Reformation of media the need of hour: Javed Jabbar

ISLAMABAD: Former senator and member of the Media Commission appointed by Supreme Court, Javed Jabbar said on Wednesday that there was great need of reformation in the national media after its mushroom growth during past 15 years.

Addressing the launching ceremony of the Urdu version of the Media Commission report and recommendations here, he said the government should play its due role in reformation of the media. He said that with the mushroom growth and commercialisation of media in Pakistan, public service messaging has suffered badly.

He said even Pakistan Television Corporation and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation have reduced time for public service messages though they are not bitten by the bug of infotainment like the private media houses. He said implementation of the media regulatory laws was not the sole responsibility of the Information Ministry but other institutions of the government, judiciary, Election Commission and newspaper and TV channel owners associations also have to share their responsibility. He appreciated the work done by Friedreich Ebert Stiftung and Citizens Initiate on Media Issues for translating the commission’s recommendations in Urdu as majority of the people can read Urdu.

Executive Director Citizens Initiative on Media Issues said that media role was to inform the people and if some person and institution creates hurdles in media’s access to information he practically disempowers the masses. He said that Urdu translation of the Media Commission was a good step as common people do not understand English.

He said that a Citizens Independent Media Commission was also being formed to monitor the media houses including eight television channels, three English and three Urdu newspapers and two Sindhi dailies.

It is noteworthy that the SC had appointed a two-member Media Commission comprising Javed Jabbar and Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid. The commission after meeting with 166 individuals and 86 organisations submitted its two reports on March 21 and June 7 last year to the Supreme Court.

The Media Commission’s report calls for radical reforms in the media industry. Participants of the event called for improved self-censorship feedback ethics and language which is getting weaker while corporate interests are getting importance in some media houses.