“I’m mad as hell and I cannot take it anymore!”
The Plot:
This movie is the story of Howard Beale Show - the longtime anchor of the UBS Evening News, who learns he has just two more weeks on the air because of declining ratings. The following night, he announces on live television that he will commit suicide by shooting himself in the head during next Tuesday's broadcast. UBS fires him after this incident, but — after some persuasion from UBS News' old guard president and Beale's best friend, Max Schumacher (William Holden) — lets him back on the air, ostensibly for a dignified farewell. Beale promises he will apologize for his outburst. However, once on the air, he launches into a rant claiming that life is "bullshit". Beale's outburst causes the newscast's ratings to increase.
Beale galvanizes the nation with his rant, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" and persuades Americans to shout out their windows during a lightning storm. Soon Beale is hosting a new program called "The Howard Beale Show", top-billed as a "mad prophet." Ultimately, the show becomes the highest rated program on television
When Beale discovers that CCA, the conglomerate that owns UBS, will be bought out by an even larger Saudi Arabian conglomerate, he launches an on-screen tirade against it, encouraging viewers to send telegrams to the White House telling them, "I want the CCA deal stopped now!"
Beale is then taken to meet with CCA chairman Arthur Jensen who explicates his own "corporate cosmology" to the attentive Beale. Jensen's world view ultimately persuades Beale to abandon his populist messages. However, television audiences find his new views on the dehumanization of society to be depressing, and ratings begin to slide. Despite this, Jensen will not allow executives to fire Beale. Solving the Beale problem plus sparking a boost in season-opener ratings — Christensen arranges for Beale's on-air assassination by the same group of urban terrorists whom she discovered earlier.
Lessons Learnt
This movie dramatically screens the impact of sensationalism and activism in media and its impact on a society. It also uncovers the players involved in making money and playing their politics to get their things done even through murder. This is something we can relate to our society as well.
Regards,
Owais Moeen
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Copy Right Laws in Pakistan
Introduction
In Pakistan, copyright protection is governed by the provisions of the Copyright Ordinance, 1962 ("the Ordinance") which is modelled on the English Act of 1914. Pakistan is a member of Berne Copyright Union and the Universal Copyright Convention
This Ordinance was amended in 1992 through copyright amendment act.
Significant Clauses and Amendments
Inclusion of computer software, periodicals, video films and all kind of audio-visual works etc:
Copyright protection originally available to literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, cinematographic and architectural works, books, photographs, newspapers, engravings, lectures, records (defined as "any disc, tape, wire, perforated roll or other device in which sounds are embodied so as to be capable of being reproduced therefrom, other than a sound track associated with a cinematographic work") and sculptures is now extended to computer software, periodicals, video films and all kind of audio-visual works.
Hard Penalties and Better compensation
The Ordinance now provides stiffer penalties for offenders and better compensation to the persons whose rights have been infringed. The manner in which the copyright is breached has also been extended. Entirely new offences have been created through the Amendment Act
Section 37 of the Ordinance has been amended to restrict granting of licences to produce and publish translation of a literary or dramatic work in English, French or Spanish, hence an applicant requesting the grant of licence, upon granting of the licence and payment of prescribed royalty to the author, can produce and publish translation of a literary or dramatic work in any Pakistani language or any language not being English, French or Spanish.
Local and Foreign Work
The Ordinance has distinct provisions for Pakistani and foreign works.
Duration of Copyright:-
The period of copyright of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) is the life of the author and 50 years thereafter. In the case of a cinematographic work and a photograph, copyright subsists until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year from publication of the work
Infringement of Copyright:-
The act of copying of work, which is entitled to copyright protection, by any method, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work. Section 56 of the Ordinance provides that copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed in the following cases:-
(a) when any person without the consent of the owner of the copyright or without a licence granted by such owner or the Registrar under the Ordinance or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under the Ordinance:-
(i) does anything the exclusive right to do which is by this Ordinance conferred upon the owner of the copyright; or
(ii) permits for profit any place to be used for the performance of the work in public where such performance constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for suspecting, that such performance would be an infringement of the copyright, or
(b) when any person:-
(i) makes for sale or hire or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or
(ii) distributes either for the purpose of trade to such as extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, or
(iii) by way of trade exhibits in public, or
(iv) imports into Pakistan, any infringing copies of the work.
COPYRIGHT FOR COMPUTER PROGRAMMES IN PAKISTAN
In Pakistan, computer programmes are excluded from patent protection under the patent laws. Protection under the copyright laws is the only safeguard available for the computer software industry.
