Development communication in a global perspective

The paper discusses the discourse of development communication which, ever since the end of World War II, has named certain nations developed and others underdeveloped. In the discourse as well as in practice, communication was co-opted as an instrument for development. These notions have evolved. But even today the idea that you can make people change their behavior to emulate Western developed countries still lingers in the mind of "development "agent. The paper advocates an approach in which true dialogue is itself part of the development process. In this view true dialogue is at once dialectical and dialogical giving their place to both mind and heart

Role of community radio FM-93 Hunza during the Attabad lake crisis

The Attabad lake disaster took place on 4[th] January, 2010 in Northern Areas of Pakistan near China border when a massive landslide slid the Attabad village into the river Hunza. The debris blocked the water flow in the river and created a large barrier lake. The level of the water in the lake continued to increase at an alarming speed thus causing a great threat to the people of areas. There was a great need to establish communication links with the people of the area for rescue activities. To cope with the situation, Radio Pakistan set-up FM-93 Baltit Fort Hunza radio station on emergency basis. The study was carried out to evaluate the role of the community radio station that it played during the crisis situation. Survey method was used to collect the data. The population consisted of all the sixty-five thousand people affected by the crisis while sample size was two hundred subjects. The results showed that 85% subjects agreed with the supportive role of the radio station while 15% did not agree. Therefore, it was concluded that the community radio FM-93 Hunza played an effective role in addressing the issue

Role of citizen journalism in strengthening societies

The tremendous boost of new media technologies has given birth to the phenomenon of Citizen Journalism which has become an integral part of the modern-day societies. For people who formerly had no chance of being heard, citizen journalism is a great opportunity of participation for them. Moreover, the common people cannot only comment on stories, they are providing resources and information beyond the scope of the mainstream media. Especially in countries without a free press bloggers, photo and video journalists can give underrepresented and underprivileged segments of society a voice and add to the media diversity. They are making their ways through censorship and enable cross-border dialogue. As in Iran, as in Zimbabwe or in Kenya and even in Pakistan during the last elections, they have made a real difference. This paper presents an overall view of the citizen journalism [U] in the world and its effects on traditional media as well as on society at large. The paper also presents the situation of U in Pakistan. The paper concludes that the best quality news can be produced with the mutual cooperation of traditional journalism as well as citizen journalism

Role of news media in a democratic society

Mass media have become the vital part of the present day society and these are playing an important role in shaping the world in our minds. Democracy is flourishing in most of the countries of the world and it has a close relationship with media. Democracy and media both have become indispensable for each other. This paper discusses the role of media in a democratic society. It also elaborates different factors influencing the media content as well as media effects on the society. The paper concludes that the well informed citizens can play more important and effective role in strengthening democracy. There is a great need of media freedom in the developing countries so that the media organizations could play a significant role in establishing democratic atmosphere in the society