KARACHI: Speakers at a programme on Tuesday highlighted the role of media in image building and the country’s economic development and stressed the need for introducing reforms in the entertainment industry in order to make it a global soft power.

They were speaking at a discussion — Role of Media in Development of Economy — during the Pakistan Media Summit jointly organised by the Karachi Film Society at Habib University.

Speaking on the occasion, CEO of Hum Network Duraid Qureshi said Pakistan needed to work on its entertainment industry as that would play a role of ‘soft power’ globally and would not only improve the country’s image but also its economy.

He said Hollywood and Bollywood were multi-million dollars industries whereas Korean dramas and films had also made impressive progress.

Art of producing entertaining, engaging content is for those who know their audience, moot told

He said Pakistan was lagging far behind despite the fact that its dramas were of high quality and admired across the border.

Economist and writer Dr Ishrat Husain said the media had a very influential and constructive role in the image building and, by that, the economic development of a country.

However, he added, biases and prejudices were common nowadays at most TV channels and their ultimate victims were good governance and the country’s economy.

He said economy was dependant on markets, and for markets to function efficiently, correct and timely information was important and that unverified or unauthentic information made participants of market reluctant.

“But the situation at present is bad as negative and fake news are common now,” he said, adding that there were multiple success stories in the country but those, too, were not highlighted.

Entrepreneur Ameen Hashwani said Renaissance in Europe had also come about through art and culture and the same role would film, dramas, music and other artistic productions would play for Pakistan’s economic revival.

He also said that among other things, the media had a very important role in holding politicians and businesses accountable and thus help keep the economy running in a better way.

Prominent industrialist Arif Habib said the image of Pakistan was portrayed more negative than positive and because of that, investors saw a risk in Pakistan while doing business.

Businessman Ehsan Malik said that the media was a powerful tool for building narratives and, therefore, a lot of positive work was needed to be done in that regard.

Systems Limited CEO Asif Peer said the problem the country faced was brand building. “If there’s no brand building, there’s no trust. And we don’t even exploit properly the best things that we have,” he said and added that that would open gates for business in Pakistan.

All the panellists stressed the need for critical reforms in the country’s media and entertainment industry.

‘Digital media will be the future’

In another session titled ‘Potential of Digital Media in Pakistan’, the panellists said with the world rapidly moving towards digitalisation, it is almost impossible to escape the monster called content creation.

They said the art of producing media, which is both entertaining and engaging, is not for the people who do not know their audience, and there is a dire need of massive investment when it comes to digital media.

At the session, Faizan Syed, founder and CEO of a digital advertising agency, asked the audience to share their screen time since he wanted them to first understand what digital media actually is. Then he asked them what their top three apps were.

“The penetration of media has changed the landscape,” he remarked after the activity.

The panellists — Javed Jafri of Unilever Pakistan, Jehan Ara of Katalyst Labs and Farhan Khan of Brainchild Communications —agreed that the content consumption, be it in any form, depends upon how well one knows their audience.

“The views are monitored when it comes to TV and other mediums, however we still don’t monitor digital mediums properly, hence the numbers are not accurate but I can tell you that the market is really huge, and we need hacks to properly utilise it,” Mr Khan said.

When questioned about the divergent fates of startups, Ms Jehan Ara said: “The art lies in knowing the need and the audience. Your business should cater to some sort of need of the people and then of course, strong marketing is also a factor. But knowing your audience changes the entire game.”

The panellists further delved into how an average person in the country spends seven to eight hours on road, and while they’re at it, they’re scrolling their phone screens instead of consuming any other form of media.

They also talked about how the present form of media is going to expand further and digital media will be the future only if it’s understood and utilised properly.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2024