LAT : Pakistan's private TV channels struggle

Pakistan's private TV channels struggle

By Laura King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer | November 8, 2007

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- The newsroom of Geo television buzzed with activity. Intense young reporters hurried in and out, editors shouted to one another as they juggled BlackBerrys and cellphones, and big TV monitors showed the fruit of these frantic labors: another tumultuous day's news unfolding, live.

But few in Pakistan would see the coverage.

Broadcasts on Geo's Urdu-language news channel, like those of more than three dozen independent TV channels, have been blocked by the government since Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, declared a state of emergency Saturday.

"It was like watching the lights go out, one by one," said Kamran Rehmat, news editor at English-language Dawn TV, recalling the methodical shutdown of all but government-run Pakistan Television.

News-hungry viewers looking for the private channels, which normally attract a daily audience in the millions, get only a blue screen and a message: "No signal. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"It's so medieval," Rehmat said. "You think you live in the information age, in the information world, and you wonder, 'How could this be happening?' "

Criticism has poured in from around the world over the authoritarian measures. Here they are almost universally regarded as tantamount to martial law.

Foreign governments, human rights organizations and media advocates have condemned the crackdown on Pakistan's freewheeling independent broadcasters, which for months had provided a steady stream of news and commentary about the burgeoning political crisis.

Ironically, it was Musharraf who had allowed private channels to flourish over the last three years. But his self-described policy of "enlightened moderation" changed abruptly this year, when massive street demonstrations against him were broadcast on live TV, magnifying their impact.

Suddenly, people in far-flung towns and villages could see the groundswell of anti-government sentiment.

When Musharraf gave himself extraordinary powers to stifle dissent, private TV channels were among his first targets. He also blocked the reception by cable of international channels such as the BBC and CNN.

Tech-savvy Pakistanis are finding other ways to get the news and relay it. Traffic on Pakistan-themed blogs and in Internet chat rooms has exploded since the start of the emergency.

Geo is streaming news content on its website. On Tuesday, an incendiary address delivered via cellphone by fired Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was swiftly disseminated.

Viewers with satellite dishes still can watch the private channels, but they represent only about 10% of viewership, and authorities are moving to restrict sales of new dishes. Even before the sale restrictions, prices had quadrupled to about $330, beyond the reach of all but the wealthy.

Private Pakistani TV channels also can be viewed outside the country, in large parts of the Middle East and South Asia. That nets a substantial audience of expatriate Pakistanis, who call, text-message and e-mail friends and relatives back home.

But reporters and editors say alternate technology and an audience among the Pakistani diaspora, while providing a lifeline in the crisis, are no substitutes for traditional broadcast channels, their most vital and immediate connection with the greatest number of viewers.

Being deprived of their regular audience hasn't stopped news channels from working flat-out to provide coverage. In TV newsrooms, bleary eyes and unshaven chins attest to long hours of nonstop news gathering from across the country.

"We have to go ahead with our work, no matter what," said Rehmat, Dawn's news director. "Even if no one at all were watching."

Geo's 24-hour news broadcasts feature a superimposed black digital clock counting off the hours, minutes and seconds since imposition of emergency rule. On Wednesday, with the clock just turning over to 92 hours, the channel covered an ugly confrontation between police and demonstrators in the eastern city of Lahore.

On camera, plainclothes policemen surrounded and pummeled a paunchy middle-aged man. When he fell, they moved in with well-aimed kicks as he rolled and writhed, trying to shield himself. Throughout the grim and gripping spectacle, the camera kept rolling.

Even if private channels are allowed to come back on the air, the government has said they will be subject to new restrictions that forbid, among other things, "ridicule" of the government or armed forces. Penalties include fines, seizure of equipment and loss of license.

Before the crackdown, satirical skit shows were enormous hits. One of them, "Hum Sab Umeed Se Hain," an Urdu-language play on the phrase for pregnancy, aired a prescient comedy sketch with a uniformed Musharraf character declaring: "Well, I still have my options."

As political tensions have grown in recent months, journalists have been beaten, harassed and intimidated by security forces and supporters of Musharraf. In September, dozens of Pakistani reporters, photographers and cameramen covering a demonstration outside the Election Commission were beaten by police, some severely.

Since the start of emergency rule, threats against the independent channels have sharply increased. Shakil Rahman, chief executive of the company that owns Geo, has received e-mails threatening his family.

Journalists fear the crackdown will spread to Pakistan's print media. Nationally circulated newspapers have provided hard-hitting coverage -- and scathing editorial commentary -- about the declaration, including the broadcasting curbs.

No one is certain why newspapers have been spared. Some journalists speculated that it was simply much more physically difficult to move against far-flung printing plants and news bureaus.

But in a move Monday that sent ripples of apprehension through Pakistan's print media community, police raided and briefly sealed a printing press belonging to Jang, the country's biggest media group and Geo's parent company.

"We are proceeding as normal in taking a very critical look at things," said Omar Quraishi, opinion page editor for the News, a nationally circulated paper. "But that can change -- the future looks very bleak."

The broadcast cutoff is putting financial pressure on the private channels, an effect broadcasters believe is deliberately punitive. Even Geo's sports, entertainment and music channels, all rich with advertising, have been knocked off the air.

"It's a huge setback for us as a nation, this denial of the right to information," said Wamiq Zuberi, director of Aaj TV. "We can only hope for a return to normal, though I wonder what that might be."

laura.king@latimes.com