–Chaudhry says media houses must change business model
LAHORE: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said that bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will strengthen owing to visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
Mohammad Bin Salman is scheduled to visit Pakistan next month.
The minister made the comments while talking to his Saudi Arabian counterpart Turki Al-Shabanah via telephone.
Chaudhry said that mutual respect, trust and cooperation are the pillars of the bilateral relationship between the two countries. He elaborated that new avenues of cooperation between the two friendly countries are expected to open up, including cooperation in media.
In October last year, Saudi Arabia came to Pakistan’s assistance as it decided to deposit $3 billion in the national exchequer for a period of one year as a balance of payment support and agreed on a one-year deferred payment facility of $3 billion for importing oil. The announcement was made during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the country.
MEDIA MUST CHANGE BUSINESS MODEL:
While speaking at the third ThinkFest at Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore, the information minister said that media houses in the country must change their business model if they are to remain independent.
He further said that the media houses must also prepare for future technologies that will change the patterns of news consumption.
Chaudhry said that media groups have shifted their focus towards dedicating a substantial chunk of advertising to entertainment rather than news.
“The news media wants the government to sponsor them. How can the government sponsor them? It will either have to take loans or impose more taxes in order to give them money,” he said.
“It is not in the interest of Pakistan to subsidise the news media. They must have a vested interest in the Pakistani economy,” he added.
“News channels across the world don’t build their models on the basis of the government.”
“Is the government your saviour or client? If I am your saviour, then how will the media be independent?”
“If I pay, then I will decide what the headlines will be. The dependence of the media on the government must decrease in the interest of the independence of the media, and they will need to revamp their models,” he elaborated.
“For cable, this is also the last five to seven years,” he said while adding that the Cable Operators’ Association and print media criticise him when he warns them how new technologies are affecting their businesses.
The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) had earlier this month criticised the information minister for Chaudhry’s statement that print media in the country faces a dark future.
“Technology will take over print media and television media ─ in different forms ─ so you will need to prepare mentally.”
“Our contribution is that we’re building a modern university to impart new skills so that our students are apprised of modern media trends.”
