Perception of Media Freedom in Pakistan from Journalist’s Perceptive

Samenvatting

The research is designed to study media freedom in Pakistan, in reference to journalistic independence. To understand the levels of media freedom in the perception of journalists themselves, a survey was conducted on 120 senior journalists of mainstream print, electronic, and social media. This study aims to explore the relationship between journalistic independence and media freedom in Pakistan. This research has also observed the reasons for the downfall of media freedom in Pakistan. The model that was applied in this study is the Hierarchy of Influences Model by Shoemaker and Reese to measure the factors affecting media freedom. The institutional theory by Meyer and Rowen was also applied to this research. A quantitative research method was used, and data was collected with the help of a survey through purposive sampling. The study has figured out from the analysis of journalists’ perceptions that there is lack of media freedom and journalistic independence in Pakistan. 

References

ARY News (2022). FIR against Anchor Sabir Shakir. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgtFKE36gsI

Badran, M. (2017). Violence Against Journalists: Suppressing Media Freedom. Digital Transformation in Journalism and News Media (pp. 417-427). Springer, Cham.

Bhutto, Z. A. (1967). My Debut in Journalism. Pakistan Observer.

Brenan, M. (2021, October 7). Americans' Trust in Media Dips to Second Lowest on Record. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/355526/americans-trust-media-dips-second-lowest- record.aspx

Bruns, A. (2008) Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, New York: Peter Lang.

Coffey, P. (1975). A Quantitative Measure of Bias in Reporting of Political News. Journalism Quarterly, 52(3), 551-553.

Collings, A. (2001). Words of fire: Independent journalists who challenge dictators, drug lords, and other enemies of a free press. New York: New York University Press.

Chomsky, N. (2002). Media control: The spectacular achievements of propaganda. Seven Stories Press. Dahlmann, L. (November 2009). The Role of Media in Rolling Out Democracy in Pakistan. Glocal Times.

https://ojs.mau.se/index.php/glocaltimes/article/view/189

Daily Dawn (2021). Journalist Absar Alam Shot In Islamabad, Another Journalist Matiullah Jan Released By         The     Abductors     Available    at      https://www.asiantelegraphqatar.com/current- affairs/pakistan-journalist-absar-alam-shot-in-islamabad-another-journalist-matiullah-jan- released-by-the-abductors/

Esuh, P. (2008). Public Confidence in Media Reporting of Elections: A Step Backward in Nigeria. African Communication Research. 1(3). 405-426.

Flew, T. (2009) “Democracy, participation and convergent media: Case studies in contemporary online news journalism in Australia,” Communication, Politics & Culture 42, 2: 87-109.

Gade, P., and Raviola, E. (2009). ‘Integration of News and News of Integration: A Structural Perspective on News Media Changes’. Journal of Media Business Studies. 6/1: 87–111.

Gehlbach, S. and Sonin, K. (2008, December). Government Control of the Media. (Working Paper # 126). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/7142712.pdf

Gillmor, D. (2004) We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.

Greene, M., & Stevenson, R. (1980). A Reconsideration of Bias in the News. Journalism Quarterly, 57(1), 115-121

Herman, Edward S. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.

Hermida, A. (2011) “Mechanisms of participation: how audience options shape the conversation,” In

Participatory Journalism: Guarding Gates at Online Newspapers, J. B. Singer, et al. (eds.), 13-

1. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Hussain, S., Abbas, Q., & Sheikh, M. A. (2022). Media Freedom in a Populist Regime: Evidence from Pakistan. International Journal of Communication, 16, 20.

Institutional    Theory:    Environment    &    Social   Structure.    Study.Com.   (2017,    May    1). https://study.com/academy/lesson/institution-theory-environment-social-structure.html.

International Federation of Journalists. (2022, August 10). Pakistan: ARY News broadcast suspended across                      country,            executive            arrested.            https://www.ifj.org/media- centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/pakistan-ary-news-broadcast- suspended-across-country-executive-arrested.html

Irfan, A. (2022, April). Censoring the media in Pakistan. Inkstick. https://inkstickmedia.com/censoring- the-media-in-pakistan/#

Izard, R. S. (1985). Public Confidence in the News Media. Journalism Quarterly, 62(2), 247–255. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769908506200204

James, B. (April 2022). Press Freedom: Safety of Journalists and Impunity. [Program and Meeting Document]. UNESCO Conference on Press Freedom, Safety of Journalists and Impunity. Medellín, Colombia, 2007. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000156773

Jamil, S. (2023). Automated journalism and the freedom of media: Understanding legal and ethical implications in competitive authoritarian regime. Journalism Practice, 17(6), 1115-1138.

Kellam, M., & Stein, E. A. (2016). Silencing Critics: Why and How Presidents Restrict Media Freedom in Democracies. Comparative                  Political                  Studies, 49(1),                  36-77.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414015592644

Kohle, F., Raj, S. J., Mazo, S. (2015). Journalistic Independence: How Social Media are Reshaping Power Structures in News Broadcasting. Social, Health, and Communication Studies Journal: Conflict and the Social Body, Vol. 2(1).

Leeson, P. T. (2008). Media Freedom, Political Knowledge, and Participation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(2), 155-169.

Lombardi, C. (2023). Rethinking journalism protection: looking beyond copyright. Journal of Media Law, 1-31.

Mantler, G., & Whiteman, D. (1995). Attention to Candidates and Issues in Newspaper coverage of 1992 Presidential Campaign. Newspaper Research Journal, 16(3), 14-28.

McCombes, S. (2019). SAMPLING Methods | Types and Techniques Explained.

