211272020 ‘The enduring credly of print - The Dawn OF Advertsing (1947-2017) - Aurora
When General Ziaul Haq exercised total control over the media, initially through direct
censorship and later by imposing self-censorship, little did he know how rapidly state control
would become ineffective and the media scenario would change a few years after his death.
Shortly before his death, in the wake of his government's weakness, following the sacking of his
prime minister, he brought in stricter restrictions for hosts and newsreaders on PTY, giving it
the appearance of an almost black-and-white medium. So the introduction of satellite
broadcasting, three years after his death, was like a breath of fresh air.
‘The monopoly (and the monotony) of PTV were finally broken in the early nineties, when
communication satellites began to orbit above our region. If ever there was an effective means
to break down cultural barriers, this was it! The beauty of satellite power was that it remained
free from the reach of local censors. Suddenly, audiences in Pakistan were experiencing the
pleasure - unhindered ~ of getting hooked on Indian soaps. News and current affairs
programmes were perceived as more contentious but accessing other, even if contrary, points of
view did help open up minds. Satellite dishes became ubiquitous on rooftops in urban areas. The
high cost of purchase, however, did limit its spread and it was cable television that later brought
globalisation to even the remotest parts of Pakistan, PTV itself started full-scale satellite
broadcasting in 1991-92 and PTV 2, the first ever satellite channel of Pakistan, was launched in
1992.
The entry and phenomenal growth of digital media in Pakistan had
an unimaginable impact on all aspects of life in Pakistan.
However, it was Rupert Murdoch's Star network that took the lead in capturing the attention of
the South Asian audiences. Often criticised for being more India-centric, Star's entertainment
channels exercised a major influence in many aspects of the life of Pakistanis — from quick
adoption of Bollywood styles to weddings scheduled so as not to clash with the timings of
popular Indian soaps
The impact of satellite and cable was also noticeable on the print media. Traditionally staid,
Pakistan's print media was suddenly faced with audiences increasingly drawn to both a
sensational type of reporting (best exemplified by the ‘breaking news’ phenomenon) and the
glamour of the entertainment world. Moreover, the hunger for content soon became insatiable.
This created an opportunity for the expansion of the print media. The News, launched in 1991
from three cities, encapsulated some of the elements that made the new age television so
attractive. Its display and segmentation of features through magazines published every day,
followed some of the principles of television programming, The Nation from Lahore followed
hitpsaurora.dawn.cominews/142956ithe-enduring-credliy-o- print a8‘arar2020 The enduring eeby of print-The Dawn OF Advertsing (1947-2017) - Auora
soon after and then, The Daily Times which through its crisp editing (no stories were continued
on other pages) addressed the new media audience's impatience with long news items or
features.
As cable television proliferated in the region, Pakistan under General Musharraf also opened up
the broadcast media. Large media houses, confined to print until then, were among the first to
launch satellite and cable channels. A greater interdependency was evident as the same reports
began to be used across multimedia channels by the same group. A positive outcome of this
cross-media ownership was that many stories, particularly of human rights violations, once
confined to the pages of newspapers, began to be reported on the cable channels of the same
media group leading to greater awareness and ~ in many cases ~ action by the authorities.
The poor quality of most TV news channels and their talk shows, as
well as the untrustworthiness of social media ensures that people
turn to newspapers for authenticity.
The Urdu print media did show some growth as evening newspapers proliferated. Most tried to
capitalise on the hunger for glamour and gossip promoted by cable television. Express, a
qualitatively better Urdu language newspaper in terms of editorial content, layout and printing,
was launched from more stations than even Jang. However, evening newspapers became early
victims of the 24-hour news channels, where every news item appeared as ‘breaking news’. One
by one, the English language evening papers shut down.
The entry and phenomenal growth of digital media in Pakistan had an unimaginable impact on
all aspects of life in Pakistan, Print certainly took a bigger hit as the internet became the
preferred source of news for an increasingly techie generation. In fact, all publications quickly
responded by having their own internet editions, For many young people today, the world is in
the palm of their hands as the smartphone opens the door to all the information and
entertainment they desire.
Advertisers, once sceptical of the effectiveness of the digital media, are now seeing the benefits,
of having a presence in cyberspace. Concerns about ROI, while not yet addressed, are no longer
hindering the creation and placement of campaigns on the social media
Meanwhile, advertising agencies are scampering to take a lead in digital communication in fear
of losing clients to digital agencies. However, according to data published by Aurora in its
annual issue, there has been no decline in the ad spend on print or increase in spend on digital
in the past year. Television advertising, on the other hand, shows a decline of two percent
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The challenges to the print media are many but in one important
criterion, it has sustained its lead. This is credibility of content.
Although the multiplicity of cable channels had brought with it issues of placement of ads, the
information deluge on social media has created its own challenges. Advertisers and agencies
have been forced to deal with a shrinking attention span among the people they wish to reach.
Even 10 seconds is now considered to be ‘too long’ on social media. Unlike print and electronic,
audiences feel far less trapped and leave a post the second interest flags. One newspaper at
least reflects the relative inattentiveness of the digital age. The Express Tribune is scattered
with what can best be described as sound bites - brief nuggets of information that suit the
impatience of the new generation.
The challenges to the print media are many but in one important criterion, it has sustained its
lead. This is credibility of content. The poor quality of most TV news channels and their talk
shows, as well as the untrustworthiness of social media ensures that people turn to newspapers
for authenticity.
Zohra Yusuf is Chief Creative Officer, Spectrum Y&R.
First published in THE DAWN OF ADVERTISING IN PAKISTAN (1947-2017), a Special Report
published by DAWN on March 31, 2018.
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