ROLE OF MEDIA AND ITS WEAKNESSES

MEDIA WARFARE

Part-I
Introduction
1. Goebbles said “give me resources and I will make the people believe Devil is God”. The impact of modern technology has transformed the media landscape completely. As a result info cannot be blocked by any ctr-measure. Globalisation has conferred on media formidable power to influence pub opinion. The armed forces are also vuln to the rapidly spreading media blitz. Today, more than ever, wars are won as much by eff propaganda and info dissemination as by economics and mil might. It has also significantly ltd the mil’s ability to censor its output. Thus the umbilical cord of reliance on mil has been cut. The media contrary to the wish of mil, discloses the most vital info about the mil secrets pertaining to aims, str depl and eqpt of the tps, arguing that they have the duty to info the pub of events as and when they unfold. On the other hand, media also presents an opportunity for mil pers to present their case to the world more eff and thereby shape the B fd.
2. Media has gained added imp particularly after the Gulf War. Its significance has also been proved during the recent Kargil ops. Role of media is basically two folds, one at the national and the other at the intl lvl. If media policy is not correspondingly programmed at these two lvls, any goal within mil reach can simply cease to exist. It is therefore, safe to concl that mil might alone cannot turn the tables unless every war related machinery, whether directly or indirectly is in consonance with the objs.
Aim
3. To analyze the role of media with a view to ident own weaknesses and recommend viable measures.
Sequence
4. Part - I. Concept of Media Warfare.
5. Part - II. Kargil Crisis Case Study
6. Part – III. Conclusion
Concept of Media Warfare
7. Definition. Media warfare is pre-eminently a democratic instrument, fashioned to dominate the mass minds and general will of complete nation or society.
6. Purpose. Media warfare aims at following purposes:-
a. Stimulate Mass Mind on the Home Front. It is accomplished by awakening tribal instinct latent in man these instincts are focused in order to transform the en into devil. Allied propaganda against Hitler and more recent against Iraq are the examples. The potential audiences are primarily own people.
b. Winning Support of Neutral Nations. In this dimension media wins support of neutral nations. British successfully did this in the world wars. They launched an intensive media campaign against Germans. They propagated that Germans were cutting the hands of innocent Belgians and mass killing the women and children. This resulted in attraction of Americans attention and Americans launched themselves in to the war with emotional hysteria. People demanded capture of Kaiser and execution by putting him into boiling water.
c. Targeting the Mass mind on Inner Front of Hostile Nation. This aims at defeating the en psychologically, by subverting his people and his armed forces and disarms them morally. Indian propaganda against Pakistan in 1971 is an example of this.
7. Effects. Few effects of media warfare are :-
a. It undermines the moral resolution and ultimate belief of enemy in victory.
b. Kills the patriotism and sentiments of the people and self is brought first.
c. Encourages social and political revolutions.
d. Creates mental confusion, contradictory feeling, indecisiveness, panic fear and discontentment.
e. Wins support of neutral nations.
f. Targets the basic ideology.
g. Trust in leadership is lost.
h. Encourages partisan feelings.
8. Affected Groups. Broadly, there are two affected groups:-
a. Literate People. Here the support of elite, literate personalities is achieved by giving them some political or economic gains. Which in turn are used by them to win general public support. This class is composed of fol cats of professionals :-
(1) Educationists and Writers.
(2) Artists and people related to mass media.
(3) Policy makers.
(4) Bureaucracy.
(5) Religious/ethnic ldrs.
b. Common Masses. Here the support of masses is won by exploiting :-
(1) Religious feelings.
(2) Ethnic groups.
(3) Professional groups.
