Magazine Journalism

                                                                         Introduction

Magazine journalism uses the traditional journalism tools of interviews, background research and writing to produce articles for consumer and trade magazines. Magazine journalism differs from newspaper journalism in at least five ways.

1. Newspapers have a very broad audience with widely varying ages and interests confined to one metropolitan area. Magazines have a national audience who has a very specialized interest in one particular topic.

2. Magazines are published monthly instead of daily. Therefore readers expect articles that are longer with much more in-depth analysis of issues and trends.

3. Magazine, a publication issued at regular intervals, usually weekly or monthly, containing articles stories , photographs, advertisement, and other features, with a page size that is usually smaller than that of a newspaper but larger that that of a book.

4. Magazine today is an important source of information. It performs entertainment function very well and builds the opinion of reader on the other hand.

Brief History:

• First magazine was “review” in 1704 written for nine years by Daniel defoe. It consisted of four pages three times a week.
• In 1709 “tattler “by Richard steel was published. It was edited by a fictitious editor called “isac Bickerstaff”.
• In 1711 “spectator” by joseph Addison was published.

In sub continent:
• First magazine published in 1870 was “hickey gazette” . the editor was James Augustus Hickey. It was an English magazine.
• After independence of Pakistan there was the birth of a new independent society in Pakistan.
• Journalism played up role in information of society.
• National press trust was created in 1963.
• General yahya relaxed restrictions but imposed later on.
• General ziaulhuq lifted restrictions for a short period.
• In 1988 interim government cancelled the press and publication ordinance and a new ordinance i.e. Registration of printing and press ordinance (RPPO) was made.

CHANGES IN MASS MEDIA IN AYUB’S ERA AND ITS IMPACTS

• In Ayub’s age newspapers faced a big challenge because newspapers were habitual of keeping their
focus on politics since 1857 in Indo-Pak. So to maintain the interest of the readers in the newspapers
was a big challenge as martial law government put ban on all political news.
• This resulted in an effort on the behalf of newspapers to seek other topics and they started to publish
different supplements like Sports Supplements, Women Supplement, and Youth Supplement etc. So the focus shifted to social life. In the mean while ‘Imroz’ hired a woman reporter and started to publish an article on the problems of women and its title was “Khatoon ki Nazar Main”. Imroz was the first newspaper to introduce such trends in newspapers.
• After the efforts of ‘Imroz’, Mashriq and Kohistan from Lahore started to publish women Pages.
• Feature writing also got a new dimension. The features along with the pictures were printed.
• Some newspapers got the attention of the public by publishing film pages and film bulletins. It gave rise to glamorous journalism. It also created a bad impact on those magazines that were purely film
magazines. So with the variety of film pages in daily newspapers, the purely film based magazines just disappeared gradually because they lost leadership.
• The trend also shifted to weekly and episodically features. These features covered the social and cultural aspects.
• The entry of television affected the readership of the newspapers. Because poets and writers were
writing for the newspapers without any financial gain. Television ended this trend and they were paid
for writing anything for the television. So they stopped writing for the newspapers and gradually the
newspapers lost readership.
• Periodical journalism also went to decline because all the newspapers gradually started to publish in
different supplements where all the material for different age group people was present in one single
newspaper.
• Official statements of government ministers replaced the touch of political news not only it highlighted the policy of government but also papers felt themselves secure after portraying government point of
view.
• Even today newspapers present government ministers statements but this is not a healthy trend in
terms of journalism. Official statements are subjective while news should be objective. Also, a page to represent subjective opinion is present and it is called Editorial page. So the official statements should
not cover the major portion of the newspapers.
• A newspaper is for public and it is a device to build public opinion. The term ‘Public’ does not mean every citizen but it also means a specific group of people. There are three different terms that are used frequently in the mass medium namely, Mob, Mass and Public.

Mob is a result of an immediate problem. When the problem will not be there mob will also not be there. Secondly the people in a crowd or in a mob have no link with each other. They
gathered quickly without any plan on a problem. Thirdly, they have no resemblance among
each other of income, status and intelligence.

Mass have the same reaction about like and dislike but it is not a deliberate effort. For example
the reading of a famous daily by 1 million people is a similarity of liking but they did not start it
deliberately. It is by chance that their liking matched among themselves.

