1. Introduction
The importance and efficacy of media can neither be ignored nor undermined. The study has explored and analyzed the role of electronic media in changing socio-political landscape of Pakistan. It has revealed that responsible and responsive media could bring peace, security and harmony; on the contrary unbridled electronic media could polarize the society. It has pointed out that the uncertainty about peace, security, bad-governance and system of justice has generated a sense of deprivation in the society. The institutions responsible for improving socio-political environment are Judiciary, Defence Forces, Law and Order Machinery, Political Parties, Civil Society, Public Opinion Groups, and electronic media. The electronic media has emerged as an effective tool, globally, and at home for building favorable / unfavorable opinions and attitudes of the masses for the preferred themes, to achieve the desired objectives. If applied positively, its contribution in changing socio-political environment and creating a forward looking society cannot be over emphasized.
Electronic media has now become the main medium through which people remain aware of the happenings around them and is also the number one source of entertainment. With the demands and requirements of people growing, the role of electronic media in our lives is also increasing and it is pretty much impossible to imagine a world without televisions and the internet.
The world has become a global village and the public needs to be kept informed of what could be happening in the other corner of the world as the economies of countries are dependent on other countries so what might be happening thousands of miles away may well have an impact back at home. This is where the electronic media plays a very important role by relaying all this information in no time at all.
The Term Paper on The Effect of Social Media on Society
Introduction to social media Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, exchange and comment contents among themselves in virtual communities and networks. Social media or “social networking” has almost become part of our daily lives and being tossed around over the past few years. It is like any other media such as newspaper, radio and ...
It is not just the current affairs through where you could see the electronic media at work. Millions of individuals around the world rely on it to keep themselves entertained through the movies, dramas, sports events and songs.
One area that could not be neglected mentioning here is education. Educational programmes delivered through electronic media reach a far more diverse population than what universities can. People unable to afford universities or unable to attend universities for some other reason can keep studying by watching/listening these educational programmes on TVs or radios. In fact, many universities now operate outreach programs which focus on providing education to people living in far flung areas or even in other countries.
2. Definitions of the Concepts
“mass media is typicallydefined as а formof all technologies, especially radio, newspapers , and television, but encompasses, magazines, and bookpublishing, aswell as advertising, marketing, andpublic relationsor institutional organization” (Imtiаz, 2006: 1).
“Beyond thesenarrow definitions, mass media also encompassesshifting cultural forms,shapinghuman perceptionsand possibilitiesfor social change. Mass media simultaneously include technical, institutional and cultural dimensions. Thisbroad conception is required to understand how media shape contemporary human/environment conditions, including representations of nature, popular perceptionsof social politicaland cultural issues” (Logan, 2008: 23).
“The mass media has a significant political and influential control over the individuals around the globe, the television and radio could influence different societies. Moreover, mass media by utilizing political propaganda, advertising, and the professed mind bending power cause a long standing reasons of concerns in the form of influencing the individuals of the country. Furthermore, the most controversial problems that are the significant consequences of the mass media on the social behaviors of the individuals within the country are specifically violence and criminal behaviors. The mass media have frequently been accused of causing turbulence in the society”. (Talbot, 1998: 32).
The Term Paper on Electronic Journals And Scholarly Communication
In recent years, scholarly communication has virtually exploded into the on-line electronic world. This has brought a number of demonstrable benefits to the scholarly communication process as well as highlighting a number of inefficiencies and obstacles to the full deployment of information technology. However, the explosion has also brought a spate of credulous accounts concerning the ...
2.1 Electronic Media
the electronic media are those interaction mediums that are based on the electromechanical ways of the production and the main sources of the electronic media well known to the individuals around the globe is comprised of radio, television, sound and video recordings as well as inundating internet content (Wells &Hakanen, 1997: 21).
“Electronic Media” are those communication mediums which are based on electronic or electromechanical means of production and most often distinguished from print media. The primary electronic media sources familiar to the general public worldwide include radio, sound recordings, television, video recording and streaming internet content”. It denotes, “the main means of communicating with large number of people, especially television, radio, internet and satellite”. The electronic media have four basic functions; to inform, entertain, educate and influence the public opinion.
Electronic Media refers to forms of media which “use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user (audience) to access the content” (Electronic Media 2012).
