KARACHI, Dec 21: Journalists and newspaper workers have appealed to President Pervez Musharraf to take note of what they called “baseless” propaganda launched by newspaper owners through an advertisement campaign against the Wage Board award and Newspaper Employees Act.

The representatives of journalists and newspaper workers at a meeting held at Karachi Press Club on Friday was of the view that campaign was nothing but an attempt on the part of All Pakistan Newspaper Society to mislead the government.

The meeting was of the opinion that by using the space of their newspapers the APNS members were trying to persuade the government and the readers into believing that the Rs200 crore paid out over the next five years would render the newspaper industry bankrupt and that this would accentuate the recession that had hit the economy.

The meeting noted that seen against the backdrop of the advertisement revenues of the metropolitan dailies, this claim would seem frivolous. The meeting pointed out that about 12 months back on the recommendation of the chairman of the 7th Wage Board Justice Raja Afrasiab Khan, the newspaper industry got government support worth “several hundred crore of rupees” in the shape of withdrawal of excise duty and the tariff of advertisement was increased by the present government.

The meeting also noted that on the one hand, the APNS cribs about the revenues but on the other, they were adding expanding their publications and operations. Recently the big chains started several new publications implying investment to the tune of several hundred million of rupees.