Public is a group of people that emerged after an effort. Paper builds opinion so its audience is
called public. Public opinion is never unanimous. Sometimes even the opinion of minorities
prevails as public opinion. Public opinion is the opinion of those people who assert their
opinion by using different communication techniques. Any opinion to become public opinion
must be apparent. So public opinion should be expressive.

So in a nut shell we can say that papers of Ayub’s era were not to build a public opinion but
they were for masses to assert the news of government policies.

ROLE OF PAKISTANI MASS MEDIA IN AYUB KHAN’S ERA

􀂃 In 1961, Press laws were reformed and all the newspapers strongly condemned that move and
demanded that Ayub government should revise it. So in 1963, government revised it but still it was
without much flexibility.
􀂃 According to the Press Act of 1823, declaration was submitted to the government official (Deputy
Commissioner) who was not supposed to decline it as it was not considered a license. Ayub
government announced that Deputy Commissioner had the right to refuse the declaration so for
the first time it was treated as a license. It was a strong check against anti-government newspapers.
􀂃 District Magistrates started a practice with the support of government to gather secret information
regarding the person who filed the declaration. So it became a common practice that the applicant
was blamed in any charge by the Commissioner and he gave a verdict against him. This was against
the ethics of law that Commissioner was given the right to blame and also to make a decision.
􀂃 Advertising plays a major role in profit taking of newspapers and government sector
advertisements are very important for any newspaper. Governments usually use this policy to
pressurize newspapers and governments do not give advertisements to anti-government
newspapers. Ayub government also used this famous tool to manipulate newspapers.
􀂃 In Pakistan almost all the printing material is imported and import license is required to import
these materials. Ayub government restricted the quantity of import material for anti-government
newspapers to pressurize them and to stop their circulation on a large scale.
􀂃 During 1965 war, radio, television and newspapers supported government stance and the
unrealistic and exaggerated stance regarding the victory in war was presented to the people. But
when Tashqand agreement was signed in Jan 1966 and people protested against it because
government was declaring it as victory and Tashqand was humiliation in the eyes of the people. So
protests against government started and a student died. This helped to build a mass movement
against the government and ultimately it ended on the resign of Gen Ayub Khan in March 1969. It
was a direct result of a wrong media policy by hiding facts from the government.
􀂃 Government celebrated “A decade of development” in 1968 and radio television and newspapers
were used as mouth piece of government.
􀂃 Mass media is a source by which rulers can well understand what people think and what they want
and it plays a role of a watchdog. They give direct response to government policies because they are
directly affected by that policy. Ayub Khan closed that channel so government remained blind to
public opinion and it resulted in severe hatred against government policies which ultimately lead to
the fall of Ayub Khan.

MASS MEDIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE & AYUB KHAN’S ERA

