Tag: Media industry

  • Dr Umer Adil calls female anchors ‘keeps’

    During a podcast, Dr. Umar Adil made the outrageous statement that, ‘’All female anchors in media have come here by recommendation. Almost all of them are keeps of influential people.”

    Talking on the podcast ‘Dill Ki Baat’ with Zohaib Butt, he said, “These anchors are somehow in touch with the high profile persons of Pakistan.”

    He added that even their show’s producers have no guts to tell them anything or criticize them on their mistakes. In fact, in those cases, producers leave the show and run away.

     Continuing with the misogynistic rant, he said the industry is suffering from “gender discrimination”. Lest the listeners think that he was making a proper observation, he went on to say, “Female anchors always get positive discrimination and they are treated in an extraordinary manner and nobody cares about the male anchor sitting next to the female anchor.”

  • Meta to restrict news content for Canadian users following passage of online news bill

    Meta to restrict news content for Canadian users following passage of online news bill

    Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced that it will impose limitations on the availability of news content for Canadian users on its platforms following the passage of a contentious online news bill by the Canadian parliament.

    The legislation, known as the Online News Act, obliges major platforms like Meta and Google to compensate news publishers for the content posted on their sites. Both Meta and Google have already been conducting trials restricting news access for certain Canadian users.

    This move follows a similar action taken by Facebook in Australia last year when users were blocked from sharing or viewing news in response to comparable legislation.

    The Online News Act, which recently received clearance from the senate, establishes regulations that mandate platforms such as Meta and Google to engage in commercial negotiations and remunerate news organisations for their published content.

    Meta has criticised the law, labeling it as “fundamentally flawed legislation that disregards the operational realities of our platforms.” Prior to the bill’s implementation, Meta announced that news availability on Facebook and Instagram would be terminated for all Canadian users.

    A spokesperson from Meta informed Reuters that “a legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms, is neither sustainable nor workable.” The company emphasised that these changes in news accessibility would not affect other services provided to Canadian users.

    Google, in its response, deemed the bill “unworkable” in its current form and expressed its intention to collaborate with the government to find a viable resolution.

    The federal government asserts that the online news bill is necessary “to enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news market” and to enable struggling news organisations to receive “fair compensation” for their news and links shared on these platforms.

    An analysis conducted by an independent parliamentary budget watchdog estimated that digital platforms could contribute approximately C$329 million ($250 million; £196 million) annually to news businesses.

    Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez previously conveyed his dissatisfaction with the testing conducted by the tech platforms, considering them “unacceptable” and a “threat.” In Australia, Facebook ultimately reinstated news content for its users after engaging in discussions with the government, leading to certain amendments.

    Minister Rodriguez’s office confirmed that he recently met with representatives from both Google and Facebook, with further discussions planned.

    However, the government remains committed to implementing the bill. In a statement, Minister Rodriguez posed the question, “If the government can’t stand up for Canadians against tech giants, who will?”

    Media industry groups have lauded the passage of the bill as a positive step towards achieving market fairness.

    Paul Deegan, President and CEO of News Media Canada, a media industry group, highlighted the significance of genuine journalism, produced by professional journalists, as an essential component of democracy that incurs substantial costs.

    The Online News Act is expected to come into effect in Canada within six months.

  • US right-wing journalist praises PM Khan for saving Afghan’s lives

    US right-wing journalist praises PM Khan for saving Afghan’s lives

    A right-wing television presenter, Glenn Beck has thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan in a series of tweets for his support in getting Afghans out from the war-torn country.

    Beck, who has a charity organisation called Mercury One, has been assisting with evacuations from Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover, revealed that Pakistan’s leadership helped with the release and departure of three flights.

    In a tweet, he stated that, “We reached out and asked numerous leaders in political and civil society around the world for help. The silence was shocking as was the outpouring of help on a humanitarian basis. We received an immediate response to our requests from PM Imran Khan of Pakistan who then acted on his willingness to assist.”

    “Pakistan has once again proven to be a valued partner in all seasons for the United States, despite recent criticisms from some sections of US media,” he added.

    While stressing that the US should recognize Pakistan’s assistance at this point, he tweeted, “We will not forget this support that has enabled America and its allies to make good on their promises to those who helped them without pause or reflection.”

    “Let no one fool you, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) female athletes are out because of you and Imran Khan”, he concluded in his last tweet.

    Earlier, there were reports that six chartered planes by Beck’s charity were seeking to evacuate at least 1,000 people, including more than 100 Americans. During his efforts, his supporters praised him for doing “more for Americans than all of Biden’s supporters combined.” 

