Better journalism training

Afghanistan’s media have advanced incredibly in the last six years but still have a way to go. There are few investigative journalism pieces as they require resources, skills and access to data. Even in the US, most newspapers find it difficult to justify dedicating resources to investigative journalism on a regular basis as cost-cutting continues to take its toll on the industry.

 “It’s hard to find professional journalism in Afghanistan because it’s such a new thing in this country. Most of the reporting you see on TV is very bad – they just copy from each other. It’s not news, there’s no story telling,” says Khaleeq Ahmad, former spokesman on international affairs for President Karzai's administration.

While Internews, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the BBC World Trust Service and a number of others have held training workshops over the past six years, the country still lacks institutes for journalists where they could receive training for a longer span of time.

Ahmad adds: “With media now being privatised, donors cannot move in on certain networks for instance and say let us train your journalists.”

“There are problems with the lack of training and education. Socialist-style opinion journalism is hot here, there isn’t a great emphasis on hard facts,” says Edwards.

As in many developing countries, access to government data is limited.

However unlike most developing countries, Afghanistan receives millions of dollars to support its media industry. The challenge lies in whether this funding can be properly channelled to create a sustainable and independent media sector.

Footnote: the Pakistan profile

Over the past few years, Pakistan has seen an explosion of independent media outlets under former President Pervez Musharaff who lifted the ban on a free press.

The country’s advertising revenue totals nearly 300 million dollars a year that supports more than 60 television stations with over 75 million viewers and a number of prominent regional and national newspapers catering to 10 million readers.

But just as in Afghanistan, critics say Pakistan is in desperate need of better journalism institutions and long-term training opportunities.

And like Afghanistan, the government still insists on having full control over the state-run television station Pakistan Television (PTV).

According to Azhar Abbas, managing director of GEO News, Pakistan’s largest independent television network, of the country’s 22 news networks, there are not enough quality journalists trained to run five of them. He argues that while the number of networks has increased in Pakistan, the quality of journalism has not.

“Quite often, ambassadors, heads of think-tanks and other senior western officials will pass through my newsroom and I always tell them if you want to actually see Pakistan become a progressive, liberal, democratic society, you have to invest in top quality media institutes and trainers,” he says.

However, unlike Afghanistan, the country has seen a surge in fibre-optic connectivity combined with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s decision to cut bandwidth tariffs which has allowed for wide-spread and affordable internet access. But with an estimated 70 per cent of Pakistan’s population of 170 million living in rural areas with high rates of illiteracy, internet usage in the country is estimated to be a mere 12 million. 





First published: Dec 26, 2008
Last updated: July 30, 2009



RZ 12/08