Don’t waste your dollars on media owners in Pakistan

Don’t waste your dollars on media owners in Pakistan – by Ammar Kazmi

Cameras are insured but the photo journalists and field reporters are not, what a mean and inhuman attitude of Pakistan’s media owners that there are no life insurance policies for journalists.

I think this is not only a lust of media owners but a naive character of so called media intellectual/column writers who have no moral courage to write against this unjust and PFUJ is also not interested in such issues.

Almost a year back when there was just a security threat for private schools, one of the well known school administration immediately took decision to issue the life insurance cards to their staff and within three days time they handed it over to the staff which I think was a slap on the face of media owners that they criticize everyone but they are not looking in their own Institutions.

They are making millions of rupees from these TVchannels/newspapers but they can’t afford an insurance policy for their workers. USA is spending hell of money on these unreliable media owners but they are also not interested in the welfare of war zone journalists. Now how can they expect a free, bold and fair reporting from journalists? Majority of the professional journalist community belong to right wing or Jamat e Islami who ideologically play anti America role in the society & the left over is living very poor life and cannot take any risk of their lives for nothing.

America should ensure this that money should be spent on such issues. The anti American sentiment is really sky-high in the journalist community because they are not getting anything except bullets from both sides. The media owners are not ready to spend a single dollar on their workers. Wage award is still awaiting working journalists are in worst conditions.

If USA and western world is serious for their image making in this part of the world then they should invest on the journalists instead of media owners. Because media owners can only block information but the real source of information is a journalist who can really change the perception of whole society.

If you are giving Pakistani media millions of dollars then they should even be instructed to induct secular and liberal minded people in their organization in spite of Jamat-e-Islami who are against liberalism and will keep on supporting Taliban. Moreover, there is a common practice in local media to take work from needy people without paying them a single penny. They commit for a job with them on good amount of salary which they never pay them and keep on lingering their services. This is a very common practice of media owners with the columnist and writers. Some of the media owners are also not giving the salaries to their payroll employees and usually delay it for several of months and it would be very much surprising for you that these owners are very well known business men. With such attitude of the media owners’, journalists/reporters are forced and dragged to either go for bribery or they produce table stories/reports. Another negative aspect of popular media groups is that they always play a very negative and a biased role against democratically elected governments. They often clear the way for dictatorship.

In short, if you really want us to grow liberal then ask your paid media for reforms in their institutions? Help the poor masses of Pakistan. Do something to change the Islamists perception that America is against religion. But don’t waste your dollars on media owners.