9. Sources of Media Warfare
a. Television. TV is perhaps most commonly available media to approach masses. It has become necessity of each home and plays a very imp role by broadcasting wishful propaganda in the form of news bulletins, dramas, cultural shows, music programs, discussions and seminars.
b. Satellite. Satellite is dominating the electromagnetic spectrum since last two decades. It is a very effective means of transmitting the required information from one part of the world to another. Its effects can be seen in recent Gulf conflict through news coverage by CNN and BBC.
c. Computer. Computer has revolutionized the media warfare with the induction of internet, through which it is very easy to propagate anything anywhere in the world.
d. Radio. Radio again is an instrument used for media warfare and is very effective tool due to its coverage and access to people.
e. Print Media. It incls fol :-
(1) News Papers. With the modernization in communication means most of the newspapers can be read anywhere in the world. This media carries lot of business info beside daily news. It is relatively inexpensive as well, therefore quite popular. This becomes an effective tool in the hands of good manipulator.
(2) Magazines. Through magazines the policies and decisions of a nation are preached. Famous authors are made to write articles on policy matters in favour or against an issue in order to mould the views in own interests.
(3) Novels/ Books. Novelists and writers are made to write books on a particular subject from a particular angle. This highlights weaknesses of a nation or raises doubts in the minds of people.
10. Essential Ingredients/ Parameters. The media warfare is only effective if it is fought within certain parameters which are :-
a. Propaganda. It must be launched with maximum effort and repeated again and again. It should not be launched half heatedly.
b. Emotional Touch. Themes selected for propaganda should appeal the emotions of target audience for maximum effect.
c. Ideology. Media warfare must be aimed at disturbing or questioning ideology of the en.
d. Religion. It may be given a religious touch. Like Indians exploiting sectarian friction in Pakistan and propagating brotherhood of all religions in their own country.
e. Ethnic. Exploitation of ethnic feeling can pay rich dividends as in our case Sind and Baluchistan are soft targets. On the intl scene Scotland is another example.
f. Wishful. Themes, which fulfil psychological needs of a nation are always easily accepted, these should be selected with same in mind. Exploitation by Indians in former East Pakistan is a pertinent example.
g. Cultural. Cultural invasion has long lasting effects of target society, same is being done by Indian Film Industry.
h. Winning the Support of Elites of Different Fields. It is essential to win the support of elites of different fields like sports, Showbiz, teachers, intellectuals, religious leaders, political leaders. Ignoring this aspect may lead to failure.
j. Credibility of Source. Credibility plays of vital role in determining the effects of propaganda, which are directly proportional to the credibility of information source.
k. Projection/Coverage. World-wide coverage to a view point is a must to win the support of own and neutral nations.
l. Rumors/Misinformation. Rumours at the correct time and carefully spread are likely to achieve tremendous results.
11. Examples from History. If we look at the history of warfare, many examples can be found where media has been used very effectively. Some are:-
a. Propaganda of Goebbles
b. Malayan Insurgency
c. East Pakistan
d. Gulf War
e. Afghan War
f. East Timur

Part-II
Kargil Crisis – Case Study
12. National Media. The National media that mainly incl Associated press of Pakistan (APP), Radio Pakistan and Pakistan television (PTV) are pub sec corporations with their own board of directors and censor boards which devise their objs. These come under the ministry of Info, which was formed during Gen Ayub’s era to con info. The ministry was designed to bring the main newspapers under a govt trust, controlling advertisement and ensuring complete official con over electronic channels.
14. Media Policy. The official media policy as laid down by Info ministry has three maj components :-
a. National issues needs to be presented to the media and a national consensus forged.
b. The govt to present its case in the best possible manner without interfering with the freedom of press and expression.
c. Lastly the govt’s own specific policies, news views and personalities of its ldrs should also be proj.
