History and Growth of Newspaper

In 1947, only four major Muslim-owned newspapers existed in the area now called
Pakistan: Pakistan Times, Zamindar, Nawa-i-Waqt, and Civil-Military Gazette. A number
of Muslim papers and their publishers moved to Pakistan, including Dawn, which began
publishing daily in Karachi in 1947, the Morning News, and the Urdu-language
dailies Jang and Anjam. By the early 2000s, 1,500 newspapers and journals existed in Pakistan.
In the early 21st century, as in the rest of the world, the number of print outlets in Pakistan
declined precipitously, but total circulation numbers increased. From 1994 to 1997, the total
number of daily, monthly, and other publications increased from 3,242 to 4,455, but had
dropped to just 945 by 2003 with most of the decline occurring in the Punjab Province.
However, from 1994 to 2003 total print circulation increased substantially, particularly for
dailies (3 million to 6.2 million). And after the low point in 2003 the number of publications
grew to 1279 in 2004, to 1997 in 2005, 1467 in 2006, 1820 in 2007, and 1199 in 2008.
Newspapers and magazines are published in 11 languages; most in Urdu and Sindhi,
but English-language publications are numerous. Most print media are privately owned, but the
government controls the Associated Press of Pakistan, one of the major news agencies. From
1964 into the early 1990s, the National Press Trust acted as the government's front to control
the press. The state, however, no longer publishes daily newspapers; the former Press Trust
sold or liquidated its newspapers and magazines in the early 1990s.
Prior to 2002, News Agencies in Pakistan were completely unregulated. Established under the
Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance in October 2002, the body operates on a semi-autonomous
nature along with an Ethical Code of Practice signed by President Musharraf. It is mandated
with multi-faceted tasks that range from protection of press freedom to regulatory mechanisms
and review of complaints from the public.
However, the Press Council never came into operation due to the reservations of the media
organizations. In protest over its establishment, the professional journalist’s organizations
refrained from nominating their four members to the Council. Nevertheless, the chairman was
appointed, offices now exist and general administration work continues. This has led the
government to review the entire Press Council mechanism.
The Press Council Ordinance has a direct link to the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and
Books Registration Ordinance (PNNABRO) of 2002. This legislation deals with procedures for
registration of publications of criteria of media ownerships.
Among the documents required for the permit or 'Declaration' for publishing a newspaper is a
guarantee from the editor to abide by the Ethical Code of Practice contained in the Schedule to
the Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance. Though the Press Council procedure has made silenced
or paralyzed, these forms of interlinking laws could provide the government with additional
means for imposing restrictions and take draconian actions against newspapers. The PNNABRO,
among many other requirements demands that a publisher provides his bank details. It also has
strict controls and regulations for the registering procedure. It not only demands logistical
details, but also requires detailed information on editors and content providers.
Ownership of publications (mainly newspapers and news agencies) is restricted to Pakistani
nationals if special government permission is not given. In partnerships, foreign involvement
cannot exceed 25 percent. The law does not permit foreigners to obtain a 'Declaration' to run a
news agency or any media station.
Common people have access to the top integrated technology including mobile phone, internet
and cable television to get them acquainted about the updated information from around the
globe; newspaper reading early in the morning has not become lackluster. Be it a middle aged
office-going man, a worker on his way to the workplace or a college student going to his
institution, they are often seen, creating a mob around the newspapers stalls that offer
something to everyone. Standing like penguins during morning hours, majority of these wish to
have a quick look, at least, at the front page of their favorite newspaper or whatever is
approachable to them or is easy to read. These papers are hanging at the stalls, sometimes on
the bicycle or motorcycle but mostly on makeshift stalls and often under a tree. Print media in
Pakistan is one the most popular source of news for people. Newspapers in Pakistan are
published in Urdu, English and local languages like Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Bloch etc. Here is the
list of Pakistani newspapers in Urdu, English and other local languages.

Daily Jang

The Daily Jang is an Urdu newspaper based in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the oldest newspaper of

Pakistan in continuous publication since its foundation in 1939. Its current Group Chief
Executive & Editor-in-Chief is Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman. The Daily Jang is published by
the Jang Group of Newspapers.

Nawa-i-Waqt

Nawa-i-Waqt , lit. The Voice of Time) is an Urdu daily newspaper in Pakistan. It was launched on
March 23, 1940, under the leadership of Hameed Nizami (3 Oct 1915-22 Feb 1962). Hameed
Nizami was the founder of this newspaper

Daily Express

The Daily Express was founded in 1900 by Sir Arthur Pearson, with the first issue appearing on
24 April 1900. Pearson, who had lost his sight to glaucoma in 1913, sold the title to the future
Lord Beaverbrook in 1916. ... Under Beaverbrook, the paper set newspaper sales records
several times throughout the 1930s.
 Business Recorder

Business Recorder was launched on 27 April 1965 by veteran journalist M.A. Zuberi (1920 – 12
December 2010), the newspaper's founder. He was first appointed as an apprentice reporter by
Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1945 at Dawn (newspaper) in Delhi.

1. Daily Jang
2. Nawa-i-Waqt
3. Khabrain
4. Daily Express
5. Daily Dunya
6. The Daily Pakistan
7. Qudrat
8. Daily Times Dawn
9. The Nation
10. The Express Tribune
11. Daily Ibrat
12. Daily The Patriot
13. Daily Global News
14. Business Recorder, etc.

