Transfers galore in print media

Transfers galore in print media
ISLAMABAD: When it comes to transfers, those in the electronic media are followed and discussed with keen interest but what’s going on within the good old print media is something that does not get highlighted. There has been a lot going on in print, especially now when Arif Nizami’s long-awaited Pakistan Today has come out and The Express Tribune (Islamabad) and The Islamabad Dateline prepare to roll off the presses. Lately, many of the journalists who tried their luck with television either have returned to print or are raring to do so, provided an opportunity shows up. Senior journalists Khaleeq Kiyani and Amir Wasim, were among the first ones to do just that. Both had quit Dawn Islamabad to work with Samaa TV as Chief Reporter and Special Correspondent respectively but returned happily to the paper after spending about a year there. This was last year. More recently, Amer Sial who was with CNBC TV for five years and briefly joined The Islamabad Dateline has now moved to Pakistan Today in Islamabad. His story was on the front page of the paper’s maiden edition launched from Lahore on October 5. Similarly, Asma Kundi, wife of Shaiq Hussain, the Chief Reporter at Pakistan Todayin Islamabad and Correspondent of The Washington Post, has joined the same paper after quitting The Islamabad Dateline. But the biggest move of them all has been that of Mahmood Sham, editor of Jang for almost 45 years, who has joined ARY TV. This is not all. Rana Qaiser, formerly the Resident Editor of Daily Times in Islamabad, is now looking to gather a new team after taking over as the Resident Editor of Pakistan Today ahead of the newspaper’s formal launch from Islamabad. Moreover, Farman Ali, News Editor of Dawn Islamabad quit too at the start of the month after serving the organization for 13 years. He is now on board The Express Tribune in Islamabad where he is the City Editor. In Lahore, Reporters Nauman Tasleem and Yasir Habib have moved from The Express Tribune to Pakistan Today while the arrival of a third - Sports Reporter Omer Farooq – is still awaited. Also Adnan Lodhi and Umair Aziz, both from Daily Times, Lahore have moved to Pakistan Today. In Karachi, Rizwan Bhatti of the Business Recorder has been roped in by Pakistan Today. Clearly, there is a lot of excitement in the print media these days with the journalists having more options now. There are going to be even more if Dunya TV and ARY TV are able to bring out the newspapers they are planning to. –