The word “media” comes from the plural of the Latin word medium, and it is used as a collective noun to refer to television, radio, newspapers, magazines, films, the International Network (Internet), etc.5 the media can be examined either in terms of broadcast media, or print media. Further, a medium is described as hot, meaning a high definition channel of communication, such as print or radio, which focuses on a single sensory receptor. It is cool, meaning a low definition channel of communication, such as television, which stimulates several different senses and requires high sensory involvement.
Communication, the process of creating shared meaning through sending and receiving information, is vital for understanding and providing knowledge to people(Stanley J. Barann.d).
It enables people to understand and appreciate their environment, and facilitate relationships between and among individuals and societies. Communication can be oral or written; formal or informal; verbal or non-verbal; traditional or modern. Whatever form it takes, communication is meant to convey information from one party to another. The source, message, medium, receiver and effects are the main ingredients ofcommunication (D.McQuail and S. Windahl, 1986).
The Term Paper on How the Media Affect What People
The standard assertion in most recent empirical studies is that "media affect what people think about, not what they think. " The findings here indicate the media make a significant contribution to what people think—to their political preferences and evaluations—precisely by affecting what they think about. A he belief that long dominated the scholarly community is that news messages have "minimal ...
3. Media in Pakistan:Past and Present
“The increase in the number of mass media outlets in Pakistan over the last decade has never managed to provide answers to the general public’s concern that they only serve particular political or commercial interests. Though the Pakistani mass media have become more accessible to the citizenry and have also invested more time and resources into enlightening the public on issues of human rights, good governance, democracy and nation-building, they are often accused of avoiding critical issues of public interests and usually allow access only to government officials, their political or commercial ‘godfathers’ or people who have the power to reward them with gifts. (McQuail, 2000) suggests that the main power of the mass media can be summarized as: “attracting and directing public interest; persuasion in matters of opinion and belief; influencing behavior; structuring definitions and realities; conferring status and legitimacy and informing quickly and extensively” (c.f. Burton, 2005:29).
Notably, private TV channels in Pakistan have allowed the “dissemination of messages as well as the establishment of contact with people otherwise “removed from centers of administration and influencing individuals cut off from the print media”. Media technology is in the initial stage for political communication. Political parties present their party manifestos and run election campaigns on different TV channels to gain mass popularity.
Electronic media in Pakistan made rapid progress. A decade earlier there was only one state owned TV station in the country. This time 83 television channels licensed by the Government of Pakistan are working.”. Pakistan very strictly observed the media activities. The state owned Pakistan Television can’t broadcast even a single line against the Government. Private TV channels are kept under strict observation by the Government Authorities and their broadcast is suspended when they telecast something against the Government policies”. According to Riaz, S. (2007), the Government pays huge revenue in shape of advertisements to those TV channels and newspapers who favor the Government policies and the media organizations that don’t do this, have to deprive of this money. Ultimately, media organizations support the Governmental policies to get a bigger share of the advertisements revenue. Riaz argues that even the private media organization including newspapers and the television channels most of the time support the governmental policies to get a bigger share of the government advertisements. However, with the emergence of a number of media organizations in the country now people have different options to get the latest information and it has become difficult to hide the facts from the public.
The Term Paper on Media In Society Public News People
In Debating Democracy's 'The Media: Vast Wasteland or New Frontier?' Jarod Manheim and Douglas Rushkoff present opposing views of the media. Both authors raise the questions of what the media represents and what messages the media tries to send to the public. Is the media's coverage of events just for entertainment value or do the reports have political content and value? Are the viewers capable ...
4. Pakistan’s Political Scenario
“There is no concept of modern democracy without free and fair elections. Similarly, there is no concept of free and fair elections in the absence of a free mass media. So, democracy, elections and media are indispensable for each other. In Pakistan since its establishment, elections have been conducted with irregular intervals. The brief history of elections in Pakistan gives an insight to the democratic process in Pakistan. The First period of electoral politics in Pakistan’s history from 1947 to 68 can be divided into two phases: i) parliamentary phase (1947-58) and ii) presidential phase (1962 to 1969).
Introduction of presidential system, Field Marshal Ayyub Khan served as the president of Pakistan. He was forced by circumstances to resign on 25th March 1969, handing over power to Gen Muhammad Yahya Khan, then Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founded Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in November 1967 and got successful to raise it to the status of national party.”(Becker &Raveloson, 2008) and Kennedy (1987).
