Institute of Communication Studies, University of Punjab Collaborates with Mishal Pakistan to Develop Media Credibility Index

Mishal Pakistan and the Institute of Communication Studies, University of Punjab Collaborates to Develop Media Credibility Index

Institute of Communication Studies (ICS), University of Punjab Collaborates with Mishal Pakistan to develop Media Credibility Index, an initiative to create new frameworks and methodologies to measure current trends and indices on media ethics, journalism standards, media credibility and rankings to be measured on international benchmarks.

Dr. Noshina Saleem,
Director Institute of
Communication Studies,
University of Punjab

“All over the globe media content and its delivery mechanisms are being examined on the lines of journalistic codes of ethics/conducts and media credibility paradigm is shifting from quantitative research i.e. audience perception and click rating to qualitative research for ethical and credible journalism” said Dr. Noshina Saleem Director Institute of Communication Studies, University of Punjab. Institute of Communication Studies, University of Punjab is participating in this media research initiative, appropriate program and administrative personals are aware of the guidelines and policies and are pleased to establish the necessary inter-institutional collaboration, she added. 

Dr. Noshina said that we are honored to be a part of this research initiative with Mishal and to put all its efforts to make this initiative credible, objective and an informative and model study to contribute in the knowledge ecosystem. She further said, we appreciate Mishal Pakistan’s effort of bridging the gap between the industry and academia through this important initiative for Pakistan.

CEO Mishal Pakistan and lead editor of Media Credibility Index (MCI) Amir Jahangir shared that for the first time in Pakistan a Media Credibility Index is being developed after an extensive examination of media laws, ethical codes, rules and regulations drafted by different media groups, regulatory bodies and journalistic organizations both at national as well as international level. The MCI will explore the state of media in Pakistan against 20 indicators reflecting six pillars; 1) professional competence, 2) ethics, 3) accuracy, 4) balance, 5) fairness and 6) timeliness.

Codes of Ethics framed by Pakistani media groups have also being included such as Jang group’s Geo Asool, Dunya’s code of ethics, Express group’s journalism code of conduct and Dawn Group’s principles and code of conduct. The MCI will assess the media discourse and credibility of current affair content in the country. This extensive study entails thirty-five current affair programs of the mainstream leading Pakistani news channels.

Mishal Pakistan is the partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks, World Economic Forum. Mishal assists the forum in creating the soft-data on Pakistan, identifying Pakistan’s competitiveness challenges. Mishal has also launched Pakistan’s first journalism awards on the framework designed jointly with the Center for International Media Ethics and UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators.