KARACHI, May 25: At the national conference on Urdu press, being held at the Karachi University, three sessions were held on Tuesday, which was the second day of the moot. The three-day moot is being organized by the KU's Mass Communication department at Shaikh Zayed Islamic Centre.

The morning session, which was on 'new trends and contents in Urdu journalism,' was presided over by Sindh Information Secretary, Mehtab Akbar Rashdi. In her presidential remarks, Ms Rashdi said the issue of credibility and balanced reporting of events was of utmost importance for the press, as the survival of newspapers depended on these characteristics.

She said that the emergence of new media technologies had transformed the very structure of the journalism. Earlier, Farooq Adil, Deputy Editor of weekly Takbeer, in his paper on the use of computer and electronic technology in Urdu press, said that computer had brought about revolutionary and progressive changes in Urdu newspapers.

Deputy resident editor of daily Nawai Waqt, Yusuf Khan, read a paper on the standard of reporting in Urdu newspapers. He was of the view that without improving working conditions for Urdu journalists, there could be no improvement in the professional standards of Urdu press.

A session on media laws and ethics was presided over by Prof Zakariyya Sajid. The speakers included Mujeebur Rehman Shami, Editor of daily Pakistan and Dr Seemi Naghmana, Chairperson of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Balochistan. - APP