Countrywide protest by Opposition finally led to a political turmoil and imposition of Martial Law by the then Army Chief, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 5th July, 1977. Nevertheless, the media can be considered as the only platform for a long time that has offered the people an opportunity to have their voice heard. Other key state institutions, such as the judiciary, were, in fact, under the tight control of the military regimes, for instance through the issuance of Provisional Constitutional Orders (PCOs) 8 and Legal Framework Orders (LFOs).9. Military rulers’ close attention to news media, and to the power of propaganda in general, became immediately clear when their first representative took control of the country. One of the first measures taken by General Ayub Khan, after the declaration of martial law in 1958, was the establishment of the Bureau of National Research and Reconstruction (BNR&R), which later became the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Following an approach to the media that still seems to exist, the BNR&R embarked on a campaign of hiring ‘journalists who were well known and willing to lend their names to commentaries that were published in national newspapers in support of government policies’.10
The Term Paper on An In-Depth Analysis Of The Media And Culture Issues Of Society-
The issue of the relationship between the mass media and the popular culture has always been a controversial issue in social sciences. The political economists insist on the role of the media industry in the creation of this phenomenon of the twentieth century. Though, advocates such as John Fiske, argue that popular culture is actually the creation of the populous itself, and is independent of ...
“Media of any country is reflection of that country. It shows that how persons behave and live in their country. The way of expressing news, way of talking of politicians in political debates and discussion programs shows behavior of people of that country. Although medias responsibility is to spread true stories but media should be careful in this regard” (Bhаbhа, 1994: 43).
“They have to adopt such a way in which they could aware of the public without impacting negatively their mindset and make them able to protest in a true manner which could be result oriented”. (McCombs and Shaw, 1972: 34).“Assumed that the mass media sets the agenda for political campaigns by influencing public attitudes towards issues, hence it can be said that, in Pakistan the responsibility of media is much more than any media in the world, because Pakistan needs a big change and only media is now as much powerful. At present media is the only source which is easily accessible by all walks of people through various electronic appliances i.e. TV, Radio, internet, News Papers and now mobile phones also used by people to be aware of events every time. Media affects people’s perceptions and priorities, their thinking about political contents” (Potter, 2010: 32).
“Media shapes the public behavior about the issues and plays vital role in highlighting certain attributes of issues. Gatekeepers of the mediai.e. (editors, news editors and other journalists) they all play central role in shaping the media agenda which becomes public after some time” (Banton, 2000: 44).”Mediacontribute а lottodevelop publicknowledge but even after years of success, media could not alter public’s attitude towards issues” (Hechter, 2000: 43).
The Essay on Electronic media is the root cause of all evils
... been established that the electronic media has a role to play for resolution of problems being faced by Pakistan i.e. political instability, bad governance, weak ... is indeed a serious issue, which needs to be analyzed. The media’s extraordinary growth can impact this problem. The media is being considered ...
“With thepassage oftime, reputationof Pakistan’smedia sullied duetoitsfailure to thoroughlycomprehend affairs. It seems that media contributesto multiply wordingover issues and crisis instead of spreading true root causes and facts of the issues” (Tomlinson, 1999: 43).
“Mediacoverage of political issues is heavily episodic instead of thematic.Every political program discusses same issue under different namesoftheprogram. Thereisnodifference in the information displayed by each program even the views of politicians from different political parties give no hope of track towards solution of the issues. If these programs demonstrate issues successfully then it would help people to pressurize government in right way to solvethe issue” (Banton, 2000: 22).
“Pakistan’s media should understand that it presents the country which is of high importance not only for Islamic world but also for peace in whole world. Media should become highly sensitive towards its responsibilities while presenting to the world and guiding the people of Pakistan to bring out the country from the sea of issues” (Аmir, 2008: 45).
“We are a highly polarized society, segmented along ethnic, sectarian, ideological and gender issues. Faltering economic growth and stagnant social development have only reinforced these tensions, without achieving economic solvency and the promise of a better future, our national cohesion will remain under stress” (Yusuf, 1997:12).
Our “biggest fault line is rising demographic pressure on our resources. We need to launch a sustained media campaign to bring this pressure down. This is one area in which media can play a pivotal and non-partisan role”.
