State regulation or code

Muhammad Aftab Alam  August 30, 2015
All Codes of Conducts should be voluntary and self-regulatory tools
Pakistan is a conflict-stricken country. After less-than-professional coverage of every incident of terrorism, major accidents, floods, elections and perceived objectionable entertainment programmes, the demand emerges for a ‘code of conduct’ for the media.

These demands are made by various quarters, including politicians, civil society, religious groups, and state institutions.
For the first time in 2012, this demand was raised by journalists and media anchors themselves when allegations of corruption and bribery were hurled against them. Hamid Mir and Absar Alam approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan to seek judicial intervention to help do an overhauling of the way media operates, including a professional CoC for the media.

The curious case of Ayyan Ali and sexism in Pakistani media

The coverage of model Ayyan Ali’s arrest and her subsequent trial perhaps is the best case study for understanding the depth — or its complete lack thereof — of the seriousness with which women are (man)handled by the media.

Ayyan Ali Model from Pakistan

As Ayyan Ali’s wardrobe and her make-up were discussed at length, the coverage of her trial remained conspicuously missing from the television screens.

When it comes to women and their portrayal, the sins of commission of the mainstream Pakistani media are just as grave as the sins of omission.

Code of Conduct for Media widely hailed

They expressed the confidence that presence of a formal code would help promote healthy journalism in the country.

Prominent journalists, anchorpersons and analysts have hailed the Code of Conduct for Media and emphasized the need for devising some workable mechanism for its proper implementation.
In their exclusive interviews with Radio Pakistan, they expressed the confidence that presence of a formal code would help promote healthy journalism in the country.

‘Media growth linked with lack of journalistic ethics’

Advocacy group asks journalists to improve working of media houses, adopt citizen friendly policies
LAHORE – A research-based advocacy and consultancy group has said that there is a need to engage with journalists to improve working of media houses and to make it more citizens friendly despite the fact that the media sector in Pakistan is growing day-by-day.

“We all can feel that citizen journalism is a growing phenomenon globally and we have to consider this as an important tool to strengthen our society and democracy,” said Farhan Khalid of the Individualland Pakistan – an Islamabad-based group – at a roundtable discussion – attended by senior journalists and some lawmakers.

– Dependence on corporate entities –

Interview of S. Javaid Anwar, President & CEO of Midland Energy Inc., and Petroplex Energy Inc. Houston ,Texas.

I took the interview of  S. Javaid Anwar, President & CEO of Midland Energy Inc., and Petroplex Energy Inc. Houston ,Texas. for Houston Public Media .

Courts sentence journalists for contempt, slander worldwide

Sabir Shah ,Thursday, November 13, 2014 
LAHORE: Journalists and media houses all over the world have often been punished by their respective courts and media regulators for committing culpable crimes such as false reporting, defamation, libel, slander, extortion, getting their palms greased and even for not contemptuously disclosing sources of their stories before the presiding judges, a cumbersome research conducted by the Jang Group/Geo Television reveals.

Starting with India, here follow some widely-publicized global precedents in this context:

1. Not so long ago in November 2012, two senior journalists working an esteemed Indian television channel “Zee News” were arrested on extortion charges.

(Reference: the BBC online edition of November 27, 2012)

Sudhir Chaudhary, head of news, and Samir Ahluwalia, head of business at the “Zee News,” were jailed after they were accused of trying to extort $18 million from an Indian business firm “Jindal Group” in exchange for suppressing reports about the company’s alleged links to a high-profile corruption scandal involving the allocation of coal mining concessions.

Jeddah expats pay tribute to well-known Pakistani journalist

Pakistani Consul Geneal Aftab A. Khokher speaks at the condolence meeting.

JEDDAH: SIRAJ WAHAB
Prominent Saudis, Pakistanis and Indians have paid rich tributes to well-known Urdu sports journalist Zafar Iqbal who died four days ago in Chaklala, Pakistan. He was 60 and leaves behind two daughters and a son.
He was a popular figure in the Saudi cricketing community because of his nearly 20-year association as sports editor with Urdu News, a sister publication of Arab News.
Friends, acquaintances, colleagues, diplomats and sports stars recalled his services in promoting cricket and hockey at a well-attended condolence meeting organized by the Pakistan Journalists Forum (PJF) on Friday.

Nominations open for Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards 2015

Presswire, 4 November 2014
For the past 14 years, the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards have honoured some of the most remarkable fighters for free expression from around the world – from familiar faces like orchestral conductor Daniel Barenboim and education activist Malala Yousafzai to lesser known trailblazers like Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat and Azerbaijan's last remaining independent newspaper Azadliq.

* Awards honour journalists, campaigners and artists fighting censorship globally
* Nominations close 27 November 2014
* Nominate at www.indexoncensorship.org/nominations

The awards shine a spotlight on individuals fighting to speak out in the most dangerous and difficult of conditions.

Journalists Silenced As Killers Walk Free

Pakistani journalists protest for their colleague Hamid Mir, who was shot and injured by gunmen in Karachi on Saturday, Monday, April 21, 2014 in Karachi, Pakistan. (AP/Shakil Adil)

The report found that between 2004 and 2013, 370 journalists were murdered “in direct retaliation for their work” and that in 90 percent of these cases there was total impunity – “no arrests, no prosecutions, no convictions.”
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 4 2014 - A new report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) shows that nine out of 10 cases of journalist killings go unpunished.

The report found that between 2004 and 2013, 370 journalists were murdered “in direct retaliation for their work” and that in 90 percent of these cases there was total impunity – “no arrests, no prosecutions, no convictions.”

CPJ also found that although “in some cases, the assassin or an accomplice has been convicted, in only a handful is the mastermind of the crime brought to justice.”

Democracy incomplete without independent media

LAHORE: Journalists in Pakistan have always paid the price with their lives for speaking the truth, and democracy is incomplete in the absence of an independent media.

These views were expressed by speakers at a seminar titled “Journalism, law and our responsibilities”, held here under the auspices of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA).

Senior anchorperson Hamid Mir, columnist Anjum Rasheed, senior lawyer SM Zafar, Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari, renowned columnist Orya Maqbool Jan, Press Council of Pakistan former president Raja Shafqat Abbasi and LHCBA President Shafqat Mehmood Chauhan addressed the audience and shared their views regarding need for liaison between law, legislation, independent media and responsibilities of journalists and masses.