Parwaz-e-Shaheen
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I came across this tweet by Wikileaks yesterday (retweeted by Sharmeen Obaid whom i follow on twitter) and was astonished at the timing of release of this report by Wikileaks. Then after coming across this article today, I have to say that Jang and Geo Group have gone below that state of trust that even their former allies and funding providers won't even trust them due to their ill methods of running a media organization as a mafia of sorts and throwing the journalistic ethics out of the window.. Pity their state!
Amidst all the controversial revelations regarding GEO Network receiving foreign funding from DFID that were proven from the Hansard documents from House of Lords of United Kingdom, another Pandora box has been opened by Wikileaks through a tweet on their official twitter account on Wednesday, 21 May 2014:
In the leaked document now released on Wikileaks dated November 2008 by US Post in Islamabad directing the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency of the United States government responsible for supervising all U.S. government-supported civilian international media, to end the contract with "GEO TV Network" by no longer allowing them to disseminate Voice Of America Programming and move it to a responsible organization. This change of status of GEO TV Network is quoted to be due to irresponsible behavior as a media organization; some of these reasons being:
The report mentions that Geo has engaged in promotion of anti-Semitic behavior and has specifically targeted the Ahmadi religious minority group in a television program that resulted in the death of two (including one American Citizen) Ahmadis.
Similarly, On August 27, 2008, Jang Group papers ran a story claiming all USAID offices in the FATA had closed due to a threat from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. Not only was the story a fabrication but it also made baseless inflammatory accusations identifying an American Peshawar Consulate employee as a Jew, stating that as a Jew he should close down his offices there, "since the presence of Jewish officials in FATA would not be tolerated in any case."2) Unreliable Source Disseminating False News:
Geo TV Network has been attributed with spreading rumors and false news without any substantial proof to back the information. For instance, after the 2008 Marriot Islamabad Bombing incident, it claimed that the fire that raged throughout the night of the bombing, was started by chemicals in the guest room of the one of the Americans who died in the blast. None of this was ever substantiated in any way, yet ran on the front page of the paper and was echoed by "GEO TV".
The report further accentuates the problem of reporting rumor, innuendo, and unsubstantiated allegations not just being limited to the distribution numbers of "Jang" or "The News" but also these stories being amplified by the "GEO TV Network" that the truly negative influence expands to substantial numbers. All of this by their (GEO/JANG) own admission is calculated to maintain or increase their market share.3) Blackmailing and Misrepresentation of Facts through foul play:
The report goes on mentioning various other examples of GEO NEWS NETWORK’s irresponsible behavior as a media organization and their usual resort to tyrannous blackmailing and fact-twisting to their own benefit. The report stresses that despite communicating these concerns to GEO’s owner and Editor in Chief Mir Shakeel ur Rahman and its editorial staff over inconsistencies in their reports and disregard to journalistic ethics but Geo and Jang Group have failed to change their practices.
The release of this report serves as a proof that even once-allies of GEO News Network realized GEO’s murky editorial policy that only exist to serve only their own benefit with absolute disregard to moral, ethical and journalistic values , and were more than eager to part ways to avoid themselves getting harangued into another controversy.
WIKILEAKS RELEASES REPORT UNCOVERING GEO TV NETWORK’S QUESTIONABLE PRACTICES
Amidst all the controversial revelations regarding GEO Network receiving foreign funding from DFID that were proven from the Hansard documents from House of Lords of United Kingdom, another Pandora box has been opened by Wikileaks through a tweet on their official twitter account on Wednesday, 21 May 2014:
In the leaked document now released on Wikileaks dated November 2008 by US Post in Islamabad directing the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency of the United States government responsible for supervising all U.S. government-supported civilian international media, to end the contract with "GEO TV Network" by no longer allowing them to disseminate Voice Of America Programming and move it to a responsible organization. This change of status of GEO TV Network is quoted to be due to irresponsible behavior as a media organization; some of these reasons being:
1) Display of Anti-Semantic Behavior and Ideology:The report mentions that Geo has engaged in promotion of anti-Semitic behavior and has specifically targeted the Ahmadi religious minority group in a television program that resulted in the death of two (including one American Citizen) Ahmadis.
Similarly, On August 27, 2008, Jang Group papers ran a story claiming all USAID offices in the FATA had closed due to a threat from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. Not only was the story a fabrication but it also made baseless inflammatory accusations identifying an American Peshawar Consulate employee as a Jew, stating that as a Jew he should close down his offices there, "since the presence of Jewish officials in FATA would not be tolerated in any case."
Geo TV Network has been attributed with spreading rumors and false news without any substantial proof to back the information. For instance, after the 2008 Marriot Islamabad Bombing incident, it claimed that the fire that raged throughout the night of the bombing, was started by chemicals in the guest room of the one of the Americans who died in the blast. None of this was ever substantiated in any way, yet ran on the front page of the paper and was echoed by "GEO TV".
The report further accentuates the problem of reporting rumor, innuendo, and unsubstantiated allegations not just being limited to the distribution numbers of "Jang" or "The News" but also these stories being amplified by the "GEO TV Network" that the truly negative influence expands to substantial numbers. All of this by their (GEO/JANG) own admission is calculated to maintain or increase their market share.
As per the report, GEO TV Network has been involved in using their stature as a media organization to coerce, blackmail and put the blame on different other parties. For instance, On November 17, 2008, "GEO TV" suddenly disappeared from the airwaves in Karachi. The blackout lasted about six hours. A senior "GEO" staffer told our senior information LES that the stoppage was a result of pressure being applied by one of the political parties due to "GEO" not airing a speech by one of its politicians. Subsequently another "GEO" official disclosed to an officer of a European diplomatic mission that they had taken themselves off the air in order to blame the political party, and garner support for the station.
The report goes on mentioning various other examples of GEO NEWS NETWORK’s irresponsible behavior as a media organization and their usual resort to tyrannous blackmailing and fact-twisting to their own benefit. The report stresses that despite communicating these concerns to GEO’s owner and Editor in Chief Mir Shakeel ur Rahman and its editorial staff over inconsistencies in their reports and disregard to journalistic ethics but Geo and Jang Group have failed to change their practices.
The release of this report serves as a proof that even once-allies of GEO News Network realized GEO’s murky editorial policy that only exist to serve only their own benefit with absolute disregard to moral, ethical and journalistic values , and were more than eager to part ways to avoid themselves getting harangued into another controversy.
