Role of Electronic Media In

Socioeconomic Development Of District

Sanghar

1.1 Background to the Topic

The rapid surge in the technological advancement has brought in many societal changes for

instance transformation of the world in to a global village. The technology advancement has also

impacted the growth and development in conventional as well as contemporary media channels.

The use of latest and advanced technologies in the electronic media not only improves the

quality of the news and broadcast presentation standards but also improves the flow of

information on electronic media (Bertot, Jaeger, & Grimes, 2010). According to (Subrahmanyam

and Smahel, (2010), in 21st century, the media and technological advancement are the primary

factors that will result in the national development of a country in regard to geo-politics,

economy, social and cultural elements. The major development in the electronic media in

Pakistan occurred after the year 2002 with many opening of many new private TV channels as

well as radio channels. With increased usage and penetration of internet over the years, the

Pakistani society has made many socio economic shifts (Tanveer, Iqbal, & Nawaz, 2013).
1.2 Introduction

Technology is defined as the machines and tools that enable the resolution of problems or allows

people to do things in new and novel manner (US Department of Commerce, 2019). On the other

hand, the major means or tools of mass communication which collectively encompasses

broadcast media, publishing or print media and also the internet (Potter, 2018).

1.2.1 Electronic Media and Socio-Economic Development

The media and technology also plays a crucial role in the times of stunted economic growth and

environmental volatility. For instance, a lot of countries strive to increase their employment rate

through technology and media for stimulating growth by creating new jobs (Potter, 2018). The

information communications technology is not just a sector undergoing fastest development

resulting in the direct creation of millions of jobs across the globe but also enables innovation

and economic development (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2018). The mobile subscriptions

statistics reveal that approximately 6.8 billion people across the world use mobile phone with

over 40% of the entire world population are already using internet which is also a form of

contemporary media. Thus, in such an environment, the competitiveness of economies is

contingent upon their capability to leverage and exploit new technologies (Gozalvez, 2017).

The empirical evidence suggests that the technology and media sector across the globe is

anticipated to be the largest employer. The technology jobs are anticipated to increase by 22%

till the year 2020, leading to creation of 758,800 new jobs in USA alone. Moreover, in 2013, due

to growth in global technology sector market, there was an increase of 8%, in new jobs and

salaries (Linden, 2017). In addition, the empirical studies also confirm the positive impact of

media and technology on the economic growth. A report of World Economic Forum, (2018)
suggested that with a 10% rise in penetration of broadband internet there is a 1.4% rise in the

growth of GDP in emerging economies. Furthermore, with the development of media, the

supporting industries also grow tremendously causing the boost in overall economic health of a

country.

Moreover, the media in any country plays a critical role in the socio economic development of

country through propagating a shared national cohesion and identity for stimulating the people’s

resolve of in accomplishing progress as well as overcoming the challenges of modern world.

However, the downside of the media is that it could be used as an instrument promoting state

propaganda. In addition, the media has also capability to shape and transform the societal norms

and beliefs. The constant bombardment of a message from media results in increased

acceptability of the idea in the masses over a period of time (Campbell et al., 2018).

1.3 Media Landscape in Pakistan

According to Khan and Khalid, (2017) the media of Pakistan has grown tremendously over the

last couple of decades in the General Musharraf’s era with opening of many new private

channels. In the 2000s, there were only three state governed television channels. However, to

date there are numerous TV Channels and media houses operating in Pakistan.

Thus, the media landscape of Pakistan is extremely vibrant and is quite independent as well.

After, the 2002, liberalization, the television sector underwent a boom. As a result, causing the

fierce competition within the media sector, that led to following of commercial interests and

sensationalism taking precedence over quality in journalism. On the other hand, the radio sector
of media did not experience similar degree of growth as witnessed by Television. However, there

are still numerous radio channels working independently who are considered to be a significant

information source particularly in the rural areas of the country (Ansari & Zuberi, 2017).

In addition, the Pakistan's media has a multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic landscape. There are

English as well as Urdu media that caters to people of different socioeconomic class and

educational background. The print and television media in Urdu in particular the print and

newspapers, are extensively popular among masses in particular in the rural areas of the country

(Khan & Khalid, 2017). The English media i.e. television, print and radio stations have relatively

smaller audiences in comparison to the Urdu media channels. In contrast, the Urdu counterparts

have more leverage in shaping the opinions regarding politics, business and community.

Moreover, the media of Pakistan also enjoys freedom of speech and expression. However, the

media in Pakistan is often criticized for being biased and polarized (Akhtar & Pratt, 2017).