Infringement of Computer Programmes:-
Pursuant to the restrictions imposed under Section 56 of the Ordinance, even the purchasers of computer programmes may not copy, adapt or make copies of adaption of the programmes in connection with their use by themselves or their employees. The unauthorised use of a computer programme in a computer is also infringement of the copyright. Accordingly, if a duplicate of a computer programme is acquired by someone who has no licence to use it, the copyright owner has the right to prevent him using it.
Remedies for Infringement:-
There are two remedies for breach of copyright in Pakistan; civil proceedings and criminal proceedings. Accordingly, a person whose copyright has been infringed is able to sue for damages, claim an injunction, an account of the profits gained by the defendants as a result of the infringement, delivery up of infringing articles etc
Regards,
Owais Moeen
In Pakistan, copyright protection is governed by the provisions of the Copyright Ordinance, 1962 ("the Ordinance") which is modelled on the English Act of 1914. Pakistan is a member of Berne Copyright Union and the Universal Copyright Convention
This Ordinance was amended in 1992 through copyright amendment act.
Significant Clauses and Amendments
Inclusion of computer software, periodicals, video films and all kind of audio-visual works etc:
Copyright protection originally available to literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, cinematographic and architectural works, books, photographs, newspapers, engravings, lectures, records (defined as "any disc, tape, wire, perforated roll or other device in which sounds are embodied so as to be capable of being reproduced therefrom, other than a sound track associated with a cinematographic work") and sculptures is now extended to computer software, periodicals, video films and all kind of audio-visual works.
Hard Penalties and Better compensation
The Ordinance now provides stiffer penalties for offenders and better compensation to the persons whose rights have been infringed. The manner in which the copyright is breached has also been extended. Entirely new offences have been created through the Amendment Act
Section 37 of the Ordinance has been amended to restrict granting of licences to produce and publish translation of a literary or dramatic work in English, French or Spanish, hence an applicant requesting the grant of licence, upon granting of the licence and payment of prescribed royalty to the author, can produce and publish translation of a literary or dramatic work in any Pakistani language or any language not being English, French or Spanish.
Local and Foreign Work
The Ordinance has distinct provisions for Pakistani and foreign works.
Duration of Copyright:-
The period of copyright of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) is the life of the author and 50 years thereafter. In the case of a cinematographic work and a photograph, copyright subsists until 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year from publication of the work
Infringement of Copyright:-
The act of copying of work, which is entitled to copyright protection, by any method, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work. Section 56 of the Ordinance provides that copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed in the following cases:-
(a) when any person without the consent of the owner of the copyright or without a licence granted by such owner or the Registrar under the Ordinance or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under the Ordinance:-
(i) does anything the exclusive right to do which is by this Ordinance conferred upon the owner of the copyright; or
(ii) permits for profit any place to be used for the performance of the work in public where such performance constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for suspecting, that such performance would be an infringement of the copyright, or
(b) when any person:-
(i) makes for sale or hire or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or
(ii) distributes either for the purpose of trade to such as extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, or
(iii) by way of trade exhibits in public, or
(iv) imports into Pakistan, any infringing copies of the work.
COPYRIGHT FOR COMPUTER PROGRAMMES IN PAKISTAN
In Pakistan, computer programmes are excluded from patent protection under the patent laws. Protection under the copyright laws is the only safeguard available for the computer software industry.
Infringement of Computer Programmes:-
Pursuant to the restrictions imposed under Section 56 of the Ordinance, even the purchasers of computer programmes may not copy, adapt or make copies of adaption of the programmes in connection with their use by themselves or their employees. The unauthorised use of a computer programme in a computer is also infringement of the copyright. Accordingly, if a duplicate of a computer programme is acquired by someone who has no licence to use it, the copyright owner has the right to prevent him using it.
Remedies for Infringement:-
There are two remedies for breach of copyright in Pakistan; civil proceedings and criminal proceedings. Accordingly, a person whose copyright has been infringed is able to sue for damages, claim an injunction, an account of the profits gained by the defendants as a result of the infringement, delivery up of infringing articles etc
Regards,
Owais Moeen
Media Nama – Tab aur Ab
A decent effort by the Genie Productions to compare the news media of yesterday and today.
The documentary consists of a simple plot based on the following structure
1. News Media yesterday – Tab
2. News Media today – Ab
3. Message to the news media to highlight the positive aspects of Pakistan
The point that the group want ed to make was very much loud and clear. Stop sensationalizing and improve the image of Pakistan. From production point of view, The sound mixing and video transitions were well organised, specially mixing of National Anthem at different points was like icing on the cake.
Few Flaws that I noticed, the camera angle was unorthodox at the time the opinions were recorded and sound quality had to be improved. The documentary got a little dragged up in the end but still the conclusion came up pretty strongly “Jaago Media Jaago Pakistan.!
