Bar on live coverage
ACTION after the event is a comical trait that has long been the hallmark of many sections of Pakistani officialdom. By all accounts, our security establishment was ostensibly in the dark about the presence of Osama bin Laden in a garrison town no less, as well as last week`s American raid that killed the Al Qaeda chief. Now probes have been ordered to discover the reason behind the intelligence failure. But it seems that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority was in even deeper slumber. Recently the regulatory authority barred foreign channels from broadcasting live from Abbottabad, days after the city became headline news that was being exhausted anyway. Much of what was of immediate interest had already been covered by the channels. The decision is apparently based on a technicality, that the foreign channels in question do not have uplink rights in Pakistan. Media personnel allege, however, that Pemra might be seeking to reap the dividends of an upsurge in global interest following the killing of Osama bin Laden. Pemra has every right to demand an uplinking fee, which ultimately goes to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, but surely that notice could have been issued on day one. To do so now points either to incompetence or, as some allege, a belated attempt at censorship.
Only Pemra can explain its motives. But one thing is clear: almost nothing can stem the flow of information in the digital age. All that is needed to get the message across is a webcam and an Internet connection. Almost anyone can get around press restrictions, even under the most repressive of regimes. On paper Pemra may have the right to do what it has done. But that paperwork needs to be revisited, to avoid absurdity if nothing else.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/10/2011
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