15. Media Policy – Analysis. Presently there are fol weaknesses in our media policy and its implementation :-
a. Apparently we do not have any eff media policy.
b. There is no agency at national lvl to asses the propaganda threat and workout an eff threat response.
c. Media does not reflect manifestation of our national objs and policies. The projection of ruling party's personalities and achievements remain the focus.
d. Due to an unstable political system and corrupt institutions the media is manipulated mostly in anti-oppn drive.
e. The state exs tight con over electronic media. The policy fol by electronic media is def and reactive.
f. Media coverage lacks mass appeal. Themes proj lack correct emphasis. Religion and social values are over played, which has become monotonous/annoying.
g. News coverage by own electronic and print media lacks credibility and is mostly delayed. Foreign media (BBC, CNN, VOA etc) are preferred and enjoy credibility.
h. Ctr measures are not timely due to which en propaganda achieves the immediate effs which are subsequently difficult to neutralize.
j. Opportunities to exploit the weaknesses are missed due to inefficiency and lethargy.
16. Weaknesses Observed During Kargil Ops
a. The local TV’s poor presentations of the Kashmir file and the boring panel discussions with old/tested non receptive faces made the pub switch on to other channels to spare themselves of the irritating monotony of the same old story.
b. The media tried to make the world believe-unsuccessfully – that Pakistan had no con over the Mujahideen and that Kargil was the result of the latter’s efforts to internationalize the Kashmir issue. But immediately after the “Washington Statement” of 4 Jul 99, the entire sit changed.
c. The official media, as well as the ISPR, were in tow minds when the bodies of the martyrs started reaching their homes. Isolated and sketchy news items appeared in the indep newspapers about the arrival of these bodies and their well attended funerals. This was in sharp contrast with the sit in India, where the govt and the media whipped up patriotic fevour and generated hate campaign against Pakistan.
d. It was observed that in the media one ministry of officials came out with a denial of whatever was being speculated, the next cfm it but with some strange twist, while a third accepted that the rumoured sit was indeed true, all within the space of days e.g Niaz A Naik's visit to New Delhi.
e. Another problem observed was the official briefings given to media about the question relating to the existence and non existence of “Tiger Hills” As long as these hills were under the con of the mujahideen their strat imp was highlighted. However, when the Indian’s claimed recapture, their very existence was denied on the map by the ISPR.
f. The national media never tried or managed to ctr the Indian propaganda that was launched through the net, on TV and through several full page advertisements in leading newspapers in the USA, like the famous “rogue army” advertisement which was placed at a cost of something like US$ 50,000.
17. Indian Media. The Indians over the last several years due to their liberal media policy front have learnt all the tricks of manipulating the minds of the masses. They have also learnt how to present even the most unpalatable truth in the most palatable way. The Indian pte channels competed with one another to sell patriotism to their audience. Using all possible means to poison the pub perception with propaganda against Pakistan, they managed to evoke war hysteria in the country. From using petty tactics like blocking PTV transmission, or obstructing Dawn newspaper’s web site, to carrying out national scale campaigns on the Indian TV and on the streets, Indian govt successfully aroused the jingoistic sprit in the Indian masses. The Indians managed to portray Pakistan as a country caught in tempestuous wave of conflicting decision markers – the ruling party, the army and the Islamic fundamentalists
18. Themes Emp by Indian Media. Various themes emp by Indian Army during Kargil ops to malign Pakistan’s image are as under :-
a. Pakistan decided to wdr due to hy cas, low morale, and intl/US pressure.
b. Pakistan not capable to fight conventional war.
c. Incursions masterminded by top mil brass and PM.
d. Pakistan soldiers disguised for Kargil op.
e. Pakistan PM and COAS do not respect LoC.
f. Kargil conflict was the result of internal problems of Pakistan.
g. Pakistan isolated from the intl community on Kargil issue.
h. Pakistani COAS wanted to create difficulties for India- India cannot trust Pakistan.
