KARACHI: Seasoned journalists deemed an acute lack of research culture and training towards building intellectual and professional capacity as major factors behind the deteriorating standards of journalism in the country.

These thoughts were shared at the ‘First International Marathon Conference 2016 on Media Education: Theory, Industry and Research in Pakistan’ which concluded at Karachi University on Thursday.

The international conference was organised by the KU’s mass communication department.

At one of the sessions, journalist and head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan I.A. Rehman regretted that human rights had never been a state priority. He was joined by panelists KU dean faculty of management sciences Prof Khalid Iraqi and Mahwish Ali from Sardar Bahadur Khan University of Quetta.

“The human rights bill was passed in 1950 but it failed to make its way in the Constitution as state priorities changed,” he said, adding that inclusion of human rights in the curriculum could lead the way towards the establishment of a peaceful society.

Mr Rehman appreciated the introduction of Article 25-A (in the constitution) relating to the right to education and said it was a landmark step towards making education a fundamental right of Pakistani citizens. It was now the responsibility of the media and citizens to ensure its implementation, he added.

In another session on press freedom and media economy, journalist and former secretary of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors Jabbar Khattak said there was a time when journalists fought for press freedom, but the increasing role of the corporate sector has changed the situation.

“Some media groups are patronised by the state so much that they claim to have the power of changing governments,” he remarked.

He regretted the current trends in the media industry that, he believed, were due to lack of content research. “Hardly 14pc of the media industry budget is spent on content research and development,” he said.

Sharing similar thoughts with the audience, journalist Ghazi Salahuddin, who presided over the session, underscored the need for building intellectual capacity at educational institutions of higher learning and lamented the fact that he couldn’t find newspaper stalls or many bookshops in universities.

“There is a long history of press curbs and struggle against them but I would emphasise on professionalism, inculcating reading habits among students and building their intellectual capacity. It’s the lack of professionalism rather than editorial freedom that adversely affects media content today,” he said. Unlike other parts of the world, book reading and newspaper circulation was rising in China and India, reflecting that their societies were engaged in intellectual work, he explained.

Speaking on language, culture and media, writer and teacher Dr Rauf Parekh criticised the inappropriate use of English words in news stories and other media content, which, he believed, reflected society’s cultural deterioration.

Explaining the same point, he showed various slides highlighting grammatical mistakes and blunders in the news headlines of major newspapers. He also spoke on the importance of using correct pronunciation in the media.

In his advice to students, journalist and broadcaster Raza Ali Abidi said: “Listen to good language, read well-written prices and train yourself. Know and love your audience and use language accordingly. A pause in a sentence changes its entire meaning. Take these factors into consideration.”

Senior executive producer at Geo News, Jibran Peshimam called upon teachers to develop research skills in students. “It’s a misperception that the audience wants sensationalism. Scientific research is as much important for the media industry as it is for universities.”

Other speakers included former federal minister Javed Jabbar, scholar Dr Irfan Aziz, dean of social sciences at Szabist Dr Riaz Shaikh, professor at Habib University Dr Framji Minwalla, film critic Rafay Mahmood and film director/producer and JM Ansari.

Sessions on the future of cinema, teaching of film in Pakistan, and research on mass media in Pakistan were also held.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2016