What’s On Air?

Gawd Almighty!
Pakistan has a measly 9 FM channels at last count. For such a large
and diverse population, that`s nothing!. You turn the radio on in the
US and you have dozens of AM/FM stations, catering to every topic
and community under the sun. You have committed Talk Radio, the
Blues, Western, Oldies, Disco, Pop, R&B, Rap, Hip-Hop, etc. They
have their own RJs, guests and community-specific topics. And it
seems to work just fine here.

Young Pak FM channels, in their eagerness to develop a base, are
trying to be everything to everybody and of course they`re looking
ugly doing it. Like FM89, each FM channel should specialize and cater
to a specific demographic, just as they have successfully done with
Cable TV channels: Khyber, Waseb, Kashish, Bolan, etc.

Lastly, your point about the dearth of language skills on-air is spot-
on. You have teeny-boppers with ``like, you know`` on one hand and
embarrassing verbosity on the other. With time and competition
one hopes this will improve. I, for one, am glad that FM89 and FM96
are sticking to their game plans. Same for FM100 and the rest of the
increasingly india-focused `urdu` channels.
I know where I have to turn the dial, when I am in the mood for the
latest English hits, Urdu sheyr O`shairi or (laholO`willah) indian music.

In dealing with radio, as with any other media, we must allow them
to find their footing and niche in the market, instead of wishing the
Govt to (God forbid) step-in and strangle creativity in favor of their
convoluted view of conformity. Heck, I`m even willing to tolerate that
DJ Carasella for a few years for that... ;)

well written article, covers most of the problems which we who care for radio nurse.

if only people realise what radio is, not just a medium for advertisment, or for making profits...its a social service. must include social-political-development issues, alongwith news, dramas and the like.

God willing it will come soon, or else we`ll be subjected to strange music for the rest of our listening lives.

Re: # 5
Thanks...
Indeed, we have a lot of problems that have taken the Pakistani Radio in their wrath but I believe if we have poeple like Nisar Memon or Rabbiya Akram back in the game things may sound a whole lot better...
I am not entirely pessimistic about the scenario in which radio reeps...

Thanks for reading on...
Yellow Journalism has taken its toll in the Pakistani NEWS arena.
Mass Communication Departments in the Pakistani Universities compel the pupils to persue a career in Geo and not Journalism for that matter.
It is a sad fact how people handle things as personal attacks or favours instead of healthy, professional/commercial competition.
We are in dire need of some serious reforms.

in a country where very few things function as they should the performance of the private electronic media is a shining example of what can be achieved when industry is freed from the shackles of all pervasive government. performance is more remarkable when you consider the short history of the industry and the resource constraint under which it operates. i think pakistanis need to give a big thanks to the entrepreneurs behind the industry who have risked their own capital on nothing more than a wing and a prayer. going forward no politician is going to mess with the media in the manner that nawaz sharif and altaf hussain did in the 90`s.

i also think that electronic media has left its print counterpart far behind. production quality of pakistani newspapers is very poor, there is no fact checking, journalists are untrained and you never get alternative view points. oped pages of most newspapers are dominated america-hating geriatrics still ruing the demise of soviet union. most people also dont realise that journalists as a group have very low ethical standards and plenty of journalists sell their services to the highest bidder. banks in pakistan refuse to extend credit to journalist because of the beysharam nature of most journalists.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/18/top9.htm

``...BANK LOANS: National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Hussain referred to privileges committee the matter of non-issuance of car loans and credit cards by banks to politicians, journalists and lawyers...``

the other issue people need to be aware of is conflict of interest. for example the news which owns geo has published many libellous articles against ary group which is its main competitor in the electronic media. daily times has published lies against warid telecom because warid telecom competes with the telecom company owned by the owner of daily times who overall has a very poor reputation. people should take the news they read on dailytimes with a pinch of salt.

``Our intellect deserves better`` (Mahrukh) -- indeed Mah indeed it does -- If only you knew the FM (failed media) in the United States -- you will be counting your blessings -- make the best of it and enjoy.

btw did you take care of your movies -- does your intellect deserve them -- if it does -- then you deserve ur FM too.

Re: # 1
Thanks for going through the article. I sincerely appreciate your views.

The film business in Pakistan is not even close to nothing. All who see it, feel the same way. The unfortunate fact is we are a minority. Yes, I`ve had the pleasure of tuning into FM stations in the Middle East and the US, and that what makes me feel deprived of quality. Pakistanis are well capable of pulling off a better show. My only reservation is: why don`t they?