Propaganda in media war between ARY and Geo

Abstract

The study seeks to find out the way Pakistani news channels work in a competitive environment allowing them to be used as a propaganda tool. It specifically focuses on two major news channels of Pakistan namely ARY News and GEO News to understand their functioning after two issues concerning an attack on senior journalist Hamid Mir and Mobashar Luqman’s allegations on Jang group. The research employs qualitative mixed method approach by using thematic content identification of current affairs programs from the two selected channels and 11 semi-structured interviews of journalists, content producers and media persons working in ARY News, GEO News and PEMRA. The findings explain a lot of restrictions and pressures faced by working journalists specifically during a situation of media war between two major competitive news channels. Usually the restrictions journalists face are due to the interests of non-professional channel owners and state or non-state actors. It has also been found that Pakistani regulatory authority has limited capacity to implement media laws deteriorating the situation of media industry. The research holds an importance in the field of mass communication, as it clarifies the imperative unanswered questions. The role of mass media is extensively discussed over the last few years, but this research addsthe role of Pakistani news organizations as propaganda tool throughout media war. It has also been found that there are many lobbies of a news including owners, state or non-state actors and land mafia in Pakistani media industry other than organizational structure allowing researcher to devise a theory thereby applying grounded approach.