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.

Mapping Digital Media: Pakistan

Open Society Foundation Launches, Mapping Digital Media: Pakistan 

Mapping Digital Media: 
Pakistan

The first ever report on Mapping Digital Media on Pakistan was launched today here in Islamabad. Huma Yusuf, a senior journalist and lead author of the report, presented her findings. The event was attended by leading journalists, media practitioners and representatives from the regulatory bodies, civil society and researchers from academia.

The report describes Pakistan’s evolving media landscape, with focus on key areas, including changes in media consumption patterns; the role of public service media; growing internet access and online engagement; the impact of new media technologies on journalism practices; spectrum utilisation and media licensing; the media industry’s financial model; and existing media policies and regulations.

Huma Yusuf, international media researcher and author of the report, shared her views on the report and said; “There has been a proliferation in broadcast media outlets since deregulation in 2002 and a phenomenal expansion of Pakistan’s telecommunications and information communication technology sphere. The country has great potential for media to grow, inform and play an important democratising role in the age of digital convergence. However, the media’s potential could be undermined by the industry’s infrastructure, regulatory weaknesses, and an overall lack of awareness of the media’s role in a democratic set-up”. “We are sure that the stakeholders in Pakistan will greatly benefit from this extensive research”, she added.

The launch of the report on Pakistan is part of the global Mapping Digital Media project, which examines the changes in-depth, aims to build bridges between researchers and policymakers, activists, academics and standard-setters across the world. It also builds policy capacity in countries where this is less developed, encouraging stakeholders to participate in and influence change. At the same time, this research creates a knowledge base, laying foundations for advocacy work, building capacity and enhancing debate.

On the occasion, Marius Dragomir, senior manager and global publications editor for the media program at the Open Society Foundations, said, “the Pakistan Report completes the 44th segment in the global mapping digital media project. As such it offers a unique opportunity for comparative research that puts Pakistan’s media evolution in an international context.”. He further said, the Media Program of the Open Society Foundations has seen how changes and continuity affect the media in different places, redefining the way they can operate sustainably while staying true to values of pluralism and diversity, transparency and accountability, editorial independence, freedom of expression and information, public service, and high professional standards.

The Mapping Digital Media project assesses, in the light of local values, the global opportunities and risks that are created for media by aspects impacting media developments such as, the switch-over from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting; growth of new media platforms as sources of news; convergence of traditional broadcasting with telecommunications.

Covering 60 countries, the project examines how these changes affect the core democratic service that any media system should provide—news about political, economic and social affairs.

Local researchers and partner organizations in each country produce the Mapping Digital Media reports. Cumulatively, these reports will provide a much-needed resource on the democratic role of digital media.

In addition to the country reports, the Open Society Media Program has commissioned research papers on a range of topics related to digital media. These papers are published as the MDM Reference Series.

The complete Mapping Digital Media: Pakistan report can be downloaded from the Open Society Institute’s website: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/mapping-digital-media-pakistan