The strengths of electronic media include the viewer ship which has reached to eighty six million according to 2009 Gallop survey. Since more than 2000, TV cable operators have emerged as audio-video platforms promoting and influencing the society” (Gallup, 2009: 1).
Meanwhile, “increasing influence of internet and TV channels is raising power potential of these audio and video platforms. It is not making values but just making the people aware of events and happenings. The media is often blamed for social ills to the determinant of identifying the real causes of the problems.We have to see the impact of the dynamics of the society, the governmental culture and governance, and various policies and actions, instead of putting blame on media” (Sharma, 2007: 54).
The correlation between electronic media exposure and behavior isquite complex. It is difficult to prove that the media has direct effects”; however, its impact on formation of public opinion is quite stronger.
The electronic media in Pakistan is incessantly shaping and reshaping the opinions, attitudes, and perceptions of individuals. Moreover, the electronic media in Pakistan has turned out to be the prevailing medium of the moment by dispersing the education, information, as well as entertainment and at the same time, it helps to bring the current news of the events and the developments around the globe (Аmir, 2008: 65).
Furthermore, in Pakistan, Analysis of mass media television is productively playing a three dimensional role of educating, informing and entertaining the public and besides government owned PTV, there are also several other private channels functioning in the country. However, the outreach of these channels to the viewership and listenership is sternly controlled by means of the laws and instrument that hampers the progress of the enabling surroundings within the country (Lawrence, 2005: 65).
Moreover, it is identified that the ministry of the information in Pakistan has played a greater role to this unfortunate state of affairs by discouraging the private media from reporting on the problems in the form of politics, current affairs, and specifically terrorism (Wells &Hakanen, 1997: 33).
5. Literature Review
Politicians have learned that the appearance of intimacy or the production of an attractive ethos on television is very helpful to political success. As a result, many public figures have attempted to project as far as possible a personable, warm, or approachable image appropriate for television. Public figures that appear distant, cold, or uncaring on television generally succeed in spite of their appearance. Negrine(1996) advocated that mass media performs three major functions including to link public, their opinion and the government decisions with each other; to create public opinion; and enable the public to participate in the democratic process directly or indirectly. Iyengar&McGrady (2007) suggested that the mass media provide a forum for candidates and political parties to debate their qualifications for office before a national audience and contribute to informed citizenship by providing a variety of perspectives on the important issues of the day.
Norris (2000) mentioned that news media act as civic forum to enable pluralistic competition, as mobilizing agent to foster public participation and as watchdog to guard civil liberties and political rights. Lilleker (2006) contributed the importance of the mass media for the political process in modern democracies to a phenomenon known as enlightment in political science. Strohmeier (2004) classifies the possible effects of mass media on their audiences and suggested that they can have an impact on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of the recipients. Maurer (2009) argues that television’s capacity as a source of political information is overestimated. Peterson et al. (2000) commented that the media has a role to inform the citizens about the competing political parties and their programmes and candidates, and to contribute to the formation of opinion of the electorate. Clancey& Robinson (1985) while commenting on the role of media as watchdog said that television’s role in political campaigns and elections is difficult to overestimate television’s significance in the political process carries over to the effects on governing the nation. A common way to measure political awareness is with a short series of factual questions about politics (Zaller 1992; Price and Zaller 1993; DelliCarpini and Keeter 1996).
Iyengar and Kinder (1987, pp. 90-97) find no relationship between political awareness and susceptibility to priming in their laboratory experiments. Kinder 1990; Miller and Krosnick’s (2000) laboratory study finds the opposite. While one of these previous studies documents evidence of rally effects with priming (Krosnick and Brannon 1993), when examining the moderating influence of political awareness all focus exclusively on the ordinary priming affect them. Television encourages coverage that focuses on the personal celebrity of participants and on the sporting elements of political conflict (Fallows, 1996; Postman, 1985).
Less politically sophisticated people may lack the cognitive ability to link their personal experiences with the broader political landscape and therefore fail to bring experience to bear on attitude formation (Gomez and Wilson 2001).
