MCM304 Mass Media in Pakistan

MCM304 Mass Media in Pakistan

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fyWszlEoyTb9F7f7qxDlOIYKJK1vVOYX?usp=sharing

RADIO IN PAKISTAN 

Immediately after the independence of Pakistan, the country was facing many challenges, it wasn’t

possible for anyone to solve those problems without the help of any medium of communication, using

newspapers was an impossible thing as they were not really in a position to help and at the time when

every second was unveiling a new challenge it wasn’t possible for the leaders of the nation to use such a

medium that consumes 24 hrs time to produce a new paper; at that time radio stepped forward and dealt

so devotedly and passionately with those challenges that now the history of the nation acknowledges

and salutes the role of radio, radio broadcasters and performers at that crucial time.

A major challenge of the time was to deal with and rehabilitate the migrating people who were coming

from India in a condition that besides physical shelter they also needed an emotional consolation.

Children, women, elderly people, everybody was in a devastating state. Radio on aired special

programmes for them; special announcements were given to re-join the separated members of different

families, which wasn’t possible otherwise for the administration of the newborn state.

After that Radio Pakistan is also saluted for its role in 1965’s Pak-India war. In the war it produced two

different types of programs. One were to keep the morale of the nation and its military forces high and

the other were to demoralize the enemy country, its public and its military forces who were relying on

Radio Pakistan for the news and updates.

In the modern world, it is an accepted belief that now a country cannot win a war merely through its

military force and arms or ammunition. Now people of the enemy country and there morale is equally

important, in the modern world wars are fought with military and media on parallel scale. The best

example is America-Vietnam war. Americans, although a super power, lost the war just because its

strategists failed to break the commitment and resistance of Vietnamese who had such a high morale

that they were not ready to give up even after years and on the other side American people were not

supporting their government and were protesting against their government’s and military’s actions and

decisions.

In 1965’s Pak-India war Radio Pakistan worked on psychological grounds and through its music and

special programs for people and soldiers keep providing a strong moral support to the nation. It also

broadcast propaganda programs for the Indian people particularly for Eastern Punjab of India after

which on 9 Sep. 1965 Indian government had to announce that under Defense Act of India anyone

found listening Radio Pakistan will be given three years imprisonment. This shows that Radio

Pakistan’s propaganda programs were very successful and it was being listened there and had more

credibility than All India Radio that had already lost its credibility by giving a wrong news of Lahore’s

occupation at the early stages of the war.

In Ayub Khan’s era Radio Pakistan being a state-controlled medium of communication worked as a

government’s mouthpiece and therefore started losing its credibility in the eyes of the public,

particularly in 1968 when Radio Pakistan celebrated 10 Years of Progress with the government, it was

very difficult for the people to absorb these celebrations as reality that they were seeing with their own

eyes was saying something contrary to these celebrations.

Till 60’s and even before partition the most popular format of radio was Radio Drama. Radio Pakistan

did very well as far as producing dramas are concerned; in fact it is very lucky to have such a big names

like Rafi Peer, Imtiaz Ali Taj etc in its very early days. The artists who worked in that golden era of

Radio Pakistan are still as famous as they used to be at that time.

Children Programs of Radio Pakistan were also very popular. Moni Hameed, who worked as host of

children’s Programs on Radio Pakistan and even in Untied India’s radio is still remembered for her

beautiful and perfect voice.

Radio being a medium of sound has always given an importance to the perfect voice of broadcast

quality. The reason is that unlike other medium of communication the message delivered through radio

has no Parallel messages (body gestures, expressions etc) with it. So a prefect voice for broadcast is

preferred and appreciated as it helps to fill the space left by Parallel messages. Now background music

and sound effects that are improving with the passage of time are used as Parallel messages in radio

broadcast.