Global Media News

Are Pakistan Media Overstepping Media Boundaries????

In Pakistan media is teaming up with police and attending police raids while trying to harass individuals and then broadcasting it on air.   

In an article in the New York Times dated February 8, 2013, Maria Kahn, the host of a talk radio show in Lahore, Pakistan went on a raid with police of a massage parlor.  She actually accused the women of being prostitutes as her camera crew threatened the employees with arrest.  They then  rifled through their purses, while spuing racists comments at the alleged.  All the while filming it live and televising it.   The accused repeatedly asked not to be filmed.  But, this is not the first incident like this that has occured. 

It appears that the media is acting like vigilantes to gain sensationalism across the media.  Is this the media way to get advertising revenue.   It would appear that sensationalism is apparently what makes news worthy. 

It appears that their are many instances that have occured.  So we come to the idea who controls the Pakistan media?    If they show courage and actual.y report the truth about real matters?   Are they worried about consequences. Are they being forced to report for ratings ? 

In an article in Newstribe Maria Khan , has been accused of being "An anchor who is dressed in western clothes with a western style education who can fool anyone into believing that Pakistans educated class is liberal and open minded. When in actuality when you look at the program the basic presmise and mindset is cleart that they are just another extention of the TALIBAN.

 

Afghanistan Bans Pakistani Papers!

In late September Afghanistan's government put a ban on Pakistani newspaper.  There has always been friction between the two countries but this put it over the top. Afghanistan leaders' man reason for this ban  was because they felt that the Pakistani papers supported the Taliban militants.

The Dawn reports: 

"In a statement, the ministry said the newspapers were a conduit for Taliban propaganda.

 The news is not based in reality and it is creating concerns for our countrymen in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan,” the ministry said in a statement. ”Also, the newspapers are a propaganda resource of the Taliban spokesmen.” 

This seem to be yet another case of censorship within a country and another battle for freedom of information for that country's people. Although this is  strictly speculation but the government are not taking any chances with this. It is unfortunate because now the people of Afghanistan can no longer receive news from Pakistani. 

The BBC News reports:

"It authorized police to impound Pakistani newspapers in the three eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan. The news paper is a propaganda resource of the Taliban spokesmen" and has ordered police forces in east Afghanistan to confiscate all copies."

With the police of Afghanistan seizing all the Pakistani papers that is currently in the country and stopping all papers from entering the boarders of the country, it is clear that the government is serious and will put down any kind of support the newspapers may bring the Taliban.

Rod Norland and Declan Walsh of The New York Times reports:

"Intermedia Pakistan, an aid group that specializes in news media development, recently conducted an analysis of how Afghanistan is portrayed in the Pakistani news media. Its executive director, Adnan Rehmat, said there was a strong pro-Taliban bias after the 2001"

Afghanistan and Pakistan have always had problems and in the past and Afghanistan has portrayed Pakistan in a negative light and by banning their newspapers makes the Pakistani image worst in the eyes of the people. This could be a possible first step to Afghanistan banning any outside information that would go against the government.

Global Media News Webcast #7: March 21, 2013

 Media News from India!

Global Media News for March 21, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media Made in India"

• Bollywood Jumps on Social Media
• Bollywood Bigger than Hollywood?
• Indian Government Watching Social Media
• 'Social Media Labs' for Indian Police?
• Social Media for Maternal Health
• Indian Politicians Tweeting and Facebooking their way into Office

 In two weeks on GMN:   Media News from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

Listen to our webcast streaming live in two weeks on Thursday, April 4 @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, April 4, 2013.

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India Defends Social Media Ban

     According to Gardiner Harris' New York Times article, the Indian government is defending the crackdown on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. The government says the blocking of material on these websites is crucial to maintaining peace in India.

     The ban of social media came after the riots in Mumbai. Most of the pages that have been blocked are of "general news" including the British newspaper The Telegraph and TV network Al Jazeera.

     An article on NDTV states the government has ordered at least 80 pages and user accounts to be banned to avoid more panic in North-East India. The websites contained rumors that have been traced to Pakistan. The websites contained rumors of a possible attack which made people leave their homes. 

     A government official said "We have found inflammatory and objectionable contents on some pages of Facebook and Google. Some user-accounts at Twitter were also found spreading similar contents. All-together, around 80 such pages and accounts have been ordered to be blocked today."

     When I first posted about this topic I thought India had no good reason to block social media websites. If people are posting on these websites creating mass panic, the Indian government should not be criticized.

     In the day we live in most people can not go a day without checking some kind of social media website. Most of us have notifications sent to our cell phones when someone "likes" or comments on one of our posts. I can understand why Indian citizens are upset, but obviously there are some issues that need to be worked out before they can open up the internet to social media.

     I think the government is right in banning these websites. If the rumors are creating panic in the entire North-East region they should be blocked. The websites could do nothing but cause more panic if they are not blocked.

 

India's politicians using social media to attract voters.