􀂃 After independence there was no organized structure for mass communication in Pakistan and
there were few radio stations that were functional. The Radio station of Peshawar was built in 1927
and it was under agriculture department used to give instructions to the farmers.
􀂃 After the establishment of Pakistan it was expected that there would be a shift in the print media
and it would be far better from the age of colonialism. But the problems at the time of
independence were so grave like the problem of refugees, lack of infra structure, absence of official
machinery and lack of administration that government remained disheveled and so as the print
media. Therefore, it was very unfortunate for the mass media that it could not bear any change.
Law and order situation of the country hindered the freedom of press.
􀂃 Most of the newspapers that were in Delhi prior to independence were shifted to Karachi while the
papers of Lahore continued to work in their normal routine. However, some civil and military
gazettes were printed in English.
􀂃 ‘Imroz’ started its publication and for the first time this paper collected a good team in Pakistan.
Many prominent personalities like Abdullah Malik, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Chragh Hassan Hasrat
came under one roof. So ‘Imroz’ very quickly attained a reputable place in the leading newspapers.
􀂃 In 1953 ‘Kohistan’ was published by a famous novel writer Nasim Hijazi in Rawalpindi. This paper
gave a new trend to publications by starting Offset printing method instead of Litho printing.
There was a big problem in offset printing method that pictures could not be printed in this sort of
typing. So till 1953, before the arrival of Litho printing there was no photo journalism.
􀂃 In 1953, communal riots between Muslims and Ahmedis started and a commission was appointed
to investigate the causes. The members of the commission were Justice Munir Ahmed and justice
Kiyyani and after sometime the commission published its findings and it blamed newspapers for
provoking the emotions of the people for communal riots.
􀂃 Till 1957 media was free in Pakistan and there were only 60 cases that were registered in the entire
country in which actions were taken against newspapers.
􀂃 In 1960 Magazines were replaced by ‘Digests’ that were influenced by western style.
􀂃 Progressive Papers Ltd. Published Lail-O-Nehar, Imroze, Pakistan Times and the literary
personalities attached with Progressive Papers Ltd. started Progressive movement in literature.
During that time there was a shift in the government and Gen M. Ayub Khan took control of the
country as President of Pakistan and imposed Martial Law. So the progressive movement was
unacceptable for government. Therefore, government took over Progressive Papers Ltd.
􀂃 There were two independent news agencies APP (Associated Press of Pakistan) and PPI (Pakistan
Press International) were working in the country. Martial Law government also took over those
news agencies. Ayub government also bound international news agencies that they will not
distribute news and reports directly to the radio and other newspapers. So government took a
complete hold over all the news resources and the freedom of press was totally abolished.
􀂃 National Press Trust was established by the government and government took the stance that the
trust will look after or take over those newspapers that are suffering from financial crisis. So
gradually till 1960, it took over almost 60% renowned newspapers of the country.

EMERGENCE & ROLE OF PRINT MEDIA IN THE SUB-CONTINENT

• The emergence of democratic societies asserted that knowledge is the right of everyone and no one
can be denied from the basic rights. It also gave the idea of respect to everyone. The same idea
came in the sub-continent when people became aware of their rights. So, this awareness led them
to have their own press and their own papers.
• Print media in the sub-continent carried the same style as of English newspapers and it was very
simple in its style. There was no concept of headlines, format settings and catch lines. The
newspaper was just in a story form.
• The emergence of print media in the sub-continent was an ill omen for the East India Company
because soon these newspapers started to condemn the brutalities of East India Company and
people started to become aware of the callous attitude of the Englishmen. So this emergence of
Print Media started a concept of unity. Because now a person of Bengal and Lahore can well
assume the critical situation regarding the atrocities of the Englishmen.
• The Urdu papers of Lucknou and Delhi adopted a harsh stance and strong words were used
against East India Company. Till 1857, this practice continued. In Oct 1857 Delhi fall occurred and
Englishmen took control of the entire India. After one year a report for the causes of the revolt
were sent to the Queen Victoria by the appointed commission. This report also blamed some
Indian papers and Molvi M, Baqar, who was printing Sadiq-ul-Akhbar, was given capital
punishment.
• In 1858, Queen Victoria declared India as a colony and the Police Act of 1861 was introduced for
the people of India as the slaves of the colony. This created a sense of inferiority among the people
and they got the idea that they are under a constant suppression. In the mean while Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan started reformation and he assured the people that suppression could be ended by
just getting modern education and Muslims were not in a position to afford any conflict with the
rulers. On the other hand, he assured Englishmen that Muslims were not only responsible for
revolt but it was done by all the natives collectively so to target Muslims was not the best idea. Sir
Syed was not a professional journalist but he used print media to educate people.
• After the abrogation of Bengal Division Muslims became more aware of their rights and also some
incidents like World War1 occurred on international arena in which Muslims of the Sub-continent
were having sympathies with Turks because of the Caliph and Turks were fighting against England.
Therefore, British Govt. kept a close eye on Indian press and never allowed to publish anything
against the interest of the rulers.
• Despite, the punishments Muslims continued to work for presented and adopted a bold stance in
print media. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar and Maulana Hasrat Mohani
were the famous names of that era. These people never cared about the ferocious laws of British
Government and they continued their work. Zimindar that was published by Maulana Zafar Khan
faced several time bans but it continued to print and gained much popularity among people. This
brave stance of Journalism in the history of Print Media of Sub-continent is knows as Militant
Journalism.
• Quaid-e-Azam after Pakistan Resolution paid special attention to print media and he published
Dawn from Delhi that was later shifted to Karachi after communal violence. Similarly the Urdu
daily ‘Manshoor’ and weekly ‘Aaj- Kal’ were printed in the same age. In the same era Jang from
Delhi started to publish and Nawa-i-Waqat from Lahore. ‘Inqalab’ was representing Uninest party
in Lahore but after Pakistan Resolution it started to portray Muslim League stance.
• In 1937, Progressive Papers Ltd started Pakistan Times in Lahore by Mian Iftikhar.
• All these above newspapers played a vital role in awakening people for the struggle of Pakistan as a
homeland where Muslims can save themselves from cultural eclipse of the dominating Hindu
majority.

