Print media fight for survival in Pakistan
Pakistan print media is struggling to survive as the public is moving rapidly toward digital sources.
As per the Deutsche Welle report, Pakistan’s news hawkers showed their fear of losing their jobs as people started relying more on digital and social media platforms.
Different news vendors in South Asian states as a whole are having similar concerns.
As per the report, the era of digital media in Pakistan started during the presidency of General Pervez Musharraf which eclipsed print Publications.
Then people were surrounded by widely accessible cell phones, social media platforms, and internet connectivity which further hurt newspaper sales as consumers started reading news online.
The general secretary of the Newspaper Hawkers Union, Aqeel Abbasi stated that Successful governments haven’t taken interest in the welfare of newspaper hawkers, so they are generally disheartened, insecure, and always on the lookout for better options to make money.
He further revealed that before the Musharraf era Rawalpindi had around 1,600 newspaper vendors while Islamabad had 700 but the sales had been reduced that 900 and 480 respectively.
According to an expert, the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis also accelerated the decline.
The news vendor forewarned that the print media would be forced to lay off the majority of its workers if the decline in revenues did not cease.
Source: Minute Mirror
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