"Media        Concentration,”         American         Library         Association,         April         11,         2018.

http://www.ala.org/aboutala/affiliates/chapters/mediaconcentration

Meier, W. A., & Trappel, J. (1998). Media Concentration and the Public Interest. Media Policy: Convergence, Concentration & Commerce, 38.

Momoh, O. (2021). Tools for Fundamental Analysis.

MoMP. (2019). Media Ownership Monitor Pakistan.                              http://pakistan.mom- gmr.org/en/findings/findings/

Montréal, HEC & Albarran, Alan. (2004). Media Concentration in the U. S. and European Union: A Comparative Analysis.

Nuzhat, S. (2012). My Debut in Journalism: A Compilation of Published Articles by Bhutto. Government of Pakistan.

Pakistan, Reporters Without Borders, https://rsf.org/en/pakistan

Pakistan Today. (2022, September 15). Transmission of ARY, Bol News Suspended for Three Days: PEMRA. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/09/15/transmission-of-ary-bol-news- suspended-for-three-days-pemra/

Paulussen, S., Heinonen, A., Domingo, D. and Quandt, T. (2007) “Doing it together: Citizen participation in the professional news making process,” Observatorio 1, 3: 131–154.

Picard, R. G. (2015). Journalists’ Perceptions of the Future of Journalistic Work. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2017-11.

Poell, T., & van Dijck, J. (2014). Social Media and Journalistic Independence. In J. Bennett, & N. Strange (Eds.), Media independence: working with freedom or working for free? (pp. 182-201). (Routledge research in cultural and media studies; No. 69). Routledge. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138023482/

Raza, M. R., Saeed, M. U., & Ali, Z. (2022). Media Concentration and Journalistic Independence in Pakistan Audience and Journalists’ Perspectives. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 12(1), e202205. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/11462

Riaz, S. (2015). Media Ethics: A Study of Prime-Time News Bulletins of Leading Pakistani News Channels. Journal of Media Studies, 30(2), 171-197.

Reese, S. D., & Shoemaker, P. J. (2016). A Media Sociology for the Networked Public Sphere: The Hierarchy of Influences Model. Mass Communication and Society, 19, 389–410. https://doi:10.1080/15205436.2016.1174268

Rosen, J.   (2006)   “The   People   Formerly   Known   as   the   Audience,”   Pressthink,   June   27.

http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html

Sadurski, Wojciech, Freedom of the Press and General Theory of Freedom of Speech (September 2011).     Sydney     Law     School     Research      Paper      No.      11/57,      Available      at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1923486 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1923486

Scott, W. R. (2008) Institutions and Organizations: Ideas and Interests. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Scott, W. R. (1995). Institutions and Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shoemaker, P. J., & Reese, S. D. (1991). Mediating the Message. White Plains: Longman.

Shoemaker, P., & Reese, S.D. (2014). Mediating the Message in the 21st Century: A Media Sociology Perspective. New York, NY: Routledge.

Siebert, F. S., Peterson, T., & Schramm, W. (1984). Four Theories of the Press: The Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility, and Soviet Communist Concepts of What the Press Should Be and Do. University of Illinois Press. https://doi.org/10.5406/j.ctv1nhr0v

Siraj, S. A. (2009). Critical Analysis of Press Freedom in Pakistan. Journal Media and Communication Studies. 1(3). 43-47.

Sobel, R. S., Dutta, N. and Roy, S. (2010), Beyond Borders: Is Media Freedom Contagious? Kyklos, 63: 133-143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2010.00463.x

Soni, R. (2018, November 29). Media as the Fourth Pillar of Democracy. iPleaders. https://blog.ipleaders.in/media-as-a-fourth-pillar-of-democracy/

Starke, C., Naab, T. K., Scherer, H. (2016). Free to Expose Corruption: The Impact of Media Freedom, Internet Access, and Governmental Online Service Delivery on Corruption. International Journal of Communication 10(2016). 4702-4722.

Sunstein, C. (2001). Republic.com. Princeton University Press.

The Express Tribune. (2022, October 24). Journalist Arshad Sharif shot dead in Kenya. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2383245/journalist-arshad-sharif-shot-dead-in-kenya

The State of Media Freedom in Pakistan. (2017, December 7). International Press Institute.

https://ipi.media/the-state-of-media-freedom-in-pakistan/ Trochim, P. W. (2020). Research Methods Knowledge Base.

UNESCO. (2022). Journalism is a public good: World trends in freedom of expression and media development;                                      Global                report                 2021/2022.                 UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380618.locale=en

Wagner, M., & Collins, T. (2014). Does Ownership Matter? The case of Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of

the Wall Street Journal. Journalism Practice, 758-771.

Warrich, H. U. R., Ashfaq, M., & Rehman, S. U. (2020). Conglomerates in Pakistani Media Industry: Exploring the Effects of Non-Journalistic Ownership of Media Companies. Global Regional Review, V(I), 151-159. doi:10.31703/grr.2020(V-I).19

What is Freedom of Press? (n.d.). Study.Com. Retrieved July 15, 2022, from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1923486

Whitten-Woodring, J. (2009). Watchdog or Lapdog? Media Freedom, Regime Type, and Government Respect for Human Rights. International Studies Quarterly, 53(3), 595-625. https://academic.oup.com/isq/article/53/3/595/1793289

Who   owns    the    media    in    Pakistan?   (2019,   September),    Media    Ownership   Monitor, https://pakistan.mom-rsf.org/fileadmin/rogmom/output/pakistan.mom- rsf.org/pakistan.mom-rsf.org-en.pdf