The documentary received a great round of applause in the screening event and pretty good feedback on social media. Thumbs up to the group and a pat on my back for suggesting the name “Media-Nama”
Regards,
Owais Moeen
The documentary consists of a simple plot based on the following structure
1. News Media yesterday – Tab
2. News Media today – Ab
3. Message to the news media to highlight the positive aspects of Pakistan
The point that the group want ed to make was very much loud and clear. Stop sensationalizing and improve the image of Pakistan. From production point of view, The sound mixing and video transitions were well organised, specially mixing of National Anthem at different points was like icing on the cake.
Few Flaws that I noticed, the camera angle was unorthodox at the time the opinions were recorded and sound quality had to be improved. The documentary got a little dragged up in the end but still the conclusion came up pretty strongly “Jaago Media Jaago Pakistan.!
The documentary received a great round of applause in the screening event and pretty good feedback on social media. Thumbs up to the group and a pat on my back for suggesting the name “Media-Nama”
Regards,
Owais Moeen
Review of the Documentary: Media Nama
Media Nama highlighted the basic differences between the old news casting on PTV News few years back and the recent news casting on the satellite channels. The difference is quite prominent which has both the aspects i.e Positive and Negative.
One can see the difference in all the major aspects of news i.e news presentation which includes News Sets, Equipment, Anchors’ Wardrobe etc., news delivery, news content, body language of the news casters and much more. Even the title music of some news channel is very thrilling and sensational e.g Geo News as it was also used in the documentary.
If we go few years back when there was only one terrestrial channel PTV News, we don’t witness the above mentioned facts. In addition to that, the news content was very sophisticated and was only revolving around the present government that people mostly called it ”Sadarnama” instead of ”Khabarnama”. But nowadays, satellite channels cover every single news that is happening around you like political, business, entertainment, sports, law and order etc. and provide the masses with each and every detail of a particular news. Also, they stuff the news with a lot of unnecessary sensation in order to capture most of the audience so that the channel gets more popularity which transforms into better gallop ratings, more commercials so ultimately more revenue to the channel. Another trend has started couple of years back which is that the serious news is presented in a funny or entertaining way by putting some funny background music or song on the news e.g Shoaib Sania Marriage News, News of Zardari shaking hands with Sarah Palin and not letting go of her hand etc.
Unfortunately, one most negative aspect of the satellite channels is that they mostly focus on the negative news or only the negative side of the news. But there are so many positive things in Pakistan which the documentary revealed in the last few minutes where it showed Pakistan rankings in the globe which were mostly in top 10 positions in the fields of salt mines, railways, mountain range, ports and much more, and few of those were new to me.
In the end, I would like to conclude by saying that both PTV News and satellite channels news approach in incorrect. They both need to be moderate in the sense that PTV News should not only be focused to the positive and government news but also focus on all the unpleasant news that is happening in the country but unfortunately this cannot happen because it is against the PTV Policy. On the other hand, the satellite channels must tone themselves down a little bit and focus more on the positive side of the news and Pakistan as well.
Regards,
Syed Muhammad Danish
One can see the difference in all the major aspects of news i.e news presentation which includes News Sets, Equipment, Anchors’ Wardrobe etc., news delivery, news content, body language of the news casters and much more. Even the title music of some news channel is very thrilling and sensational e.g Geo News as it was also used in the documentary.
If we go few years back when there was only one terrestrial channel PTV News, we don’t witness the above mentioned facts. In addition to that, the news content was very sophisticated and was only revolving around the present government that people mostly called it ”Sadarnama” instead of ”Khabarnama”. But nowadays, satellite channels cover every single news that is happening around you like political, business, entertainment, sports, law and order etc. and provide the masses with each and every detail of a particular news. Also, they stuff the news with a lot of unnecessary sensation in order to capture most of the audience so that the channel gets more popularity which transforms into better gallop ratings, more commercials so ultimately more revenue to the channel. Another trend has started couple of years back which is that the serious news is presented in a funny or entertaining way by putting some funny background music or song on the news e.g Shoaib Sania Marriage News, News of Zardari shaking hands with Sarah Palin and not letting go of her hand etc.
Unfortunately, one most negative aspect of the satellite channels is that they mostly focus on the negative news or only the negative side of the news. But there are so many positive things in Pakistan which the documentary revealed in the last few minutes where it showed Pakistan rankings in the globe which were mostly in top 10 positions in the fields of salt mines, railways, mountain range, ports and much more, and few of those were new to me.
