(March 6, 2007) The general elections planned for Pakistan sometime later this year will be the first to be covered by a vibrant independent broadcast media sector. For the first time in Pakistan , media coverage is expected to have a major impact on how people choose to vote.

For Pakistani journalists and the public, the stakes are high. To help Pakistani journalists meet the challenge of reporting on election issues in this context, Internews Network conducted a three-day media training workshop in Islamabad in March, in collaboration with Intermedia, on issues-based election coverage. Participants deepened their understanding of their key role in educating voters on political, electoral and legislative issues.

“This was a good learning exercise,” said Asif Yousaf Sandhu of Aaj TV. “I have learnt new things about election laws and methods and how journalists can cover elections with new ideas.”

Twenty-eight journalists from leading Pakistani media outlets, including 13 women, attended the workshop, which was funded by a grant to Internews from the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

"During the last two decades in Pakistan , media coverage of general elections has largely focused on personalities rather than parties and their issues," said Chairman Intermedia Board of Trustees Adnan Rehmat. Reporting has been generally limited to pre-election pledges by politicians and election results, with little coverage of how people's choices are affected by political manipulation through laws and electoral processes, according to Rehmat.

The Internews-Intermedia training workshop addressed these issues, as well as the electoral process, monitoring of elections, and the roles of the election commission and government.

These general elections, for which a date is not yet fixed, will be the first held since Pakistan 's government opened up the broadcast sector to private ownership in 2003. Some 130 radio licenses have since been awarded to non-governmental stations, along with about 50 TV licenses.

Internews Network has been working to build an open, diverse, and socially responsible broadcast media sector in Pakistan since 2003. It has facilitated formation of Intermedia, a media development non-profit, non-governmental organization registered under Pakistani laws, which aims to promote professionalism in Pakistani media.

Intermedia plans more training workshops across Pakistan on issue-based coverage of elections and is currently seeking funding for this purpose.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Listen to a 10-minute audio piece in Urdu about the workshop produced by participant Tarique Siyal, a reporter for Power 99, Islamabad ( English text transcript )