Post Seminar Report, Seminar Titled “Role of Media: Promoting the Culture of Mutual Tolerance, Civic Responsibility and Rule of Law” National Defence University Islamabad (31st December 2009) the post seminar report provides much focused insight to understand the role of electronic media in our context. The seminar was aimed at generating intellectual debate on contemporary societal dilemmas in the way of the nation’s advancement and on how best the powerful media could be harnessed for a remedial course and our societal renaissance. The growth of media especially in electronic domain; its profile: makeup and interests represented; the emergence of media as a ‘new power house’ together with inherent limitation; and the concept of responsibility in the democratic order have been deliberated eminently in this report.
Electronic Media issues and innovations by Rashmi Sharma 2007 tell us Electronic Media are those communication mediums which are based on electronic or electromechanical means of production and most often distinguished from print media. The primary electronic media sources familiar to the general public worldwide include radio, sound recordings, television, video recording and streaming internet content. This book is a research work directly linked with the present paper.
Development Communication, Source Book by Paolo Mefalopulous 2008. This is a World Bank publication. This source book offers a useful source for those interested in understanding how development communication can work as a foundation for effective and ethical basis for a society, also provide insight to understand impact of communication, on society.
Journalism for All by Dr. Mehdi Hassan and Dr.Abdus Salam Khurshid 1991. This book is about creation of Pakistan and development of journalism and Mass Communication in Pakistan.
(Media and Peace in South Asia Edited by ImtiazAlam 2006. The south Asian policies analysis (Safna).
The Article media and Reconciliation by Khalid Ahmad = A critical Evaluation of Media by Raziuddin Ahmad. Develop insight the role of electronic media in transitional society like Pakistan.
6. Fault linеѕ in Socio-Political Landscape of Pаkiѕtаn
“Basically, Pakistan is multi-ethnic state as each of its provinces is associated with specific linguistic groups such as Punjab is associated with Punjabis, Sindh is associated with Sindhis, Baluchistan is associated with Bloch, and NWFP is associated with Pashtuns.” (Zaidi& Ray, 2000: 54).
“There are, however, various divisions of ethnic and linguistic within every unit. Sindh is the most diverse province of Pakistan in terms of ethnicity as Mohajirs form the majority in urban Sindh, and Sindhis dominate the rural Sindh and moreover, Punjabis, Pashtuns and Balochs also resides in Sindh. Siraikis and Sindhis are in a considerable amount residing in Baluchistan as this province is home based province for Balochs and Pashtuns. Moreover, Punjab and NWFP are also not homogenous provinces anymore.”(Mushtaq, 2009).
“Cohesive society is mutually supportive community of free individuals, pursuing common goals by democratic means. National integration and social cohesion is at risk because of many impending factors which originate within the country or influenced by external reasons. It may also be a complex outcome of interaction between the country forces and stresses and influence of global scenarο.” (Zaidi&Zaidi, 1997: 64).
“Electronic media in Pakistan as a source of immense influence and change has also come and has to stay as fourth pillar of state. The state policies against the aspiration of people and pressure groups are being exposed in electronic media. The electronic media has also occupied globally a significant and central position. Media has to play an important role in alleviation of socio-political problems of Pakistani society”. (Tomlinson, 1999: 34).
In Pakistan, the division of society based on sects, tribes, colors and belief have given rise to the intolerance towards others sects. Moreover, it is identified that the violence within the country based on the sectarianism is on the mount and hence electronic media is required to play a significant role to reduce the discrimination among citizens of the country (Sharma, 2007: 55).
Furthermore, it has also been identified that the religious fanaticism and extremism is focused on the religious identities since the Pakistani society has faced continuous challenges of terrorism in the name of religion and faith (Ahmed, 1990: 3).
7. Theroleof media tobring socio-political harmony
It has been observed that the electronic media has a significant role to play for the pledge of issues being faced by the Pakistan in the form of political unsteadiness, bad domination, fragile financial system, ethnic divisions, and religious activism. Moreover, electronic media also plays vital role to control the birth rate, disharmony between the provinces and interior aggression and prejudice within the Pakistani society as well as lack of national integration and harmony. (Banton, 2000: 481).
The development of media in Pakistan particularly in the domain of electronics represented the appearance of the media in the country as the innovative powerhouse together with the inherent restrictions (Bhаbhа, 1994: 22).
The role of electronic media in changing socio-political landscape could be demonstrated from following points.