Challenges of Newspapers
Basically there are two problems

 Freedom of press
 Economic condition of press
 

1. FREEDOM OF PRESS:

There can be difference of opinion about the topic freedom of the press. we get different
opinions on this issue. Government of Pakistan, history reveals, always used a strong hand to
curb the voice of journalist on different occasions. The history of Pakistan is full of incidents
when dictators (civil and military) put the press under its control. The purpose was always
hiding of the facts from public. Freedom of expression in democratic countries is vital. But every
democratic government in Pakistan imposed restrictions on media. We know that press should
be given freedom but this freedom shall not be misused.
2. Economic Conditions of Newspapers

Distribution of Advertisement
Advertisement is blood of newspaper. 60 percent advertisement in newspaper is from govt. and
40 percent from private sector. Govt. uses advertisement as weapon and makes its distribution
unjustified whenever required.

Supply of Newsprint Paper

Government imports newsprint paper and imposes heavy taxes on it. Government use this
monopoly as weapon against press

Raw Material
Press machine parts, paper, ink, plate colors and other material are getting expensive day by
day. The per capita income of reader is decreasing on the other hand. The sales of newspapers
as a result remain low and newspaper face financial constraints.

Illiteracy
Literacy rate in Pakistan is 45%.

Press Advice
with the help of press advice newspapers are asked to do or not to do any certain action by
govt. press advice is also a weapon in the hand of govt.

Limited Buying Capacity

Buying capacity of public in Pakistan is less. Ordinary day’s Urdu newspaper is of Rs. 9 and
Sunday of 13, whereas in case of English Rs. 13 and 15 respectively. People are not able to buy
newspaper every day.

Unskilled Journalist
Journalists are mostly untrained. The profession is low paid. Journalist faces hard life except
few.

Social Habit
People read newspaper at libraries, barbershop, hotels and bookstall for the reason that the
wont have to buy it. Due to this social behavior newspapers are not purchased and newspaper
owner faces financial problems.
Distribution of Newspaper
The distribution agent gets 30% commission due to which newspaper industry suffers.

Press Trust of Pakistan

On oct 08, 1959 Ayub’s martial law was criticized by journalists. Faiz ahmed faiz , ahmed
nadeem qasmi syed shibli hassan were arrested under safety act. The associated press of
Pakistan APP was taken over by government.

Censorship
Press freedom in Pakistan is limited by official censorship that restricts critical reporting and by
the high level of violence against journalists. The armed forces, the judiciary, and religion are
topics that frequently attract the government's attention. Govt. deprives freedom of press with
censorship. Censorship is usually imposed during conflicts (internet), national crises. The
government officers check the newspaper.

Competition with Other Sources of Information

Press has to compete against radio, television, internet etc.

Importance of Advertising Through Newspaper

1. Wide Audience
Each month, around 15 million Australians consume newspaper media every month as well as
10 million consuming digital newspaper media. Newspaper audiences are therefore diverse in
their demographic profile and use the medium in different way.

2. Affordable
There are many options to choose from when deciding which type of newspaper advertising is
right for your business. Whether you’re a well-known, national company with a large budget or
a local butcher with a small budget, most newspapers provide a variety of options to suit your
needs.
3. Trustworthy
Newspapers have long been shown to be a trustworthy source of information. A recent study
shows that newspaper is the most trusted paid medium at 58%, followed by television (54%),
radio (49%) and online (27%).

4. Engaging
Newspaper audiences have proven that they find the medium more engaging and have less
distraction when compared to other mediums such as television. This is mostly due to people
engaging in other activities such as scrolling through social media feeds whilst watching
television or using the medium as background noise.

5. Digital
Whilst offline newspapers are said to be in decline, digital newspapers have surged in their
numbers with some consumers even using both platforms. This allows newspapers to reach a
wider audience by reaching two very different markets. Furthermore, digital allows for further
audience targeting as well as digital advertising.

6. Flexible
Unlike other mediums, newspaper advertisements can be quite easily altered or changed if a
business decided that an advertisement is not working. As long as the new material is provided
before the given deadline, businesses are able to change their ad to something more suitable.
This also allows you to trail types of advertising and see what works best.

7. Targeted
Newspapers allow for quite targeted advertising to specific areas or demographics especially in
local or community newspapers. For example, if you were advertising a restaurant in Cronulla,
south of Sydney and only wanted to target people who lived in the local area, it would make
sense to place an advertisement in the St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. This is compared
to advertising in a state-wide or national newspaper which could run the risk of not reaching
the target audience.  

8. Effective for Targeting Shoppers

Newspapers are an effective way for businesses such as retailers to target shoppers. It has been
shown that newspapers are the most trusted medium for shoppers as well as the most favored
medium for shopping advertisements at 59%.

9. Multi-Platform
Many other media platforms are in constant contention with other mediums to gain the
business (and the money). However, newspapers are different. Many newspapers have now
developed online versions of their newspapers in order to ensure they are reaching the whole
market. With 7/10 of the ten most popular offline newspapers having a digital platform, it is
evident that having multiple platforms is important for businesses to reach a large audience.

10. Diverse Options

When choosing which type of newspaper advertisement you would like to purchase, a business
must consider a number of factors including who their target audience is, their budget and so
on. Newspaper provides people with a wide range of advertising options from large full-page
spreads to small advertisements in the classifieds and everything in between.