19. Indian designs. The long term designs of Indian media are as under :-
a. Endeavours to tame the masses of tgt countries favourably towards India. Desired msgs are conveyed innocently under the grab of entertainment and utility programmes.
b. Extensive use of satellite transmission has provided ingress every where. Strives to estb a balanced and accepted credibility in news and views.
c. Ultimate Indian desire is to proj the satellite media as a regional network catering for the needs of all those who reside in South Asia.
c. Proj Pakistan as a state abetting worldwide terrorism, trying to gain sympathies of CARs China and Iran in this regard to isolate Pakistan both regionally an internationally.
d. Keep Pakistan socially demoralized, economically shattered and militarily in-eff.
e. To proj India as the guardian of regional peace and security in order to gain sp for the UNSC permanent seat.
20. Analysis. An analysis of the role of media during Kargil ops is as fol :-
a. In this era of info technology, media is an imp instrument not only in shaping opinion but also in “response functions”. However the official media in Pakistan has emerged from the Kargil conflict with its credibility badly damaged and its image battered. The reason, media experts believe is the role of federal ministry of info and media dev, which necessarily is that of suppressing the truth rather than facilitating the dissemination of info.
b. The info ministry and its resources were spent projecting one indl. In media terms this is called “Geoblian imagery”. In the middle of the crisis we had newspapers carrying large portraits of the PM and no effort was made to provide actual info to the people. Most of the official media presentation was reaction to the info provided by other Govts, incl the Indian govt. It failed to convince the world of the rt to self –determination of the people of Kashmir. Kargil is but a manifestation or the true picture regarding India’s own repeated violations of the sanctity of the LoC in the post 1971 pd, particularly its large/scale and still extant intrusion in Siachen in 1984.
c. If the Pakistani action in Kargil was initiated in Jan / Feb 99, then the govt had four to five months to diplomatically convince the world with the help of the official media managers said one thing and contradicted it the next day.
d. On the home front people were made to believe that our def was impregnable because we had nuc wpns. And then fol the wdr due to the fear of war. In such sits the people do not know what to believe. The official media did not seem to be aware of the whole sit. Ultimately the newspapers were also confused because they were not taken into confidence.
e. Just when the conflict in Kargil was brewing to a boil, the govt thought it fit to conduct a crackdown on journalists, and took some other uncalled for steps, which impinged on the freedom of the press. These actions brought in their wake worldwide condemnation.
f. During Kargil ops the press in USA was anti Pakistan because of the combined efforts of State department and Indians. Most of the Western media based its assessment of the sit on Indian version of the story. However,, very little or no effort was made to ctr Indian propaganda and proj our view. The lone effort of ISPR although remarkable was not enough.
g. Like the Americans, the West in gen is charmed by India’s diversity of ethnicity, religion, culture and various Hindu traditions. This charm is normally so great that western media persons often forget what is req of them as honest and impartial reporters of events taking place.
h. One of the reasons why the Indians manage to sway the opinions of the think tanks in the West is because of the tremendous academic resources they possess in the top universities of the UK and the USA. Their cont teaching and preaching of the Indian pt of view is instrumental in setting up an Indian sp camp in the intellectual circles of the USA.
21. Lessons Learnt. After circumspectly evaluating the role of media during Kargil ops fol lessons have been drawn :-
a. Max national power can only be generated through skillful combination of various state organs. In the context of Kargil crisis, the prep of the ministry of info left a lot to be desired. The habit of being reactionary and living on a day-to-day basis needs to be changed. A well planned, coherent and harmonized media start has to be worked out by the govt and the army to ctr the foreign media blitz.
b. All national policies should be thoroughly deliberated before being considered for implementation. Our decision-making system therefore needs overhauling.
c. The depressing condition of the economy is one of the maj factors for Pakistan’s dismal intl perception. The economic mess, in which withholding of even a single trench of an aid package threatens to play havoc, starkly exposes its vuln to intl pressure.
d. The way the govt handled the conflict with the “Jang gp” the newspapers and later with the “Friday Times”, damaged the govt’s own credibility locally and internationally. Such attitudes are easy meal for media to nourish upon, and they love to proj a villainous image of such govts.
e. By denying people’s access to correct info about a particular issue, one cannot expect a positive outcome from a crisis. The govt should have avoided distortion of truth and irrational claims. But it is evident from the way the Kargil op was conducted that we have not learnt any lesson from past failures and cont to provide info based on wishful thinking.
