Media in Pakistan: Between Radicalisation and Democratisation in an Unfolding Conflict

This document describes Pakistan's media landscape after 9 years of conflict and includes the following: the political pressure and direct bans that media are sometimes subject to from the state; the relative independence and growth of media; the turn to sensationalism in print journalism as a result of competitive commercialisation; the slower growth of radio; the divide between English and Urdu media in this multi-linguistic, multi-ethnic, and class-divided society; and the effects of conflict on journalists.

As stated here, though the Pakistani Constitution upholds the fundamentals for democracy and guarantees freedom of expression and the basic premise for media freedom, "the industry is subjected to many undemocratic and regressive laws and regulations." Ordinances on printing, publication, electronic media, news agency and books registration, the press council, intellectual property, and access to information have been enacted between 1988 to 2006, a number of them serving to enhance government control. "Most of the new laws that were anti-democratic and were not intended to promote public activism but to increase his control of the public. Many media activists felt that the new regulations were opaque and had been subject to interpretation by the courts which would have provided media practitioners with clearer guidelines." The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), an effort to liberalise electronic media, has, according to this report, turned from partner to controller.

A number of universities and private institutions offer journalism training in both English and Urdu. The language divide, as indicated here, carries a component of class and influence that parallels civil society and governance language division. "The English media is urban and elite-centric, is more liberal and professional compared to the Urdu media. English print, television and radio channels have far smaller audiences than their Urdu counterparts, but have greater leverage among opinion makers, politicians, the business community, and the upper strata of society."

As stated here, safety is the major challenge of journalists in Pakistan. "Pakistan ranks as the most deadly country in the world for journalists." Conflict affected areas, particularly the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and North West Frontier Province (NWFP), are especially dangerous for journalists due to propaganda, threats, coercion, and targeted killings. Danger has resulted in self-censorship in order to avoid antagonising the conflicting parties and in "no-go" areas where news cannot be safely gathered, creating a dearth of information - "or an outright information vacuum."

Media distortion is a significant challenge. As indicated here, media content in Pakistan is distorted most of all because of coercion, pressure, bribery, and propaganda from outside actors. "FATA and NWFP have more than a hundred radical, illegal hate speech radios; and the mainstream media have been subjected to a radical agenda as well. The media coverage of the regional conflicts within Pakistan and how these relate to the conflict in Afghanistan is either very rudimentary or stereotypical, and does not contribute to a greater understanding of the interwoven challenges from extremism that the two neighbours face."

In terms of gender and media: "[f]emale Pakistani journalists have very different work area. In general, female journalists are not assigned to cover conflicts or politics, but find themselves confined to reporting on social and cultural topics. Most female reporters work for the large urban and national media, and especially in the electronic media."

Quality of journalism is another issue, caused in part by a boom in electronic media, including television, for which there has not been sufficient growth in training and education. "[S]ensationalism can been seen as part of the growing pains of a recently liberalised and booming electronic media with ambitious journalists trying to learn to deal with the responsibilities of a powerful medium." According to the document, few journalists or media houses are motivated to invest in training. Part of the problem is that investment in education or professional training is not rewarded in the workplace. The concept of a Press Council creating an effective code of ethics and self-regulation is not well accepted. Cross-border exchange with Afghanistan has been sparse. "The Pakistani journalists from the populated mainland, Punjab, Sindh, and the Islamabad area have very poor relationships with their Afghan counterparts."

The main recommendations suggested in the report are:

• Improve the safety of journalists and media workers through improved monitoring, risk awareness, and conflict-sensitive journalism training, development of risk response mechanisms, and advocacy and lobbyism.
  
• Promote Pakistani-Afghan media relations through dialogue forums and professional cooperation.
  
• Address the information vacuum and media distortion through awareness-raising on radicalisation of media, and through strengthening radio outlets, extending their geographical reach, establishing additional stations, and promoting the innovative use of new (for example, mobile technology) and traditional media in FATA, NWFP, and Baluchistan, as well as monitoring and analysing media content as a basis for raising awareness.
•  Strengthen investigative journalism through training and through coordinated funding for capacity building that can subsidise journalists wishing to undertake larger investigative projects.
  
• Promote the establishment of a self-regulatory mechanism that can improve standards for Pakistani journalism, including: launching an awareness campaign through open debates and lobbying on the benefits and advantageous of self-regulation; promoting unity between the media actors for a common cause; and exposing the key players to regional/international best practices on self-regulation.