    In an attempt to connect with India's growing internet users, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram recently joined a google hangout session to take questions from young students, analysts and even farmers, about his budget. This news comes from the BBC

    His hangout session lasted over an hour with over 38,200 views on YouTube on the day.  It was also broadcast live by most mainstream news channels in India.

    At the end of 2012, it was estimated that India had more than 150 million internet users.  That is about the same number of television sets in the country.  Of this, 65 million are Facebook users and Twitter has an estimated 35 million accounts.

    It may be only 10% of India's 1.2 billion citizens, but it  puts the country among the top three internet markets in the world.

    With general elections approaching next year, Indian politicians are increasingly feeling the need to join the social media networks as a way of connecting with a younger generation of voters.

    Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has often been criticised for being inaccessible to the media, started a Twitter account last year to inform people about the work done by his office.          

    

    But some would say the push to be active online is because of the number of incidents with social media the Indian government has had in the past year

    In November, two women were arrested over a comment on Facebook.

    In 2011, the government announced that it would introduce guidelines to ensure "blasphemous material" did not appear on the internet.

    The government is looking at setting up a social media wing in charge of publicizing the initiatives of all ministries and government departments.

    This shows the Indian government is becoming more open to social media and the internet in general.  This is a strategy we have seen in America.  Both presidential and vice presidential candidates had active twitter accounts during the last election.

India's Internal Dilemma

     How can a country that boasts 800 films a year being in production also be a country where so very few people even have access to things like computers? Is it possible to be both on the forefront of modern film making and also have one of the highest poverty rates? India is a country that straddles sides of this line.

     India is a country that desperately wants more. They want to make movies, use cell phones, have computers in their homes and consistently use electricity. However this is not true for many of its citizens. They are one of the largest cell phone producers in the world, many people own more then one. Yet there are parts of the country who run on as little as three hours of electricity a day. How can these people be expected to have a cell phone?

     They are proud of their film industry. They love going to the cinema and it shows. People will dress up just to go to opening night of a film they are excited for. Yet there are over 25,000 street children living in Jaipur who may never even get the chance to see a movie yet dress up for one. They live on the streets or in make shift homes with no running water or food let alone the electric power to run a television.

     While in India I spent some time working at an NGO in Jaipur. Ladli is a school for street children. A short reprieve from the hard lives they live. They are taught skills that will hopefully give them a craft to earn money with. They are taught how to make bracelets and sew. They are not taught how to use computers. I was told while I was there that they will inevitably have no use for such things once they leave the schools. It is unlikely they will ever use computers. There is also no not enough money for the school to provide computers to learn on. These are India's youth. Learning the trade of sewing not computer science. Leaning how to make bracelets not how technology works.

     There is also another unfortunate problem in the country and that's the reliability of the electricity. One small village I stayed in was beautiful. We stayed in a renovated palace. What once housed local royalty was now a hotel. However when asking if I was able to get wifi or more likely a locals home which provided a single computer for tourist use, I was told that they had not had any power as of late so it would be hard to find something like that for me.

“Around 137 million Indians were online by June 2012 (Internetworldstats.com). The online revolution has largely bypassed rural India, a government study has shown.” BBC World Profile

     In a world that's rapidly moving forward and ever changing how are these people ever going to keep up? Is there even a chance for them? The answer is no unless they can start utilizing the youth for the future. There is no way to change the way that most of India lives. It is idealistic to think that the poverty and isolation are things that can be easily wiped out. It is a long road for them but if they can start with the new generation they have a shot at dragging themselves into the dawn of new technologies.

India using Twitter to help Film Industry

The Times of India  is reporting that in December of 2012, there was approximately 62 million users from India using Twitter, it is estimated that by June 2013 that number will rise too 66 million. These studies were done by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and the Indian Market Research Bureau. The Hindu reports that 97% of all social media users in India use Facebook. They say that the "social media revolution is going to keep getting bigger." This study was also done by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and the Indian Market Research Bureau.

Due too its growth in users over the past year, the Indian film industry is now using Twitter to help promote films and make announcements. Most recently, Sandalwood, also sometimes known as the Cimema of Karnataka has took to Twitter to announce its new film. The Times of India is reporting that the Kannada film company has made a Twitter handle for its new movie coming out. The film is also the comeback film for Bollywood actress Radhika.  The Sandalwood film industry, produces around 100 films a year in India. Some of the feature films are even released in the U.S, UK, and even Germany.

Another Indian film actress has also recently made a Twitter. The Times of Indian reports that Yaami Gautam. The actress said she made the Twitter page for her fans, so that she can connect with them more.

She also said  "I am what I am because of my hard work and my fans. And I think social media is the best and easiest way to keep in touch and follow up with my fans. I want to acknowledge their love and support through these media. Thank God we are in the internet age and its so convenient. Everything is just a click away. I am hoping to give it a shot and keep up with everyone.