8. Role of Media for Employment sustainability.
The electronic media has made markets ensuring the employment of a big number of persons, and circulating the useful information that has influenced the huge amount of people in Pakistan (Diamond, 1997: 54).
8.1 Role of Media against Mis-governance.
The sovereign electronic media within the country has demonstrated better performance to provide the high-quality information concerning the political situation of the country and has reached the large amount of people. In Pakistan, the private channels has played a significant role in highlighting the major causes of poor governance and convey them to the awareness of those who are responsible of this poor governance within the country (Lawrence, 2005: 76).
The private channels has raised public responsiveness regarding what the public itself is required to do in order to make sure effective governance within the country by highlighting the issues concerning the payment of taxes and bills in the form of tax evasion. Moreover, these practices are required to be disheartened and the Pakistani media should learn from other countries that in what way this is being done in other countries (Tomlinson, 1999: 77).
8.2 Security and Electronic Media:
“During the autocratic regimes government tried to curb the media but it showed great resilience and resolve by putting up the resolute battle not only for its own survival but also for cause of restoration of various democratic institution.” (Potter, 2010: 43).
The “electronic media can play an important role in mobilizing the masses on sensitive matters concerning issues of external security” (Bourdieu, 1998: 43).
The “public opinion support is a significant tool to defend against the external threats. This will sensitize the public at large to the dictates of national security, cohesion and stability. The Pakistani electronic media may achieve this goal without dramatizing and blowing up issues.” (McCombs & Shaw, 1972: 180).
8.5 Roleof Electronic Media in Resolution of societal Crisis
The track record of electronic media on ethnic and sectarian clashes between Mohajir-Pathan, Mohajir – sindhi and Shia – sunni is extremely encouraging. The media has always followed the neutral line and supported the efforts of government in fighting these internal security issues. The electronic media in this area can play a decisive role as a continuous effort to keep the situation defused by creating creating harmony between various sects”. (Hechter, 2000: 23).
The “electronic media can play a vital role in educating the masses about ill effects of social evils like ignorance and backwardness including gun culture and drugs in the society. The awareness can make the society robust and well informed to fulfill their obligation.” (Аmir, 2008: 23).
8.6 Socio-Political picture
Intolerance and near absence of civic responsibility, now manifested in our society is indeed the outcome of a hierarchical structure, social barriers and enforced by policy approaches in the 80s. Politicizing of religion and language is one major source of fractionalization. “Presently, the culture and society of Pakistan are in the grip of an unprecedented upheaval. In the post 9/11 world, the political, religious, and the social dynamics in Pakistan have been under major internal transformation and intense international scrutiny. Ethnic and sectarian violence which ravaged the country for the last two decades has sharply polarized the society. Various Islamic religious groups jostle violently for power. Religious faith, usually a matter of personal redemption, is flagrantly flaunted and a stunning lack of tolerance for difference increasingly defines Pakistani society.”
8.9.2 Challenges to the Writ of the Government.
The manifestation of this divide is the challenge to the writ of the State in FATA and Malakand Division where state infrastructure of governance has been uprooted, the power elite has been eliminated (either by murder or forced migration) new and parallel structures have been created and the application of Constitution is challenged. “The so-called Islamic fundamentalists have always been influential in the largely poor, illiterate, and rural Pakistan society. These groups represent a variety of power centers based on an array of belief systems from within Islam. Historically, none of these groups have had much success at the ballot box, but with a strong core of ‘true believers’ with blind faith and unflinching allegiance, they have often been able to display enough Street power to disrupt civil life. Since the war of independence in neighbouring Afghanistan in the 1980s, these religious groups have been encouraged and aided by the government of Pakistan and the US State Department. As a result they have ‘flourished and proliferated under the exhilarating notion of jihad. The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been porous for centuries because of the unusual terrain that facilitates traffic and a common tribal ethos that informs the lives of the bordering populace. With the rapid and fearsome Talibanization of Afghanistan and the Mullahisation of Pakistan, the borders for all practical and ideological purposes dissolved, and these processes played a vital role in the fluctuating social ethos of Pakistan.”
