New Media and

Societal Values
 Mass Media and its types
• Conventional/traditional
• Print (Newspapers, Books, Journals)
• Electronic (T.V., Radio)

• Social Media/digital
• Computer (Internet)
• Smart Phones (Face book, YouTube, Twitter,
LinkedIn, etc.)
 Conventional Media: A blessing
• 54%
or Curse
Internet penetration

• 139
Press freedom ranking

• TV
• Most trusted medium
 Conventional Media….
• Until the start of the 21st century, the Pakistani media
comprised almost entirely of print media publications.

• Only two state-owned electronic media entities – a

national television broadcaster (Pakistan Television) and
a public radio (Radio Pakistan).
• The government’s monopoly over radio and
television ended in 2002 when the electronic
media liberalized

• It led to scores of private electronic media

platforms to begin operations.

• Since then TV news channels and radio

became key sources of news and information
for majority people in Pakistan.
 Some Facts
• Pakistan’s is a multi-linguistic media landscape

• with clear urban-rural disparities.

• Urdu-language publications have greater reach than those in any other language.

• The English print media readership is far smaller in comparison but its publications
have considerable influence among opinion makers.

• The English print media is urban-centric and generally tends to be more progressive.

• Regional-language media have a changing level of influence confined largely to their

specific regions.
 How it became a curse?
• Many of Pakistan’s established newspapers were founded by journalists with a political
or nationalist agenda.

• However, after the liberalisation of broadcasting in 2002, commercial interests gained

prominence in the media

• giving way to sensationalism.

• Lack of formal training or education to work as journalists.

• Lack of basic training for media practitioners in the field, has been linked not only to
biased, unethical or unprofessional journalism

• but also to safety issues and vulnerabilities for journalists.

 The Curse Continues….
• Political reporting has become competitive

• Live TV coverage of rallies benefits political parties.

• Tradition of political association

• Some political parties have published their own newspapers; eg. daily Jisarat and
daily Masawat, owned by Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan People’s Party, respectively.

• Newspapers and news channels have connections to political entities, support to one
political party or another for ideological reasons, economic interests or other
considerations.
 Unethical and Yellow Journalism
• The sensationalist aspect of newspapers and private news
television channels

• Pakistani news channels are using sensational news style to

gain higher ratings and viewership.

• Bribery and corruption amongst media anchors and journalists

Sensational Media - Ads, Dramas, News items
 Political Cat-calling on TV
through advertisements
Legally, according to PEMRA
Content Regulations 2013,
no advertisement can be
slanderous (spoken
defamation), ‘distort persons
and national leaders,’ ‘fan
hatred,’ ‘militate against
dignity of persons,’ and be
‘offensive.’
Will any channel run ads
by anyone against ISI or
Pakistan Military or even
the Government in Rule?
Digital Media and Social values
 Digital Media
Eric Schmidt describes the internet as “anarchy”

• Who is Eric Schmidt? Internet is a

confusing
• He was the executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. place

• Alphabet emerged out of Google to become a large holding company that

would manage Google and several related properties including YouTube and
Calico (a biotech company).
 What is Digital Culture?
• A digital culture is a concept that describes how
technology and the internet are shaping the way that we
interact as humans. It's the way that we behave, think and
communicate within society. ...

• The only constant in digital culture is change, as the

underlying ICT structures shift so often that it can be difficult
for cultural trends to take hold.
 Merits of Digital Culture
1. Digital media facilitates social interaction and empowers people
• across social, economic, cultural, political, religious and ideological boundaries, allowing for
enhanced understanding.
2. Social media can help to deepen relationships
• facilitate the formation of support networks – 68% of teen social media users have received
support on these platforms during tough times.
3. Digital media gives people a voice and facilitates the creation of communities
• During the Arab Spring of 2011-2012, digital media served as a vehicle to mobilize resources,
organize protests and draw global attention to the events.
• Through digital media, users around the world collected $2 million in just two days for
victims of the Nepal earthquake of 2015.
• Refugees fleeing the war in Syria have cited Google Maps and Facebook groups as sources of
information that helped them to not only plan travel routes but to also avoid human traffickers.
 Merits cont….
4. Digital media has also enhanced information sharing across the world.
• giving people much greater access to facts, figures, statistics, and similar, allowing that
information to circulate much faster
• This enables people to respond in real time as events unfold, but also helps to expose
political corruption and unfair business practices.
• For example, when a pharmaceutical company made plans to raise the price of a
particular drug by more than 5,000%, outrage spread quickly through digital media,
forcing the company to reverse direction.
5. Digital media is helping people to support chosen causes financially.
• Websites are seeking donations from millions of donors to the causes of their choice.
6. Digital media increases civic participation
• online political mobilization works
• research indicates that messages on social media can significantly influence voting
patterns
 Merits…
7. Digital media facilitate education and life-long learning to build and
source the skills of the future
• Digital media also is increasingly used for attracting and sourcing talent, especially
young, digitally savvy workers
• Self-education, distant education, flexible study hours facilitate literacy levels
8. Digital media is boosting productivity and enhancing flexibility for
workers and employers
• Remote jobs, part time work
• Job opportunities in the freelance and “gig” economies in roles that you wouldn’t have
been able to previously see 15-20 years ago – anything from marketing to executive roles
to medical.”
• According to Workforce 2020, an impressive 83% of company-respondents use:
contingent workers (41%, independent contractors, part-timers, or temporary or leased
employees)
 Demerits/Downsides of Digital Culture
1. Digital media can be used by communities with harmful intentions
• to spread propaganda and to mobilize followers

• for example, by extremist groups to recruit and mobilize followers.

2. By selecting what information reaches which users, digital media can alter
human decisions
• Social media “lead people to click on brands they do not normally use”.
• Sponsored content versus non-sponsored content influence the choice of people from
education, food, dressing, entertainment to job opportunities.

3. With information and discussion moving online, the views and needs of those
without access to digital media are less represented.
 Downsides of Digital Culture ….
4. The transformation of work brought about by digital media may increase
economic inequality
• talent platforms increase the productivity and rewards of highly skilled workers while
simultaneously cutting the cost of low-skilled work.
• Uber’s car-sharing service is an example of how digital platforms can transform who does
the work and how, creating both winners and losers. The creation of apps that allow more
efficient connection between drivers and passengers has made it easier for consumers to get
rides where and when they need. But the new apps have also disrupted the traditional cab
market with less efficient rides.
5. Digital media has the potential to diminish work effectiveness and
productivity. The multiple platforms and vast quantities of information and content
at their fingertips may distract workers and disrupt work.
6. As more people work remotely, valuable face-to-face time is reduced, which
can weaken collaboration and innovation.
 Downsides cont…
7. Excessive digital media consumption may increase vulnerability to
addiction and harm mental and physical health
8. Digital media consumption may facilitate bullying, harassment and
social defamation
• Hate speech
• cyber bullying
9. Fake and excessive content
 Media and Freedom??
1. How free is the internet, and how free should it be to safeguard
human rights?

2. What are social values and how could these be safeguarded while
protecting the right to free speech?

3. Where should the line be drawn between free speech and

preventing harm, given that communication in global social
networks crosses national and cultural borders with different
norms and values?
What are social values?
• What is acceptable and not acceptable, what ought or not to be,
what is desirable or non-desirable??