While addressing an event organized by Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) here on Thursday, Chaudhry said there would be a need to ultimately move to digital portals as the next 10 years will see a technological revolution that would be three times more than what the world has been in the last 25 years. He added that within next 10-15 years there will be no television as the future belongs to digital media and it is high time to shift towards digital media.
He said the government believes in freedom of expression and regulation did not mean censorship. He said that for good legislation, consensus among all the stakeholders is needed and the government would take opposition parties on board before introducing new legislations. The minister said that freedom achieved by media during the past few decades is a landmark achievement and is unique in third world countries.
The PTI-led government has decided to do away with Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Press Council of Pakistan and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in a bid to form a single unified authority to oversee print as well as electronic and cyber media, Chaudhry had told reporters during media interaction outside the Parliament House on August 28.
The new regulator, named Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority, will comprise top officials and representatives from the media industry, the information minister said.
He added the measure would help save national resources as the new regulatory body would look after electronic, print and social media simultaneously. The unified authority, he said, would provide a one-window facility to the media outlets and the general public for redressal of the complaints. He added the measure would help save national resources as the new regulatory body would look after electronic, print and social media simultaneously.
The minister said that the government has decided to constitute the Information Commission under the Right to Information Act (RTI) enacted last year and first information commissioner would be appointed within one month to ensure access to information. He said access to information for media and general public is vital to ensure transparency and good governance.
Chaudhry said there would be a need to ultimately move to digital portals and a transition towards modernization is needed for the future and that would also require changes in marketing strategies. He reiterated that his ministry has ended 70-year-old censorship of state media. About official advertisements, he said that the government wants to introduce a transparent mechanism for their distribution and the input from media organization would be welcomed in this connection.
He said that the former government spent Rs 21 billion on advertisements and if money spent by Punjab government is also included, the figure touches Rs 55 billion mark. The present government, he said, would issue advertisements as per requirement, keeping in mind the survival of the newspaper industry.
The minister said that the PTI government has started implementing its manifesto and taken unprecedented initiatives to put the country on the path to progress and prosperity.
He said that promotion of tourism is major ingredient of PTI manifesto and it would not be possible without relaxing visa regime for visiting foreign journalists and a policy in this regard has been prepared.
Earlier President CPNE Arif Nizami highlighted the problems being faced by media and also presented a list of demands to the minister. At the outset, paying tributes to the martyrs of the nation he said that the nation owes to them as peace in the country is due to supreme sacrifices rendered by them.