EVOLUTION OF MASS MEDIA

• The oldest mass medium is print media. Human history gives us a clue that posters, banners and pictures were first used to convey the messages.

• In the 10th century handmade press was first established. Book printing was started in 15th & 16th century in Europe.

• Mass Media at first faced a lot of restrictions because when mass media emerged at that time mperialism was in rule. The rulers were using Church in Europe as an authority over people toconvey any message. Because Church was the only platform that was influential and was in reach of
people and government. So most of the times Church was considered the first platform of Mass
Medium.

• The emergence of Print Media created doubts in the minds of the rulers and they took it as a threat
against their rule. The rulers presumed that people would become aware of their rights and they will
challenge the authority. So most of the rulers in Europe took it as a revolt and declared capital
punishment for the persons involved in Mass Media. In 1663, the last capital punishment was given
to a publisher because he published a book of an anonymous writer. This book contained the idea
that rulers are accountable for their deeds and decisions to the masses and if any ruler does not feel
himself accountable then masses have the right to overthrow his rule. This was the last capital
punishment that was awarded in the history of England.

• Print media could not get its full growth till the 18th century as illiteracy was the major problem in
all the societies and most of the newspapers were read by the elite class because state was not
responsible for the education of the masses and elites had a privilege to get private education from
the arranged tutors.

• In the sub-continent East India Company started some papers that were in English language and
mostly read by the employees of the East-India company. In 1757 when East India Company
conquered Bengal, there were one lakh informal institutions that were either run by Hindu Pandits
or Muslim Ulamas. So publishing papers entirely in English language means that they ignored the
factor of local educated people. Later on the English papers started to publish in Madras, Bombay
and Calcutta because East India Company offices were in all these cities. So, it proved that publish
of this paper was entirely for Company employees and not for the local Indians.

• In 1822, first Urdu paper named Jam-e-Jahanuma emerged and English rulers took it as a threat
against them and they started to think to impose press laws to outclass local papers. Therefore, in
1823 Press Act came to suppress Urdu press and it was made compulsory that the name of the
Editor, Publisher and Owner along with the address should be on the first page of the newspaper.
So that the government can recognize the authority of these papers. It was named as Press &
Publication Ordinance (PPO). So, the era before the division of India was a tough one for the mass
communication as many press owners and editors faced punishments several times under this
ordinance.

5 Useful Methods of Collecting Primary Data in Statistics

Statistical data as we have seen can be either primary or secondary. Primary data are those which are collected for the first time and so are in crude form. But secondary data are those which have already been collected.

Primary data are always collected from the source. It is collected either by the investigator himself or through his agents. There are different methods of collecting primary data. Each method has its relative merits and demerits. The investigator has to choose a particular method to collect the information. The choice to a large extent depends on the preliminaries to data collection some of the commonly used methods are discussed below.

1. Direct Personal observation:

This is a very general method of collecting primary data. Here the investigator directly contacts the informants, solicits their cooperation and enumerates the data. The information are collected by direct personal interviews.

The novelty of this method is its simplicity. It is neither difficult for the enumerator nor the informants. Because both are present at the spot of data collection. This method provides most accurate information as the investigator collects them personally. But as the investigator alone is involved in the process, his personal bias may influence the accuracy of the data. So it is necessary that the investigator should be honest, unbiased and experienced. In such cases the data collected may be fairly accurate. However, the method is quite costly and time-consuming. So the method should be used when the scope of enquiry is small.

