In the present era of digital communication and television, circulation of newspapers in some advanced countries has witnessed a slight decline but there appears to be no threat to the existence of newspapers.
This was said by speakers at a seminar on ‘Newspaper in the Age of Television’ organised by the Sindh Madressatul Islam College (SMIC) Mass Communication Department at Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Auditorium on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, Institute of Business and Management (IoBM) Media Studies Department Head Prof Dr Shahida Qazi said that newspapers provide diverse and in-depth information on every subject especially education, infotainment and other social issues.
“A newspaper is more important for me than eating and drinking,” she said, adding that the columnists of Urdu newspapers in Pakistan provide more information than those of English dailies.
She also appreciated the research papers presented by the students of SMIC’s Mass Communication Department.
SMIC Principal Dr Muhammad Ali Sheikh said that all over the world about 10 to 20 percent circulation of newspapers has decreased while the readership of e-papers has increased in the world by around 25 percent.
The Washington Post has closed its two out of four bureau offices due to the financial crisis, he added.
“Despite that the importance of newspapers still prevails in the under-developed countries, and like radio and television, the satellite television has not affected the importance of newspapers significantly,” commented Sheikh.
Noted businessmen Mr Amin Hashwani said the media sector is expanding globally and after the agriculture revolution and the industrial revolution, the world is passing through an information revolution.
He was of the view that the US media is ultra-rightist but stressed upon the SMIC students that they should keep their minds open instead of adopting rigid thinking.
“Hunger and poverty have increased manifolds in the world, but the change starts from within the inner self and the students have the responsibility to shape the soul of our society in the future,” said Hashwani.
Karachi University’s Prof Inam Bari said that it is not true that the circulation of newspapers is going down in the world.
Giving examples of newspapers being published from India, Japan and other countries, he said although Japanese are known as high-tech people but about 50 million copies of different fresh editions are still being published in Japan daily.
“About 92 languages are spoken in India but only in the Malayalam language, five million copies of a newspaper are published,” said Bari, adding that even the newspapers have helped the television through their revenues.
IoBM Public Relations General Manager Pervaiz Jamil and Anwer Abro also spoke on the occasion while the SMIC Mass Communication Department students Fizza, Faraz Ahmed, Mariam Irfan, Kashif Mushtaq, Jyoti Shree Maheshwari, Ali Baloch Khan and Zargoona Khan presented their research papers.
