Attack on Media Restriction Observers’ movement restricted
The federal government has banned entry of the election observers from the foreign countries and journalists in the sensitive areas including 45 cantonment areas and 63 districts and tehsils across the country and also declared as prohibited areas during the polling day.
Media Protest Heavy bias in favour of Pervez Musharraf and allies continues in state TV’s
With just four days to go to the 18 February parliamentary elections, Reporters Without Borders confirms that the state television station PTV’s coverage continues to be heavily biased in favour of President Pervez Musharraf and his allies. The press freedom organisation has been monitoring the election campaign coverage of Pakistan’s only terrestrial TV broadcaster since 28 January.
From 3 to 12 February, 81 per cent of the political items (reports, interviews, analyses etc) on PTV’s four main news programmes were about the president, federal government or ruling party, the PML (Q). As regards political parties alone, PML (Q) got 24.3 per cent of air-time, while the opposition PML (N) got 6.7 per cent and the PPP, the other leading opposition party, got 10.1 per cent. During this 10-day period, the PML (Q) was mentioned for a total of 109 minutes and 38 seconds, while the entire opposition total was just 85 minute and few seconds.
"Despite the denials from the government and PTV in response to the first set of results we published, the trend has not changed significantly," Reporters Without Borders said. "Pakistan’s only national TV station has, it is true, talked a bit more about the PPP and other opposition parties, but this in no way means its coverage is fair."
(Jang-8)
Media Miscellaneous Media drive on child abuse today
Roazan, an Islamabad NGO will launch a mass media campaign on child abuse protection and prevention issues to aware teachers children and parents here on Friday.
(Nation-14)
Print Media Daily Urdu ‘Aaj Kal’ newspaper launched
Speakers at the launch of a new Urdu daily by the name of ‘Aaj Kal’, belonging to the ‘Daily Times’ group, stressed the need for a modern, progressive, liberal paper with a forward-looking and optimistic outlook in these times of stress, strain, violence and religious extremism.
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