So far so good. The fact that the media entire, print and electronic, was accommodated by PM Imran Khan and promises made to help the media in its time of straitened finances is a positive beginning early in the new government's tenure. However, there are some issues that still require addressing. First and foremost, the days when government advertising represented the bread and butter of newspapers is arguably over. Private sector advertising has grown, if not overtaken government advertising entirely, at least the print (and now electronic media) can rely on the two options of government and private sector advertising revenue to keep afloat. This should not mean that the penchant of governments in the past to withhold advertisements from the media as a whole or from those sections it does not like should continue. If PM Imran Khan means what he says and says what he means, that can be considered good tidings for the fourth estate. Second, the composition of the three media bodies mentioned above has blurred the distinction between owners and professional journalists. Many print media owners are by now also editors, and perhaps even electronic media moguls. In the new kid on the block, private 24-hour satellite TV channels, there is no sign of the traditional gatekeeper - the editor. That can, and arguably has, led to an anarchic manner of disseminating news and information.
The prime minister's appreciation of the role of free media is perhaps not shared by some of his cabinet colleagues, at least not in the same measure. Once again there is an effort to regulate the print media by creating a government-owned and controlled regulator by reshaping the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). The announced intention is to create a centralized regulator for all media by merging all the existing rules and acts relevant to PEMRA, Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
So while the media entire is slapping itself on the back after its successful meeting with PM Imran Khan, perhaps this is a moment to reflect upon the media's own internal weaknesses and failings on the touchstone of the responsibilities of a free and independent media and its present-day structures and modes of functioning.