In the end, I would like to conclude by saying that both PTV News and satellite channels news approach in incorrect. They both need to be moderate in the sense that PTV News should not only be focused to the positive and government news but also focus on all the unpleasant news that is happening in the country but unfortunately this cannot happen because it is against the PTV Policy. On the other hand, the satellite channels must tone themselves down a little bit and focus more on the positive side of the news and Pakistan as well.
Regards,
Syed Muhammad Danish
Review of the Movie: Network
The character in the movie failed to follow the media ethics. The reason being the anchors are not supposed to use their channels for their personal interests. Basically, I noticed two things in the movie that were quite prominent. 1) How to make the Positive news a negative one and 2) How to make the Negative news a Positive one which is totally against the media ethics. Basically, the definition of NEWS to me, is the revealing of truth to the masses as it is without adding or deleting a single word which is the true spirit of journalism. But in the movie, the journalists were playing the role of an activist rather than the journalist because they were manipulating the news (Both Negative and Positive News) in order to gain popularity for themselves and for their channel. By doing so, naturally their channel ratings went up and the channel started making money. On the other hand, the viewers were totally misguided because they were not getting the truth, rather they were getting the manipulated news which was beneficial to only few stakeholders which is totally unethical & illegal.
Regards,
Syed Muhammad Danish
Regards,
Syed Muhammad Danish
DOCUMENTARY REVIEW Media nama-tab or abb
Media nama-tab or ab is the comparison of the today’s media and the media at the time of 1990s. It was divided into two parts; one depicting the media at the time of 1990s whereas the second part was showing the media to date.
it started with the color tone, followed by the national anthem and NTM logo and then advertisement of tapal tea, after which the News aired at 9:00 pm started. The graphics used were very simple and the background music was soothing to the ears. The newscasters were in formal attires with impressive pitch and tone. News were simple and portraying calm and serene image of Pakistan.
The second part showed the situation of news channels of today, which starts with a roaring background music, dynamic graphics, rich color palette. News casters are well dressed but mostly with fretful tone and pitch and always starting with breaking news.
The whole scenario gives the clear image of the race of earning TRPs, as today viewers have a number of options of flipping the channels, where as it was not the case in the time of 90s.
Most of the channels are trying to attract the news with glamour and beauty of the newscasters and every next second giving a breaking news, to make the audience stick to their channel.
Regards,
Roshni Zahid
it started with the color tone, followed by the national anthem and NTM logo and then advertisement of tapal tea, after which the News aired at 9:00 pm started. The graphics used were very simple and the background music was soothing to the ears. The newscasters were in formal attires with impressive pitch and tone. News were simple and portraying calm and serene image of Pakistan.
The second part showed the situation of news channels of today, which starts with a roaring background music, dynamic graphics, rich color palette. News casters are well dressed but mostly with fretful tone and pitch and always starting with breaking news.
The whole scenario gives the clear image of the race of earning TRPs, as today viewers have a number of options of flipping the channels, where as it was not the case in the time of 90s.
Most of the channels are trying to attract the news with glamour and beauty of the newscasters and every next second giving a breaking news, to make the audience stick to their channel.
Regards,
Roshni Zahid
Review: Media Nama “Tab aur Aab”
It was a nice attempt made by the makers of this documentary to show the comparison between past and the current model of how the news and the media presentations have changed. They took a trip down memory lane going back a decade ago when there were only two channels available for the audience which they had to believe and bear.
Now, although we have a huge variety of channels to swap but in real term we are in the same place as we were, LOST and MISINFORMED. Reason why I am saying is because before it was two channels that were controlled which never used to inform the true findings and now there are many uncontrolled which also make do the same by mixing and making the information so much biased and one sided due to activism.
As in this documentary, there have been clips that show that the media especially the news has become very commercial and the leading news channels like GEO NEWS and EXPRESS NEWS works largely on adding up spices and the way they say, looks more like a drama then a serious news broadcast.
Although, we see and say that media has much freedom of expression then before, that’s true. But this freedom is being used and exploited very badly to uplift their shops and bringing new blend of propaganda and controversies.
Regards,
Muhammad Munib Lodhi
Now, although we have a huge variety of channels to swap but in real term we are in the same place as we were, LOST and MISINFORMED. Reason why I am saying is because before it was two channels that were controlled which never used to inform the true findings and now there are many uncontrolled which also make do the same by mixing and making the information so much biased and one sided due to activism.
As in this documentary, there have been clips that show that the media especially the news has become very commercial and the leading news channels like GEO NEWS and EXPRESS NEWS works largely on adding up spices and the way they say, looks more like a drama then a serious news broadcast.
Although, we see and say that media has much freedom of expression then before, that’s true. But this freedom is being used and exploited very badly to uplift their shops and bringing new blend of propaganda and controversies.
Regards,
Muhammad Munib Lodhi
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