Base of knowledge

Located in Islamabad, the Center is working to provide physical resources for journalists, researchers, and students interested in media and the rule of law, including computers and Internet access, reading materials, and case studies

Web Resource

The online resource center will the archive and disseminator of the Center's materials and perform the following functions:

1. The site provides an active link for interested mass media across Pakistan and abroad, allowing them to obtain advice and expertise on legal stories, finds articles and reference materials, and study the analysis of relevant journalism by their peers.

2. The site also provides information on media defense issues such as regular monitoring of the state of the media to record the chronology of media violations; tracking progress on media-related court cases and legislation; and compiling an interactive directory of Pakistani journalists and media organizations. These tasks aim to improve research on Pakistani media and inter-media communication and support efforts to defend freedom of expression.

Resource Outreach

The Center reaches out to other Pakistani institutions in the field, including media outlets, educational institutions, research centers, government agencies and regulators, and legislators. The Center focuses on specific areas of concern, such as defamation, media law and policy, and the relationship between mass media and the courts. The Center is also a point of contact for other rule of law projects that have no mass media component. One such project would be model courts that emphasize transparency of court procedure, which could benefit from public exposure.

1. Practicing reporters and journalism students have greater access to information about case law and legal issues of public importance

2. Stipends support increased publication and dissemination of articles and programs on legal issues, media law, the court system, important cases, and the rule of law in Pakistan

3. Journalists and media managers routinely turn to the website for background on legal issues

4. Journalists, institutions and the public have greater access to information, opinions and discussions of legal issues

5. Violations of media freedoms chronicled

6. Case studies to improve understanding of threats to freedom of expression

7. Directory of practicing journalists and media organizations to determine realistic size of Pakistani media

8. Baseline data on journalists to improve union memberships

9. Media capacity to defend media freedoms enhanced