Growth and Development of Electronic Media in Pakistan: How It Can Enhance National Cohesion and Integration?”

“Growth and Development of Electronic Media in Pakistan: How it can Enhance National Cohesion and Integration?”
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The growth of electronic media over past few decades is very rapid in Pakistan. The media can impact public opinion in a significant manner. In Pakistan the national integration and cohesion, is indeed a serious issue, which needs to be analyzed. The media’s extraordinary growth can impact this problem. The media is being considered as a fourth pillar of the state.
The television is the most favoured medium of communication with a large number of viewer ship with significant results. The national cohesion and integration demonstrate fault lines that threaten very existence of the state.
2 Influence of electronic media
In the last 50 years the media influence has grown significantly with the advance of technology, first there was the telegraph, then the radio, the newspaper, magazines, television and now the internet. We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, travelling and anything else that we have to do. “What we need to be aware is that most of our decisions, beliefs and values are based on what we know for a fact, our assumptions and our own experience. In our work we usually know what we have to do base on our experience and studies, however on our daily lives we rely on the media to get the current news and facts about what is important and what we should be aware of.” We have put our trust on the media as an authority to give us news, entertainment and education. However, the influence of mass media on our kids, teenagers and society is so big that we should know how it really works.
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The electronic media has touched every sphere of the human aspect. In the present times, information and technology are interwoven with the society’s economic progress. The evolution of electronic media has had an overwhelming impact on the society. The Opportunities of communication have broken all barriers across national boundaries and have led to the germination of new ideas through the cross pollination of cultures. Electronic information has had a positive impact in the promotion of various social regimes.
Television. TV due to its potentials to offer a greater variety than other elements of electronic media has become the strongest form of media to perform all four functions, i.e. information, education, influence and entertainment. Internet. Internet is the latest addition into the elements of medium of electronic communication. It is swiftly bringing a historic shift in the dynamics and profile of the global information sector. The medium also provides instant access to the largest data bases and archives of information around the world.
3.2 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.
“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.
Electronic media communication and information
Identification of social problems has always been a difficult job as they fall into a grey area and consequently hard to be known. “Advances in communication and information dissemination, such as television, videos, Internet, and CDs, have increased the circulation of ideas, symbols, and images across national and regional borders. People have access to new sources of news, facts, and entertainment. These media help rationalize, redirect, or impede changes that are underway through economic and social development.”
3.3 Negative impact of electronic media
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 viewers ship, 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.
Causing Desperation amongst Nation. These days no news is good news on Pakistani media. Media has taken away the sense of hope from the masses and has made them over sensitive to their surroundings.
Commercialism and Electronic Media. In today’s world, there is a cross commercialization of the electronic media. Commercially driven, ultra-powerful media primarily serves their sponsors rather than the public. Pakistani media is following the saying, ‘We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art; we have no obligation to make a positive statement, to make money is our only objective.
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.”
Polarisation of the Society. In some instances, the electronic media is accessed by a small segment of society; due to vested interests this group projects its identity disproportionately. The media coverage of such groups is likely to create a polarized society.
Negative Projection of the Country. All events and happenings in Pakistan are not bad. On the contrary sometime nothing positive is discussed in the electronic media. The projection of crimes and anti- social elements all the time is eroding and diminishing the contours of our true identity across the globe.
Pursuance of Foreign Agenda. It is believed that some of Pakistani media has reportedly links with shady foreign characters, are being funded by different foreign elements and their anchors are on their pay rolls and thus are furthering their anti- state agendas.