Media as Mirror A case study
Abstract
The newspapers that emerged in Balochistan immediately after 1947 ushered a new era in journalistic traditions in the province. Those were regarded as the pioneers of print media in this part of the country. The daily Qasid was one of them. Delving into its archaic record for a mirror impression of the then Balochistan, offered a pertinent subject of study with regard to nature of news, of course under difficult circumstances, development process, communication and media scenarios. The paper attempts to shed light on the media coverage of a newspaper that had to carry out its mission against the backdrop of the One-Unit controversy whereby Balochistan was merged into West Pakistan through the mechanism of One-Unit in 1955 and renamed as Quetta-Kalat Division. General Ayub Khan was ruling the country with an iron fest. So, the media was practically suffocating in worst kinds of censorship. On the other hand, dismantling provinces in favour of a combined unit called West Pakistan was viewed by the respective people of the provinces as act of eroding their identity in favour of assimilation. Therefore the year selected for the study i.e 1963- 1964, as mirrored by the daily Qasid, depicted not only the media but the overall imagery of a province striving for dismemberment of One-Unit and restoration of its territorial identity. The year under study also exposed how the newspapers were required to observe strict censorship code and follow the official line. However, Balochistan succeeded in restoration of its Provincial status after much sacrifices and the media thwarted the prolonged yoke of censorship in 1970 when the provinces were restored by dismembering One Unit. The study focuses one the role and survival strategies of daily Qasid Quetta.
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