PEMRA

Every country has its own set of rules and regulations for the media on how to operate. Pakistan also has a regulatory body by the name of PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) that has developed to control the media and its content.

Before the discussion starts, I would state that after reading the PEMRA Ordinance, I (as a lay man) am under the impression that the laws are complete enough for the authority to maintain discipline in the media industry. In my opinion, the problem lies not in the law itself but in the implementation by the authority. Rules are made by PEMRA but are not being implemented or I should say actions are not being taken against the media for not following the rules laid down. It is a fault on the part of the authority and lack of strict actions that leads to the improper implementation of the law.

Another reason of lack of media control and shortcoming is the lack of responsibility of media owners. It is their duty to ensure that their station shows content that is in line with the rules laid down by the authority.

It would be unfair to blame any one entity. Therefore, as mentioned, media owners as well as the regulatory authority should start acting responsibly towards an improved and foolproof media.

Regards,

Anas Kamdar

Movie Review: Network

Network came out as a shocking drama for the viewers who (if not for the first time) were getting exposed to the reality of television. I agree to the fact that one of the major purpose/objective/motive for a television channel is to earn money and the primary way to earn it is through advertisements. Advertisement follows where there is viewer ship and a channel that has high viewer ship has the chance of earning higher revenues. This movie reflects the same phenomenon by showing a News show host who is loosing his program viewer ship and his desperate attempts to attain ratings by creating sensationalism. Although the method adopted by the host was extremely unethical in my point of view but the heads of that channel did not stop it. Major reason was that the heads got a fair idea that this tactic would deliver those ratings, eventually revenues.

Another major point of discussion in this movie is that a journalist’s job is to deliver the truth and nothing else. A journalist becomes an activist when he starts running a propaganda campaign which is reflected in the movie. In both the cases, my conclusion is that it is eventually the channels’ job to ensure that it does not give birth or promote activism.

Regards,

Anas Kamdar

Journalism vs Activism

All around the world, if we pick any news channel, we see that journalism has lost its true essence. News are not merely reported or transferred with the objective of informing only, but also with the purpose of attaining viewer ship. And a channel attains viewer ship when it adds its own opinions to it. Adding opinion means holding a cause.

Talking about Pakistan, we see that our journalists working for the media are more of activists. It gets really frustrating to see shows on news channels by the name of “mere mutabiq” etc. It is criminal for a journalist to present a news/information according to what he/she thinks about the news/information. More and more current affair and talk shows are based on what the host thinks about a particular event or news or information. It is not the job of a journalist!! His/her job is to present the news in a truthful manner and let the receiver/audience make his/her own perception. Providing audience with the news coupled with own views on it kills the perceptual ability of the receiver.

Eventually, when we compare both, we get to a conclusion that journalism is strictly confined to informing the audience thru the use of credible information sources. Whereas, activism is related to achieving results and its main purpose is to attain a particular outcome(s).

Regards,

Anas Kamdar

Copyright

Copyright for something means that the ownership belongs of that something belongs to someone. When we say this thing is not copyright, it means that this things is being used without the prior permission of its owner. These days, world over people tend to copyright their work. Much appreciation to the authorities that protect people’s work from illegal use. But the problem lies in the implementation of these copyright rules.

Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies are not doing much to protect the rights of copyright property owners. As the laws are there, unfortunately there are no checks and balances. Talking about media, there are channels that air content which are not obtained from a genuine source. Many cable operators are using unlicensed pirated content. Not only movies are a part but so much so that a few cable operators are airing National Geographic content download illegally from the internet.

What is required is that we need to set up a separate committee including the Law Enforcement Agency personnel and judicial panel that keeps a check on the people using pirated material. The result of this will eventually be the protection of the rights of owners and deliver confidence into the market.

Regards,

Anas Kamdar