KARACHI: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) has welcomed the intent of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to examine the basis of government advertising in the print media, but at the same time requested the bench set up by Justice Saqib Nisar to keep the newspaper industry’s problems in mind.

The APNS expressed fears that stoppage of government advertisements would cripple the industry as the viability of a free press was dependent solely on its financial independence.

In a statement released on Wednesday, APNS president Sarmad Ali and secretary general Umar Mujeeb Shami said the CJP had observed that the provincial governments spent taxpayers’ money on advertisements in the media for their own promotion at the nation’s expense.

The statement pointed out that print media, especially small newspapers, were dependent on revenue earned from advertisements as the cover price of newspapers did not meet even five per cent cost of producing a newspaper.

The APNS said any action to limit government advertisements would affect the financial viability of newspapers as they were already facing a financial crunch due to the country’s sluggish economy.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2018