Pandora Box of Television in Pakistan

#37 by scout(new)

WB ... :~)

Re: # 36

thanks, by the way i only left chowk unplugged :)

#34 and #35: well said scout!!

glad to see you back on chowk.

you should thank Geo tv`s question and answer session for helping bring a new level of attention to the Hudood Laws.

you complain about gluttony yet ignore the fact that gluttony associated with food harms only one physical body, yet religious gluttony which pervades pakistani society harms hundreds of thousands of vulnerable minds. sue me if i personally find cute little cooking shows much better for my mind and soul than Amir Liaqat`s shia/sunni mullahs telling me if wearing pink lip gloss is haram or not.

and shame on you for criticizing independent pakistani channels which DARE to question and interview corrupt politicians and equally corrupt mullahs.

I have just resurfaced from watching FOX News` wall-to-wall coverage of Ana Nicole Smith`s courtroom drama. The essence of the story is that there is this jewish lawyer who hasnt worked in the last 7 years, but who befriended ana and began living off her wealth. He is now claiming that he fathered ana`s child...in the hopes that he can get her millions, if you believe ana`s mother. ``Not so fast``, says ana`s body guard...``I may be the father``. Not to be outdone, 90 year Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband sent in that he could very well have been the father as well. There were 3 other responsible american citizens who came forward and admitted to the possibility of having fathered that girl. But in their case it turned to be nothing more than wishful thinking.

In any case, all this was happening on the day when news broke that British were pulling their troops out of Iraq. Of course Fox viewers were all too entrenched in getting the details of court room drama to know anything about all that war stuff that was happening ``over there``. But just to be fair and balanced, Fox did finally break the news of troop pull out in a 20 seconds update...according to which whitehouse claimed that british troop pull out was a good news and exactly ``according to plan``. This reminded me of the soccer game I participated in last weekend. The opposing team scored 3 goals in quick succession. But our breathless captain suggested that it was exactly ``according to plan``, since we had managed to tire out the opposing team through their early goals.

There were 85 more minutes to go in the game and hence too early to prove him otherwise.

the mullah`s solution

ptv is probably crap. last time i checked, all i saw was bearded rats pretending to be pious. but GEO seems to be better.

Re: # 25

ahadaustin,

...... i don`t know which pakistani tv you are talking about, because every time i tune into geo or ary there is some variety of the mullah - bearded like qazi and fazloo or unbearded like aneeq ahmed and shahid hussain - scaring the crap out of little children ....... the only obscenity i have seen on these channels is of the religious kind with dr liaqat and some niqabed/hijabed thing discussing a woman`s place in an islamic stable .........

....... i must confess that the dramas are so dull and boring that i haven`t really watched more than three or four minutes at a time ......... however, i did notice that the women in those dramas were showing their faces and some of them were showing their arms above the elbow - i believe that according to your value system these women, like the minister who was recently shot dead for, are wajib-ul-qatal ............. i can understand why some people are upset at the boy bands because some of them are just awful, but i am sure some people find them entertaining - to each his own .......... the only entertaining program i have seen on any paki channel is `begum nawazish ali khan` - other than that it is the same old stuff from the sixties and seventies in color ............

I watched Geo TV (Pakistanvision.com, click on TV1 on left hand side to watch Geo live, on TV2 to watch PTV live) and it was great - a nazim from some small town was there, with residents calling him to make their issues known: practical, important stuff like roads that need fixing and so forth, not the hot air issues of the kind one sees on chowk.

The program is titled ``Nazim hazir ho!!``, so this seemed like more than one shot deal. That was democracy in action, and TV at its best.

Re: # 21

hamdim2

Damn you even took away my earlier post.

``.......... the kids would do just fine if their parents would leave them alone ......``

All I wanted to say was Sam Levenson once said, ``Insanity is hereditary , you can get it from your children.`` -)

As for cooking I like Nigella Lawson. Food for thought. -)

Re: # 21
hamidm2

[.......... the kids would do just fine if their parents would leave them alone ...... ]

As Sam Levenson once said, ``Insanity is hereditary, you can get it from your children.``

It is interesting, this discussion. There is always a sense of deja vu, with these debates/discussions. Similar ones appeared here in the UK when SKY and BSB started their satellite broadcasts, and then with BSkyB.

Always it is the same arguments, points - nothing changes. What happens in the long run is that people become savvy in their choices and there is a steady state. The arguments are essentially between parties having a vested interest in the status quo, and are afraid of changes.

I will leave you guys with these colourful pictures of the Rio Samba Carnival. great to see people have great fun.....basant any one (I thought thiswould be an idal moment to start that debate!)

Last year I was at my uncle home in Texas, I had a privilege to watched Geo TV First time, after been apart from Pakistani Channels from 8 Years. last program I watched was Chand Gerrun, Nungay Pohoow, Studio 2 1/2 on STN; one can easily imagine the time-gap, but Kasaam se I was really SHOCKED watching vulgarity and stripping in even in a Family dramas. I remembered the of Quote India guy ``Yaar that are Pakistani Channel Shame kiya ho gaya hain tum logo ko``

Yes! Pakistani do deserve Media Freedom but Yaar there is line/limit between, Freedom of speech, Boldness, Nudity, liberalization, vulgarity. To become a developed Nation that does not means COPY / PASTE the western culture into a nation, whereas we are excellent Copy / Past Do you agree.

Commercial Pakistani TV Channels Target Market is 0-14 years: 39%, of Pakistan Population, they are developing the brands, products and So Called COOL Culture for next 48 years, average rate of a Pakistani is 63 year; Please think about next generation! What they and we are giving them?

Current Song/Video Producers/ Directors may be new rich or mammy daddies; they do not have a clue what is the song is about and what is the direction, message, rhythm and theme;Based on Jo Dehkta hain howi bekta hain

Many Banks and TV channels were opened in Pakistan like Haleem ki Dukaan in few years.
Shahnawaz you have valid reasons; Thanks
Act Local Think Global !
Ahad

Good article, Author.

A few observations. It`s not only the ad revenues, but for most of the smaller channels it is the subscriptions from cable operators. Besides, it is not that expensive to set up a satellite channel or even to obtain content because it is all bought off the market i.e. no need for in-house production facilities. All 42 (?) Pakistani channels are profitable.

Re the corny entertainment bit, everyone looks for a niche. This is how the Pakistani satellite media is made-up as well. While there`re the shoddy/corny entertainment channels, there are many high quality 24 hr news & talk show channels as well such as MSNBC, BusinessPlus of the TFT/Daily Times group, Geo News and ARY World. At the same time there are a few dedicated exclusively to religious lectures and teachings.

A very positive aspect I see is that the news/talk show channels have brought a degree of accountability of people in public office.

Rgds

Great article Shahnawaz! Keep it up and don’t pay heed to the shallow voices emerging from the sordid stomachs fed on the western junk food.