is journalism dying or is it already dead in Pakistan...?

Journalists are killed ,tortured , harassed  or subjected to all kinds of pressure tactics by Governments,militaries, paramilitaries , political parties different interests groups , mafia's , business and professional houses all over the world.Many journalists of international repute are killed reporting from the battlefields and war zones.some are often kidnapped to highlight the issue and gain international attention.

Every Time a professional or free lance journalist die in the line of duty or seeking the truth anywhere in the world, it consolidates the resolve of the fellow journalist all over the world not just in his or her own country or the organization or group they work for. 

In Pakistan its an altogether a different ball game.Journalism is the investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience as per the general definition and the wikipedia.Keeping this generalization in mind we have to focus on who in Pakistan is a "Journalist" and who are the"Broad Audience".

Journalist in Pakistan is of only one type and that is VSJ (very serious journalist).Once a journalist always a journalist.Sometimes we get confused because of their varied interests and professions.Some Computer literate Journalists also Blog very regularly but blogging has nothing to do with journalism even if some princess diaries do end up in a blockbuster sequel.
 Pakistan is one of the luckiest countries in the world because our founding fathers had their own press and considered journalists to be the most important soldiers of the fight for independence.

Soon after the independence of Pakistan the founding Fathers died or were killed but their press survived and to run those presses a new breed of young journalists were required.Karachi and Lahore had the most educated people with university degrees and diplomas especially those who had migrated from the other side of the border.Journalism flourished here.
Then came the industrial revolution.The Martial's law ,cold war and communism seemed lesser evils combined together.The only thing that kept journalism alive was entertainment. yes the entertainment of  the very rich and powerful. Through the length and breadth of Pakistan a term became very common "Drawing Room politics "  Leaders and constitution of Pakistan was mocked and institutions destroyed.
During this period the war to gain control over the press and media in Pakistan intensified between the Establishment and the Established(Seth). Dynasties and families came into existence.Journalism grew weak.Pakistan lost the national identity and was divided into two, but the War with India helped the Press and propaganda machinery. Television came to Pakistan but it had a very selected viewership in the urban population nevertheless it changed the so called "Drawing Room Politics" as Television Took the center stage in most urban drawing rooms and houses.Conversations,Interests and reading habits changed.Artists,Actors,performers and sportsmen became more popular than the political people.

Journalism changed.New and more popular fields developed such as showbiz and sports journalism.Gossip columns and tabloids style flourished.Colorful pictures with interesting captions became a regular feature in most newspapers.New Magazines came out creating and grooming a new breed of Journalists.

The Soviet and American Invasion in the bordering Afghanistan gave rise to fundamentalism and radicalism in the name of islamization in Pakistan. Strict censorship was imposed not only on the political journalism but also the social and cultural activities such as the film, television and stage.Even the sports suffered due to the uncompromising dress and ethic codes.

The cinema and theaters were closed down which destroyed the film industry and to a great deal the showbiz journalism.People were forced to buy VCRs and watch pirated indian movies and read the smuggled indian showbiz magazines . 

Then came the Satellite Dish Revolution.The power struggle converged to the fight over the remote control.Being seen with a newspaper or a magazine in the hand became a sign of being a backward person.Although the television lost its center stage in the drawing room but it became a full time companion a more personal possession like a wrist watch and moved into the bedroom. Here a new term emerged "the Parential Lock" meaning that the parents ,grand parents ,uncles and aunts are locked in their bedrooms and cannot disturb the children while they play the video games, surf the net or chat with their online friends on the computers, laptops,phones and mobiles.
What i mean to say here is that the lifestyle of  the Masses begin to change and in this life style there seems to be no room for the journalism because the broad audience have no time or desire to waste on issues that don't concern them.

The War in Afghanistan was apparently over when Putin came to Kremlin and Bushes started running the whitehouse or it got into the phase of re-building.

According to the agreement both were to pull out.after soviet tanks moved out the americans blow up their ammunition dump at ojri April 10,1988
Pakistan emerged out of this useless war as a "Good Guy" 
looking back the thing that surprises me so much is that how did Pakistan made such a bold and courageous decision unanimously. Was it because of  the Journalism or the Generalissimus..?
Anyways Pakistan as a good guy and having suffered very badly due to the war and afghan refuges  was greatly rewarded.The rewards and benefits continued for over a decade.Some might see the nuclear explosion of 1998 as the turning point or the love lost but i feel it was also a part of the reward and benefits that Pakistan was invited to the Nuclear Club all expense paid.With great power comes greater responsibility.So now was the time to test.
Switch on the television in Pakistan and go through all the Media channels owned by the Established (seth) and regulated by the Establishment (PEMRA) and you will feel as if somebody offered them a ride full of fun and frolics in a Ferris wheel (merry go round ) and as soon as all aboard and moving....somebody pulled the plug.So the ones on the top cannot come down and the ones in the middle can neither go up or come down only the lucky ones that were near to the ground gets out replacing with some new faces who are under the impression that things could get better soon and the fun will start anytime soon.Do you honestly believe this is journalism.The one that our founding Fathers choose for their fight against the imperialism.Or the journalism they choose to build a Nation.Pakistan has always been among the decided and firmly committed this is the first time it is among the "Undecided" and "Confused". The World ,our Allies and friends are beginning to think and treat Pakistan as if it is a Good guy no more....