2. Indirect Oral Interviews :

This is an indirect method of collecting primary data. Here information are not collected directly from the source but by interviewing persons closely related with the problem. This method is applied to apprehend culprits in case of theft, murder etc. The informations relating to one's personal life or which the informant hesitates to reveal are better collected by this method. Here the investigator prepares 'a small list of questions relating to the enquiry. The answers (information) are collected by interviewing persons well connected with the incident. The investigator should cross-examine the informants to get correct information.

This method is time saving and involves relatively less cost. The accuracy of the information largely depends upon the integrity of the investigator. It is desirable that the investigator should be experienced and capable enough to inspire and create confidence in the informant to collect accurate data.

3. Mailed Questionnaire method:

This is a very commonly used method of collecting primary data. Here information are collected through a set of questionnaire. A questionnaire is a document prepared by the investigator containing a set of questions. These questions relate to the problem of enquiry directly or indirectly. Here first the questionnaires are mailed to the informants with a formal request to answer the question and send them back. For better response the investigator should bear the postal charges. The questionnaire should carry a polite note explaining the aims and objective of the enquiry, definition of various terms and concepts used there. Besides this the investigator should ensure the secrecy of the information as well as the name of the informants, if required.

Success of this method greatly depends upon the way in which the questionnaire is drafted. So the investigator must be very careful while framing the questions. The questions should be

(i) Short and clear

(ii) Few in number

(iii) Simple and intelligible

(iv) Corroboratory in nature or there should be provision for cross check

(v) Impersonal, non-aggressive type

(vi) Simple alternative, multiple-choice or open-end type

(a) In the simple alternative question type, the respondent has to choose between alternatives such as ‘Yes or No’, ‘right or wrong’ etc.

For example: Is Adam Smith called father of Statistics ? Yes/No,

(b) In the multiple choice type, the respondent has to answer from any of the given alternatives.

Example: To which sector do you belong ?

(i)  Primary Sector

(ii) Secondary Sector

(iii) Tertiary or Service Sector

(c) In the Open-end or free answer questions the respondents are given complete freedom in answering the questions. The questions are like -

What are the defects of our educational system ?

The questionnaire method is very economical in terms of time, energy and money. The method is widely used when the scope of enquiry is large. Data collected by this method are not affected by the personal bias of the investigator. However the accuracy of the information depends on the cooperation and honesty of the informants. This method can be used only if the informants are cooperative, conscious and educated. This limits the scope of the method.

4. Schedule Method:

In case the informants are largely uneducated and non-responsive data cannot be collected by the mailed questionnaire method. In such cases, schedule method is used to collect data. Here the questionnaires are sent through the enumerators to collect informations. Enumerators are persons appointed by the investigator for the purpose. They directly meet the informants with the questionnaire. They explain the scope and objective of the enquiry to the informants and solicit their cooperation. The enumerators ask the questions to the informants and record their answers in the questionnaire and compile them. The success of this method depends on the sincerity and efficiency of the enumerators. So the enumerator should be sweet-tempered, good-natured, trained and well-behaved.

Schedule method is widely used in extensive studies. It gives fairly correct result as the enumerators directly collect the information. The accuracy of the information depends upon the honesty of the enumerators. They should be unbiased. This method is relatively more costly and time-consuming than the mailed questionnaire method.

5. From Local Agents:

Sometimes primary data are collected from local agents or correspondents. These agents are appointed by the sponsoring authorities. They are well conversant with the local conditions like language, communication, food habits, traditions etc. Being on the spot and well acquainted with the nature of the enquiry they are capable of furnishing reliable information.

The accuracy of the data collected by this method depends on the honesty and sincerity of the agents. Because they actually collect the information from the spot. Information from a wide area at less cost and time can be collected by this method. The method is generally used by government agencies, newspapers, periodicals etc. to collect data.

Information are like raw materials or inputs in an enquiry. The result of the enquiry basically depends on the type of information used. Primary data can be collected by employing any of the above methods. The investigator should make a rational choice of the methods to be used for collecting data. Because collection of data forms the beginning of the statistical enquiry.

For Discussion:

Facebook.com/rubaidashfaq

Twitter.com/rubaidashfaq