22. Recommendations. To improve upon the role of media in projecting the image of Pakistan internationally, some viable recommendations are as under :-
a. Credibility of Own Media. There is a need to established credibility of own media or to get hold of some reliable media for use i.e CNN, BBC etc.
b. Trust in Leadership. Leaders should built up such a character and personality that public should have a blind trust in their personality and thus media warfare is effect fought.
c. Education. This be the most neglected side of our nation with a poor level of 39% literacy rate Without education people can not judge what is right what is wrong and who is doing what so we must give a sincere effort to raise of the literacy rate.
d. Ideological Motivation. We are an ideological nation and ideology is one of our center of gravity we must not leave this aspect unattended.
e. Rationalism/ Analytic Ability. Things must be rationalise and analyse by a body of intellectuals.
f. Keeping People Informed. This is a very ignored aspect, our government does not keep the people informed about the things and whatever gathered is from outside world. So there is a dire need that people should be informed well and proper and with in the correct time frame.
g. Method of Feed Back/Surveillance. There must be a proper method of feed back and surveillance system to keep the government well info about the elms doing the antistate activities.
h. Media Policy. Media policy should take care of Psy W, it should be well conceived and implemented within fol parameters :-
(1) It should integrate all the components of media and produce combined effs by proj themes, which reflect our national interests and objs.
(2) Media policy should be conceived and implemented on three fronts:-
(3) On internal front prep the nation for foreign cultural on-slaught.
(4) It should aim at projecting national policy and objs at intl lvl.
(5) At the third tier mechanism should be agreed to propagate own themes and ctr en propaganda at home and abroad.
(6) Media policy should be offensive instead of reacting to en propaganda. It should cont projecting themes which can pre-empt or blunt en efforts.
(7) Involve pte sec in making own electronic media eff. Foreign agencies like BBC, CNN, VOA etc also be utilized.
(8) The base of media should be widened. No of satellite channels hired should be inc in competition with India.
(9) The con of state on media should be min. Media should remain de-politicized, imparted and have mass appeal.
(10) Print media should also be utilized eff.
(11) Embassies in foreign countries req to proj own policies, culture and programmes regarding “country profile” on media of respective countries. Media orgs should be created in UN and other intl orgs. Press secs op in own embassies abroad should be more eff. Sel of people to these secs be on absolute merit. Any sec not del must be closed/admonished.
j. Sel and Use of Media. After determination that there are feasible objs that may be sought through the use of media, it then becomes nec to decide what media of comm will be utilized in the propaganda effort. The decision as to which media will be emp should take into acct the factors, such as the aval of the nec facilities and the ability of the intended audience to receive and comprehend the msgs as del by the various media.
(1) Internet. There is req to create no of sites to proj the various facts of Kashmir problem specially the human rts violation committed by Indians. The focus should be on issues, which attract attn on Western audience. The Tibetans maint over 1500 web sites to proj their cause. Some web sites are already being maint by ISPR and Dte Gen ISI.
(2) Print Media. To launch a coord effort, svcs of a professional firm would be req. This may be costly, however, a well coord programme will be capable of creating an impact.
(3) Visual Media. The most eff and quickest means of reaching US pub is through visual media. TV/Cable plays an imp role in molding pub opinion. Short and eff documentaries depicting Indian brutalities especially against women need to be proj, however, to be eff and credible they have to be prep by US and Western media.
k. Think Tanks/Academic Circles. Our indep think tanks and universities need to dev progranmes with their ctr parts in USA. The Indians have penetrated most South Asian think tanks. If we desire to influence opinion in US policy estb, we need to encourage our intellectuals to seek contact with their contemporaries in USA and Europe. “Times” and “Newsweek” are the most widely read English weekly magazines in the world and in Pakistan. The Jewish backing has led them to prom Islam as a religion based on terrorism and fanaticism, through their cover stories on Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan and recently, Pakistan. Their correspondents, thus giving a very biased and negative image of our country. The govt needs to investigate into the possibility of lobbying with these magazines, in an attempt to incl Pakistani journalists on their list of correspondents, If possible “Larry King” of CNN should be the maj tgt of the media team of the PM to arrange interview and question answer sessions with Pakistani think tanks.
