Dr. Danish and Mazhar Abbas to calm MQM and PPP down.
With all going wrong in the country there is not much to support the government on, but considering the fact that the biggest media group blindly following the foot prints of FOX news ARY News is doing a good job not creating panic after a blast or making a breaking news out of nothing.
In Pakistan Media groups are in the race of breaking news like crazy, but considering the fact that two giants one following the FOX policy and other (Express News) backed blindly by the Zardari Government. ARY News is doing a good job by being a platform for every party to give their point of view.
Before 2002, there was only one news TV channel that was PTV. But the introduction of open media policy has provided a gateway for new TV channels and due to this opportunity many new channels have emerged, also the taste and habit of watching TV has been changed. The news coverage jumped from slow cart to a fast sports car. Currently there are 18 news channels working in Pakistan. Geo News is currently winning the race and Express news is in the second position.
Express news was founded in 2008 and it’s owned and run by the country’s third largest Urdu daily, Daily Express.
The ideology of express news is to enlighten people, to let them express the future they desire and to create positive social change through the power of people. There are codes of ethics that every news channel has to follow;
Truthfulness / Accuracy
Fairness
Limitation of Harm
Acceptability
Invasion of privacy
Confidentiality
Social responsibility
But what I believe not only express news, but all the news channels in Pakistan are not following the above codes of ethics. They all are in the race of breaking news and to be the first in broadcasting the news. The media has a responsibility to broadcast the truth and break the news on time. However, the media forgets that it also has a responsibility to respect victims and their need for privacy.
Starting off with the biggest example Peshawar’s recent Khyber Bazaar blast, by alluring people with live coverage has caused many to look at limbs and dead bodies without flinching. This is not your latest Quentin Tarantino movie. These are actual people who have families watching television. No one deserves to find out about the death of their child or parent through live coverage of a blast. No one needs to look at blown away limbs to understand a disaster has taken place. And most of all, no one need to look at the way barbaric officials create their own parallel justice system rather these things should remain hidden and the media officials should play a helpful role in overcoming the pain and suffering these people had to face by portraying the news in a more general form.
Conclusion This is the dark side of having a competitive media. We need to scrutinize ourselves as individuals. It is us who make these institutions in the country. To improve their morality and ethics we have to start from ourselves. So let us join hands and make a change in this society.
