Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has announced the government would no longer control state-owned media. As per the vision of PTI leader Imran Khan, he said in a Twitter post, "clear instructions have been issued for complete editorial independence for PTV and Radio Pakistan," and further that "drastic changes [will] be visible in the Information Dept in coming 3 months." A much wanted move, it is also reflective of the new realities that have rendered irrelevant some of the old practices. The country has come a long way from the time when the Ayub regime introduced the notorious Press and Publications Ordinance to exercise control over the private print media via the instrument of 'press advise', and also used the state-owned PTV and Radio Pakistan as its hand-maidens. Unfortunately, the governments that followed, military as well as civilian, continued to employ that black law until 1988 when it was finally rescinded. Even afterwards, successive rulers employed pressure tactics against the print media, and treated the two state-owned broadcasters as mere tools for self-promotion.
In this age of information revolution, people no longer are dependent on one or two sources of news and views. It is worth noting that in the present instance, the minister made such an important announcement through social media. But the PTV stays stuck where it started, producing government propaganda rather than credible news. It is the least popular news channel, and yet people are forced to meet its running expenses in the form of 'TV fee' along with their electricity bills. It is about time it caught up with the times. Grant of complete editorial independence is an important step in that direction. Old habits die hard, though. The prevalent culture of kowtowing to power needs to end. That calls for radical structural changes. A useful example to follow would be the British public broadcaster, the BBC. Like the PTV, it largely depends on fees collected from the public and keeps its interest uppermost, not hesitating to criticize government policies when necessary. Another vital responsibility of a public broadcaster is to give due attention to matters that are normally ignored by private channels for lack of commercial value, such as documentaries on different subjects and classical music presentations.
No less important is the minister's assurance to make 'drastic' changes that are soon to become 'visible' in the information department. Presumably, the proposed changes pertain to the way the department uses, at the information ministry's behest, government advertisements to reward pliable publications/TV channels and punish the ones who refuse to toe the line. It is about time the new government also gave serious thought to doing away with the information ministry - something not seen in established democracies. The incumbent minister can perform a more productive role as the Prime Minister's spokesman.
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