8.9.3 Feudalism / Tribalism.
In Pakistan the feudal and tribal society where rights of human being are violated is a matter of concern, people are not free to express their desire to govern. In such circumstances the leadership style is power centered and feudal in character, this leadership enjoys respect because of fear, and not because of trust. “National and regional culture has, at various times, interwoven and competed with each other. In times when centralization is the ideological thrust, national themes and institutions are in the ascendancy, but when the pendulum swings toward decentralization, regional and ethnic societies and cultures reassert their autonomy. The political ideologies and movements that shift the balance between national and regional social and cultural systems are the markers of Pakistan’s social change.”
10. Electronic Media’s Impact on Pakistani Society
In Pakistan the electronic media is providing information at a very large scale. It is being recognized as contributing significantly in important national issues. It has a rolein accountabilityprocess. The PTV is pursuing an agenda of social responsibility there are two main challenges of sustainability of democracy and good governance face by the country. In such a scenario, role of media is to facilitate the democracy. “The social impact of communication and media has seeped deep into social and cultural institutions, paradoxically reviving traditions as well as introducing new practices. Like other processes, communication and information media are bound up with other socio- economic forces, thus making them a strong current of social change.” The electronic media has created markets resulting in the employment of greater work force in gathering, processing and disseminating information. The electronic media have a vital role to play in the present day world in Pakistan.
The independent electronic media can demonstrate better performance to provide good quality information with its wider reach. “Private channels highlight causes of mis-governance and bring them to the attention of those who are responsible. They can raise public awareness about what the public itself should also do to ensure good governance whether it is correct payment of taxes and bills or issues such as tax avoidance. Such practices should be discouraged and the media has a duty to learn from other countries how this is being done. Private sector media have an enormous educative and mobilizing role to play when it comes to what society do and certainly with respect to highlighting the social responsibility of the media and the citizens.” “How does Pakistani society hold together despite its ethnic divisions, segmented classes, and fragmented institutions? What are the processes that maintain its social sharmony? This two-part question raises a critical issue about some semblance of functional equilibrium of society.” The electronic media role give new direction to social behaviour, “by changing the boundaries of social situations, electronic media do not simply give us quicker or more thorough access to events and behaviours. They give us instead, new events and new behaviour. ” Following are some of the roles, both Negative and positive being played by electronic media in Pakistan.
10.1 Positive Impact of Electronic Media
The electronic media direct social change and values. The electronic media may be successful in stimulating the change in the tightly held ideas and rigid attitudes to bring desired change. The media can give direction to social change, and positively guide the society towards the desired goals.
10.4 The Effect of Media on National Issues.
The electronic media has also been highlighting financial irregularities, corrupt practices and inefficiencies of the government functionaries and negative fallouts on the society of the acts of the extremist elements to adopt an appropriate strategy for their eradication. “The media have a measurable effect on public affairs. In the matter of local, national, economic and social issues, they help to create an informed citizenry by clarifying the complex matters of public affairs which exist at the local and national levels. The formation of public opinion towards the civic problems is generated.” As such the media give the public a better understanding of these issues with which it must deal and influence those who have to resolve these issues.
10.1 Objectivity and Electronic Media.
The objectivity of media is becoming increasingly questionable, the coverage of issues of national interest demand care and restraint. The media in Pakistan is devoid of objectivity, and just telecast such incidents that sometime are not factual.
“The very nature of media is subjective and selective, and therefore suppressive. The general electronic media content do cover non-event-centric aspects of life in Pakistan. There is an imbalanced fixation with events, incidents, accidents and statements.” In order to improve their ratings and enhance viewership, the tool of sensationalism is used. What is important is to think as to what is being done to own sensibilities and social and moral values.
11.2 Electronic Media and Talk Shows
Generally the talk shows do not meet basic tests of responsible journalism; fairness, objectivity, balance and differentiation between fact and speculation. Honest discussion must be ruled by reason, not emotion alone. Most anchors try to impose their own perspective, instead of objectivity. “However, unfortunately, this role has moved from delineation to distortion. In essence, distortion is in-built into the very nature of media as it is unable to represent totality of given situation. Therefore, media managers in any ongoing situation in a society should strive to minimize that inherent tendency to distort.”
