PML-N used ads as bribe: Fawad

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Monday said that the previous government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) used ads as bribe, but we [the PTI government] are not ready to do it.

He said that workers who have been fired by media houses get the salary equal to two anchorpersons. He said there is a hell of different between the salaries of a common media worker and an anchor. He said that soon the government will support the media industry, as it does not want journalists to be jobless.

Talking about problems being faced by the media industry during a press conference here, the federal minister said that the media was given Rs1.25 billion ads during the previous government. He said in a poor country where people don't have potable water how a government can issue advertisement with its pictures.

He said that it doesn't mean that the government will not give ads to the media, as it will support the industry in a little while. However, he said that government ads only comprises 20 percent of the total ads of the media, as rest of the 80 percent ads come from the private sector. The people cannot be rendered jobless due to this 20 percent. Fawad Ch said that media houses need to improve their business model, and that they should revise their organisation structure as there is a huge difference between an anchor and a reporter. He said that the government is standing with the journalists' organisations. He said that they will do their share of cooperation but are not ready to use ads as bribe, as was done by the PML-N government.