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Zardari at the UN |
IN his address to the UN General Assembly President Zardari underlined a number of issues that need to be urgently addressed to uproot terrorism, sustain and reinforce democracy and bring peace and prosperity to South Asia. He called on the western democracies, especially the US, to provide the required assistance to settle those affected by militancy, cooperate in sustaining democracy by helping in economic revival and creating economic opportunities through measures like market access. He also emphasised the need for the resumption of dialogue with India for which meaningful progress on Kashmir was a must. The Kashmir issue continues to poison the relations between Pakistan and India, forcing both to divert their scarce resources that should have been utilised for the much needed social and economic development to a wasteful competition in acquiring costly weapons systems and in a nuclear race. While Pakistan has not officially abandoned its stand regarding a resolution of the issue through a UN organised referendum, Musharraf government expressed willingness to consider other solutions also provided they were acceptable to Kashmiris. In a similar display of flexibility, President Zardari did not mention the UN resolution in his address.
He said his government looked forward to the resumption of the composite dialogue, suspended unilaterally by India after Mumbai attacks. A peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute through talks that also have the support of the Kahmiris would help remove a major grievance that has fuelled militancy in India. What is more it would bring permanent peace to South Asia, help governments reduce military expenses and promote economic co-operation and trade and put life into SAARC. The West which planted and nourished militancy in the tribal areas to ‘confront the rival ideology’, as Zardari has put it, owes it to Pakistan to do more to enable it to cope with its horrendous after-effects. Despite a surge in Afghanistan, the allied military commanders have failed to seal their side of the border with the result that weapons and funds meant for the Taliban continue to pour into Pakistan. The world also needs to deal with the issues of poverty and illiteracy that provide an environment conducive to the breeding of militant tendencies. That there is no mention of the promised ROZs in the US assistance bill passed early this week would disappoint many. There is a dire need to provide Pakistan with market access as it would help the businesses expand, bring more taxes to the national kitty and provide more jobs. What is more, with an upturn in the economy, Pakistan would be less dependent on foreign assistance.
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End of news magazines? |
THERE’S more bad news on media front. It appears Time magazine, the pioneer of news magazine journalism, is ready to change hands once again. Time Warner Inc, which bought the legendary publication from its original promoters and owners some years ago, is now looking ?to sell it. Time Inc became Time Warner Inc when the Hollywood movie moguls with endlessly deep pockets, Warner Brothers, acquired one of America’s most famous and celebrated icons around the world. The Hollywood production house has clearly concluded there’s not much money to be made in print after all. It is planning to buy holdings in its ‘core entertainment’ category. This may be in a way good for the Time magazine and good, old-fashioned world of journalism and news, as we once understood it. Without their corporate bosses, who see news as ‘entertainment’ and their publication as a ‘product, breathing down their neck, the Time editorial team could bring the ‘news’ back into news media. But you never know. Warner could sell it to another hungry and avaricious corporate house, similarly preoccupied with ‘entertainment’ and ‘sales,’ rather than obsess over inane ethical values and issues.
Perhaps, the larger issue here is the very survival of print media and news journalism. If Time has changed hands, it is because with sales and advertisement revenues perpetually falling, it was finding the going progressively tough. During the recent past, some of the biggest and most respected names in the business have fallen by the wayside. From the death of the Hong Kong-based Asiaweek, once seen in the league of Time and Newsweek, some years ago to the latest casualty of the Far Eastern Economic Review, most news magazines have been struggling to survive. And it seems the more serious you are in your outlook and seek to serve a higher, moral cause, the sooner you are likely to fold. Newspapers have already been fighting a survival battle, with many of them on the ropes. Since the Wall Street crisis hit the world, some of the most prestigious and invincible names in the US such as the San Francisco Chronicle have either shut the shop or are looking for buyers. At least, 12 major US newspapers have had to fold this year and many more may follow.
However, this problem precedes the global economic meltdown. With new media like television, Internet and blogs increasingly challenging the traditional print media and reading culture almost vanishing, both newspapers and magazines are finding themselves fewer readers ?and patrons. This may not be an end of the road as yet for the hallowed written word in cold print. But clearly the print media, especially news media, is facing uncertain times. Unless old media adapt themselves to new demands and tastes of changing times, they may not last long enough. And their obituary could appear on Twitter or some such new media.
—Khaleej Times
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