I agree with what she says, because we are living in a digital age right now. People around the world can connect with each other with a simple click of a mouse. The internet has made everything more accessible. You can watch all these foreign movies on your computer now. Not just Bollywood actresses and actors, but all actors and actress around the world are using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, to connect with there fans whether its posting pictures of movies coming soon or announcing a release date, social media is taking over the way we communicate with our favorite movie stars. 

 

 

YouTube Banned in Pakistan

The video-sharing site YouTube has been banned in Pakistan since September 2012. The ban came about because an anti-Islam video was posted on the site and YouTube's owners refused to remove it. According to the Express Tribune, "A statement from the Prime Minister’s office read: 'The direction has been given after YouTube refused to heed to the advice of the government of Pakistan to remove blasphemous film from its site.'"

An editorial posted last Sunday on the Express Tribune states that the problem lies in "the government’s inability to recognise that it cannot police the internet and any plans to do so will just plunge the nation into a recess of the dark ages from where there is no way forward."

The Pakistani government has had talks with the owners of YouTube, but they have been unsuccessful. According to The News International, "Ministries of Law and Information Technology said complete blocking of sacrilegious content on the video sharing website was not possible. They also said the YouTube was indifferent to extend cooperation to the government of Pakistan."

The entire site of YouTube has been banned for the past six months in Pakistan because of one  so-called "blasphemous" video. Pakistani musicians and their supporters have begun protesting on a Facebook page called Youtube Aloud. A representative for the page, Usman Riaz, was quoted in the Express Tribune as asking, “Does it make sense to burn down an entire library just because you don’t agree with the contents of one of its books?”

This question really hits the nail on the head of the problem. The government chose to ban an entire website because one piece of content was deemed offensive. An article in the Pakistan Observer brings the point home: "It is high time that the government adopts effective measures to facilitate the public while simultaneously dealing with the blasphemous content." The question still remains though, will the government of Pakistan finally listen?

Is Kazakhstan's Government Banning Independent Media?

    Kazakhstan has had many social issues in the past. Recently, independent media in the country has been under attack. Is this an attack on freedom of speech?

 Credit: BBC News

    Almaty a town in Kazakhstan is know as the mining hub of the country. About every family has a member in the copper mining industry. Any company around the globe can have its issues. Many people feel in this mining industry that there happens to be corruptions.

    Independent media outlets have reported on some issues in this town. According to BBC, some of these media outlets have been banned. Mr Zhagiparov the editor of The Youth Gazette recently has had his newspaper banned. Mr Zhagiparov stated that "Perhaps it was a precaution, the authorities were concerned that some articles in our newspaper could spark a blast, and for them it was better to extinguish the flame," Respublika another independent media outlets has been banned as well.

    What does this mean for Kazakhstan? Well the locals have mixed feelings. Some feel that it is not right to ban these independent media outlets. Reporters Without Borders has called this ban and "unprecedented blow to pluralism". 

    According to political commentator, Dosym Satpayev "There are Zhanaozens in every region of Kazakhstan, Zhanaozen in this sense does not simply mean an industrial conflict. It means a lack of any form of dialogue between people and the government." When you deprive a region from important information it violates every ones freedom of speech.

    On the other hand some feel that newspapers like respublika only reported on the negative. When is the line crossed into violating ones rights? I feel the government should find a different way to approach the situation instead of banning the news. These independent media outlets just wanted to  make authorities aware of the corruptions in the mining industry.

 

 

Valentines Day BOYCOTT in Pakistan!

This past Valentines Day, Pakistani media was being encouraged NOT to promote or advertsie Valentines Day! An article in the Washington Post quoted PEMRA saying that the holiday is

" 'not in conformity to our religious and cultural ethos.' The letter warns that 'a large segment of society' has complained about 'Valentine’s Day celebrations' and blames Valentine’s Day for 'depraving, corrupting and injuring morality of Pakistani youth.'

The same exact sentiments can be said about the holiday in the United States. However, it seems as though the Pakistani media is more concerned with the morality and feelings of their youth than the U.S. The most interesting part of this story is that the media is trying to restrict or regulate consumer culture. Typically it is the government that attempts to censor the media. In this case, the media is concerned about the affect that Valentines Day may have on Pakistani youth. 

Some Islamist groups even protested the holday with signs, encouraging others not to partake in Valentines Day. 

(The photo shows a signboard against observing Valentine’s Day in Karachi on February 13, 2013. —Photo by AFP: Dawn.com, Pakistan, Reuters, Feruary 14, 2013)

According to an article on Dawn.com, some of the protestors claimed that Valentines Day is an insult to Islam. Syed Askari, spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami said, 

“Valentine’s is against Islamic culture. In our view, relationships are sacred. We have arranged marriages in this culture and people don’t get married for love. This is imposing Western values and cultures on an Islamic society."

The issue that many Islamic people have with the holiday is that it is a Western holiday. It originiated in the West, and should not be imposed on Islamic society because it does not fit the culture and the values of the East. 

A video can be found on jn1.tv explaining these anti-Valentines Day views.