23. Long Term Strat. There is an immediate req of placement of our indigenous info satellite in the space to transmit uninterrupted own pt of view to the viewers of the region and globe.
a. The long-term focus should be on the human rts violation issue. Through the help of foreign documentary markers, a clever focus on the appalling and shocking atrocities being carried out in Kashmir by the Indian army, should be shown in a serial documentary presentation.
b. Pakistani govt should hire a reputable foreign writer to compile a book, or a thesis on the human rts violations in Kashmir. One of the ploys used by the Indians to tarnish the Pakistan Army’s image was to pub a thesis titled |The rogue army”. The launching of this thesis was advertised in 18 maj newspapers throughout the world. A report or a book written by a foreign writer with a provocative title like “The Rape in Kashmir”, could be used for ctr-propaganda.
24. The Response Start Fol aspects need consideration ;-
a. Inter Svc / Agencies coord. The three svcs and different agencies ie ISI, MI, AG Branch, Psy Ops Dte etc) need more coord in this fd. There is a need for providing timely inputs to ISPR so that it is in a posn to work out suitable response and manage con for interaction with the press. To achieve better coord, it is recommended that periodical confs on the media response be conducted which should be attended by MI, MO, ISI, ISPR, Psy Ops and PN, PAF, AG Branch and ANF (as and when req).
b. Mil Writers Forum. The writing potential of senior Army offrs needs to be exploited to our advantage. There is a large population of such offrs but all those who write are doing so at their own without any guidelines. Some of them like Gen (Retd) K.M Arif, Kamal Matin ud Din, FSK Lodhi do contribute positively in the print media. These and some other offrs should be motivated to write positively for armed forces, highlighting their role in nation bldg and peace keeping and other national issues incl Kashmir. Themes can even be suggested through the ISPR.
c. Create a Foreign Writers Pool. A hunt should be launched to spot pro-Pakistan writers, and they should be encouraged to write in our own and the foreign media for the purpose of image bldg. Subjs like Kashmir, security concerns of Pakistan, intl role of armed forces of Pakistan towards peace keeping and in nation bldg are some of the subjs, which can be given for writing articles/books.
d. TV Channel. Acquisition of a TV channel by AWT/Fauji Foundation with or without pte collaboration, which could proj image of a professional Army.
e. Amalgamation of Psy W & ISPR Dtes. In view of the eff of the info Technology, our focus should now shift more towards Psy W oriented policies. It is recommended that Psy W and ISPR Dtes should be joined together under one DG for a well coord media effort.

Conclusion
25. The requirements of the 21st century dictate that we must recognise all the technology driven changes and their implications on our security. Our adversary will never give us a second chance and would use all possible means within its capability to weaken and dominate us. It will use this new powerful weapon in a manner wherein, we may not even be aware of the methodology used. We have to prepare today to be able to bear their onslaught in the future. Economic and Human resource development are the only sure answers to move ahead towards a brighter future. Pakistan should make an effort to take a quantum jump from our meagre agricultural base. The emphasis should be to bypass the long drawn out Industrial era, which the West had to take before it could embark on to the Information age. Our poor economic conditions leave no other option but to exploit our power potential which is our enterprising people. This God gifted treasure however, needs to be groomed, educated and given the requisite skills, along with a clear sense of direction. Let us assign our selves a goal for the future and work with all our energies to achieve it. This is the only way to change the destiny of our children. May ALLAH guide us.