National Debate on the Role of Media concludes in Mardan

MARDAN: The two-day National Debate on the Role of Media in Pakistan concluded here Sunday at the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) to discuss a host of contemporary issues and challenges confronting the journalists and the media industry.
Known journalists including analysts and television anchors along with academicians, teachers and students attended the several sessions held at the university’s newly built Central Library at its vast Garden Campus. The sessions were well-attended and interactive seeking to involve the participants in the debate.
The first session on Sunday on “Digital/Online Journalism - Issues and Challenges” was anchored by Shiraz Paracha, chairman of the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication at AWKUM and the organizer of the event.
The eight panelists discussed the growth of the online journalism and its use by citizens to highlight issues affecting their lives. Some of the panelists opined that the new media is a powerful tool, but its unchecked and irresponsible use needed to be regulated. The panelists included journalists Saima Batool and Aqeel Yousafzai, academic Fakhar Imam, Faisal, Ali and Sadaf.
Anchorperson Ayaz Khan hosted the second session titled “Corporate Media and Working Conditions of Journalists” in which the panelists were newspaper owners Dr Jabbar Khattak and Rahmat Shah Afridi and journalists Ayub Sheikh, Tahir Hasan Khan, Musarrat Aasi, Haider Javed Syed and Rahimullah Yusufzai.
The panelists focused on the relationship between the media proprietors and working journalists and its impact on issues such as freedom of the media and the conditions at the workplace. Both sides highlighted their problems and argued for better understanding of their cause. The third session on the Role of Columnists/Analysts in Public Opinion Formulation was conducted by political activist and columnist Farrukh Suhail Goindi. Its panelists included Khurshid Nadeem, Irshad Ahmad Arif, Rauf Tahir, Dr Aftab Ahmad, Mohammad Amir Khakwani and Ziaullah.
In his concluding remarks, the AWKUM Vice-Chancellor Dr Ihsan Ali thanked the participants who had come from all four provinces of the country and pledged to support such intellectual activities in the future also.
On the first day on Saturday, three sessions were held on issues such as “Journalism Without a Degree in Journalism?” and “Do the Pakistani Media Follow Media Ethics” and “Selling Wars and Conflicts”.