Pandora Box of Television in Pakistan

hamidm #16,

While we are on the topic of food channel, what`re your views on Tony Bourdain (sp?)
and his travelogues ? Emeril`s actually quite intolerable...never seen Rachel Ray.

hamidm #16 You are lucky your kids allow you to watch all these movies like `Kill Bill`, and dont think they are too violent or too risque for the parents. :-)

Re: # 14
I have heard in West instead of walking or playing people watch sports all time and they gain hefty extra pounds. Then they go to doctor.Doctor says you need to exercise. The man says he never exercised in life. Then doctor says watch exercise videos. He likes videos nice men and women d0ing exercise . That is exercise just for fingures. Weight goes up. Can they develop viedo so by watching all men women and children loose appetite ? Idea is viedo makes you gain weight so use video to reduce extra weight.

Re: # 17

.... plats,

......... i think tony bourdain is on the travel channel .... i have seen him a couple of times and he appears to be entertaining but a little snobby - the kind of guy who can`t fix a dish worth eating without having fresh truffels flown in from the europe every day ..............not like sweet rachel ray who can tell you how to have three great meals in under fifty bucks ....... i believe he is the executive chef at les halles - i had dinner at their washington location a couple of years ago and it was so so, nothing remarkable .......

......... emeril kind of grows on you and they say he is a great cook (i have only had his pasta sauce in a jar!)

......... in any case, anyone who thinks food shows are sinful is a fool ......... i think cooking is more therapeutic and better for the soul than praying ..... and i have also discovered that any thing, including biryani and korma, tastes better if you throw in a little wine or beer or whatever it is that you are drinking at the time ........

Re: # 18

tahmed,

..... you are right about `kill bill` - my kids had probably seen it three or four times and always told us it was a `bad` movie and that we wouldn`t like it .... actually they said mama wouldn`t like it since, according to them, i am already `weird` ..... anyway, we have watched it together and have seen both of them at least twice - what a great movie !

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

the geometric increase in media channels is obviously a good thing.

it`s mass media and it caters to the common denominator. however, even the supposedly `low lives` know what has value and what doesn`t. with that belief one can accept that many of these channels deemed to be trash will disappear - many already have - due to weak content. the invisible hand and the market forces are a great leveller. give it some time and the media boom will turn the corner and become `maturer`.

the main criticism i`d voice however is how the musharafian construct has completely turned the news and political content into a govt. sponsored show. garbage.

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.

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

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

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!)

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.``

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. -)

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: # 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 ............

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

the mullah`s solution