12. RECOMMENDATIONS
A comprehensive electronic media policy may be formulated for an effective role of the electronic media in socio-political development. This policy may cover issues like awareness creation, resolution of conflicts and the socio-economic uplift of the society. The scope of the regulatory body (PEMRA) may be enlarged to give representation to all the stake holders including civil society and the journalists. The PEMRA should ensure formulation of a negotiated code of conduct. The focus of the strategy should be a free electronic media guided by a code of conduct to fulfill its national duty.
The electronic media role to strengthen Institutions The electronic media must help sustain confidence in our national institutions such as parliament, armed forces, judiciary and our social structure. The media may project optimism to develop a positive opinion and attitude in the people.
The Media should differentiate between state and the government in its criticism. The criticism of government is in order; it must not be resorted against the state. The media is expected to keep the national interests supreme over their own interests on such sensitive and complex issues.
The media should expose corruption, to exert pressure on the government for fair and transparent accountability. The media should also indicate areas to bring transparency in government actions.
The electronic media should help to develop a harmonious society, bridge gap between reality and the distortions. The media should project objective analysis of the events. The media should present the events by avoiding biases, prejudices and negative perceptions of various groups operating in the society.
There is lack of proper education, training and understanding among media persons about National Security and defense issues. In certain cases this leads to improper reporting. The media people must be properly educated, professionally trained and intellectually motivated to contribute towards national cause.
13. CONCLUSION
The forgoing analysis provides answers to two basic questions; the first question is whether the electronic media could play a role to improve the social and political circumstances of Pakistan. Secondly, could it play that role? It can be concluded that the electronic media to some extent has succeeded in spreading awareness. The electronic media because of its very fast growth in Pakistan significantly influenced the public opinion on national issues. However for an effective role of electronic media towards socio-political issues the media could be made more neutral and objective in approach.
The electronic media has impact (both positive and negative) on generating public opinion on national issues. There are serious socio-political and socio- economic distortions that have caused fault lines in socio-political landscape. The media, besides the society, has a direct linkage with the politics as well. The electronic media is an agent of change but the direction of change depends upon the reported information. The media has constraints and limitations, like vested interests, corruption, political motives and monetary gains. Because of lack of objectivity in its activities the creditability of media is sometime questioned. The media reporting is also scandalous and unrealistic to define an issue, this aspect of media needs improvement. The main thesis of this argument is that electronic media is not the master of events because of its structural constraints; therefore, the myth of powerful electronic media is not true.
The increasing role of the electronic media in Pakistan warrants formulation of a negotiated and practicable media policy by all the stake holders. It may be also concluded that the government and media should focus should make a commitment to improve the utilization of electronic media for national interests in the coming years. It shall be an appropriate step to maintain a data bank of eminent scholars, educationists, leaders and specialists in their respective fields to discuss subjects on the electronic media useful. The education and training of media people may be arranged at appropriate level to equip them with knowledge and skills to improve quality of reporting. The electronic media may identify societal conditions that resist change and cause disintegration, to bridge the gap in national development. The information sharing in the development of human resources, economic growth, modernization of the society; and shaping of a policy to redirect national affairs is possible with a cooperative approach between the government and electronic media.
Pakistani media is a business like other businesses, a billion dollar industry and thus its primary motive remains to earn money. The media often looks for controversy, sensational and negative news to make it breaking news. The Media feels it has the right to interpret what is good or bad for society using its own standards. It, however, has its own agenda of exploitation and money making, and it has also power of projection of its cause directly to the public. It can be concluded that socio-political development is the shared responsibility of all the people, government, national institutions, political and religious leaders, and the electronic media.
We can conclude however that media is often blamed for social ills to the determinant of identifying the real causes of the problems. We have to see the impact of the dynamics of the society, the governmental culture of power and governance, and various policies and actions, instead of putting blame on media. It is easier to pass a law to prevent conduct of violence. But the real causes of violence in society- such as poverty, instable family system, role of agencies, mental state of the members of the society, are difficult to solve. We have to examine what causes of a certain phenomenon; there may be some more research to study about casualty. What causes something to happen? Is it possible that watching a particular television programme could cause a person to behave in a certain way? The relationship between electronic media exposure and behavior is very complex and many other factors do intervene. It is not possible to prove that the media has direct “effects”, to cause disintegration in the society however it has impact on public opinion formation. The impression that the media could solely and independently play a role in making society and the people to behave in a certain way, cannot succeed, there appears no empirical evidence to support this explanation.