    According to the statement made by Pakistan Foreign Office in early September, 12,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan with the help of Pakistan.

    Beck is one of the most controversial media figures in the US and quite well-known among conservative circles. 

  • Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry faced a hard time in the committee as members demanded to see the draft law of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), reported Kalbe Ali for Dawn.

    Spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Marriyum Aurangzeb, demanded that the draft of the law should be presented for the establishment of the authority instead of a verbal briefing by the minister.

    Adding to her point, Aurangzeb said, “The attitude of the information minister was dictatorial.”

    Fawad Chaudhry said that some people did not want to have any regulations in the media industry, adding that Pakistan cannot turn a blind eye to conspiracies being formulated against it.

    “It is important to regulate the media,” the minister said, adding: “We have studied the laws of the United Kingdom (UK), India, Australia, Singapore, and European nations before formulating the draft PMDA law.”

    “But most of all, there will be no compromise over the rights of media workers and against floating of fake news and there was a severe pressure against the Authority regarding these two things,” said Fawad.

    After reflection on the proposed PMDA, the chairman of the committee PML-N’s Mian Javed Latif decided to form a subcommittee, which will be headed by Aurangzeb with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Kanwal Shauzab and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Nafisa Shah as its members.

  • ‘Sajal kisi ki dost nahi hai’: Yasir Hussain gets candid

    ‘Sajal kisi ki dost nahi hai’: Yasir Hussain gets candid

    Actor Yasir Hussain is currently in isolation as he tested positive for Covid-19, the Karachi Se Lahore star hosted a Q&A session on his official Instagram handle to interact with his fans.

    While answering a netizen’s question on his and Sajal Aly’s bond, he stated that the Mom diva is no one’s friend, he added further that this is indeed a good trait.

    The Jhoothi actor believes that, “this industry is not a good place for friendships.”

    One of the netizens had asked that who is his friend? Yasir replied that Wajahat Rauf is his best friend.

    While one of the fans asked him about Sajal and Ahad’s couple, replying, he said: “Cutest couple.”

    Yasir and Iqra Aziz welcomed their baby boy on July 23 and named him Kabir Hussain.

    On the work front, Yasir will be seen next opposite Ayesha Omar in criminal Javed Iqbal‘s biopic.

  • Why do businesses not grow in Pakistan?

    Why do businesses not grow in Pakistan?

    CEO Maple Leaf Capital, Waleed Saigol, has said that businesses grow in Pakistan but at a slow pace, and the problem lies within the policies and mindset of the country’s power groups.

    Speaking at a virtual conference hosted by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on Thursday, with prominent businessmen, including over a hundred chief executive officers (CEOs) and leaders of the business community, in attendance to discuss “Why Businesses Do Not Grow in Pakistan?”, he said that ironically, Pakistan had developed nuclear bombs under pressure, however, state institutions “didn’t prioritise economic and business growth”.

    “The role of media is also questionable… our news anchors do not bring these issues to the public, besides, we as a nation like to discuss controversies to malign each other. If we want to see business growth in Pakistan, we have to sort out interference by the country’s institutions,” Saigol maintained.

    In response to Saigol, Dr Nadeemul Haq, the vice chancellor of PIDE, said, “Undoubtedly, Pakistan is a talent-repellent state. All our talented people go and serve in big companies around the world rather than working here.”

    While moderating the conference, Dr Haq took the conversation to Alman Aslam, who is a business advisor to local and foreign companies.

    “We need to understand why all this is happening in Pakistan. A businessperson here has to do many things that have nothing to do with business growth, but for the mere survival of his or her company,” Aslam said.

    “Company owners are harassed by corrupt tax collection authorities of Pakistan,” he alleged, adding that it reminded him of centuries-old tax collection practices.

    “The court system is flawed, take a matter to court and you will not get justice in 20 years. Besides, how can private companies excel when the government is intervening in every business? We have authorities like the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) that bully and interfere in the matters of private companies. If you want companies to grow, just allow them to grow.”

    An argument was raised in the discussion that Pakistani businessmen cannot think globally, in response to which Saigol said, “We cannot think globally because we are not allowed to think globally.”

    “The illogical policies of the government don’t let businessmen make viable investments here in Pakistan or anywhere abroad. Similarly, no foreign company will come here to invest. It took Lucky Cement Group two years to send $50 million to Africa to set up their plant,” Saigol added, lamenting that to transfer $1 million, you needed an approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and to make a payment of more than $10 million, you needed an approval from the Economic Corridor Committee (ECC).

    “Just imagine the level of regulations here,” he concluded.