In rural areas, radio channels are considered to be an important information source. In addition,

to the government owned Radio Pakistan, there are a numerous privately owned radios channels

that air independent news and content. However, most of the content on radio is entertainment

related such as music. In addition, hundreds of local newspapers in Urdu and other native are

circulating in rural areas (Ansari & Zuberi, 2017)..

The internet is also a contemporary form of media. At present, there are 44.6 Million users of

internet across the country with only 1.3% users in rural areas and 22% in the urban areas of the

country. This reveals that the use of internet is extremely small in rural areas which signify that

the rural areas of Pakistan lag behind in technology and advanced media forms (Riaz, 2015).
 Source: Riaz (2015)

1.4 Media and District Sanghar

1.4.1 District Sanghar – Overview

Sanghar District is located in the Sindh and is one of the largest districts of the province with an

area spread across 9874 square kms. The capital of the district that is Sanghar, is a 56 km small

city situated in the “east-south-east” of Nawabshah and to north is the Mirpur Khas. The primary

industry of Sanghar District is agriculture. As per the census of 1998 of Pakistan, the total

population of Sanghar district is 1,453,028 out of which 22.13% were residing in urban cities
(Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2019). Majority of the population in District Sanghar is Muslim

which is 79% followed by 19% Hindu population with Sindhi being the native and widely

spoken language (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2019). The Sanghar District comprise of 63

union councils such as Sanghar, Jam Nawaz Ali, Tando Adam, Khipro, Shahdadpur, Sinjhoro,

etc. (Disaster Management Authority, 2018).

Source: Disaster Management Authority (2018)

1.4.2 Media in District Sanghar

According to USAID’s Maternal Child Health statistics, 47.3% of people in Sindh have access to

TV, 2.6% of the Sindh population listens to radio and 4% of the people in Sindh read newspaper

(USAID, 2015).
 Source: (USAID, 2015)

According to a Media Report of USAID (2015), the most popular television channel in the

interior Sindh such as Sanghar District is a channel named KTN. It is a local regional television

channel with all the content in local Sindhi language with a viewership of 81% followed by KTN

News, Geo News, PTV Home and Star Plus. The viewership of PTV Home is very high in

interior Sindh which is a government owned channel. According to the statistics (USAID, 2015),

30.7 % of the households in Sanghar District have a radio at home whereas 64% have television

sets. Moreover, in Sanghar District 29.4% of the women regularly watch TV whereas 1% per

cent regularly listens to health care programs on the radio. However, the newspaper readership in

Sanghar is very low with a mere 1.2 %. In regard to the contemporary forms of media such as

mobile phone, the statistics reveal that 89 % of households in District Sanghar have mobile
phones whereas just 1.3 % own both mobile phone as well as landline connections (USAID,

2015).

However, the rural media is lagging behind in terms of technology and are mostly reliant upon

traditional methods with no access to latest technology and internet. In accordance to the

Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (2014), a merely 1.3% of rural households have

internet connectivity in comparison to 22% in urban areas of the country. Due to lack of internet

availability, many rural newspapers of Pakistan are operating without advanced technology for

gathering of information (Riaz, 2015). The lack of technology in addition to the financial

problems and lower level of education affects the quality of journalism and media output in rural

areas of Pakistan (Safdar, Shabir, Khan, & Seyal, 2019).

A study carried out by Riaz (2015), revealed that the media in Pakistan does not pay enough

attention to the events and issues of people residing in rural areas. This is a grave issue as 70%

of the entire population of Pakistan resides in small villages and rural areas which reflect that

such a large segment of the Pakistani society is being neglected by the mainstream media. As a

result, the issues and problems of the rural people and communities are not given proper

attention. Moreover, since most of the advertising income is generated from the urban cities, thus

the media prefers giving coverage to them. In addition, the regional and local newspapers

operating in interior Sindh areas such as Sanghar District are operating with limited resources

and thus could not play a positive part in the world of extremely modernized and advanced

technologies. Thus, in such a situation, it is the mainstream national media’s duty to play its part

in bringing the real problems of population residing in rural areas of Sindh. Unfortunately, the
rural areas of Saghar District are not represented enough by the mainstream Pakistan’s

mainstream media in particularly newspapers.

1.5 Research Objectives

Following are the main objectives of carrying out this research study:

 To analyse and investigate theories of electronic media regarding the development of

infrastructure including the road network in Sanghar District.

 To analyse the health consciousness through electronic media among the masses and the

development in the health sector of Sanghar District.

 To investigate the impacts of electronic media on the educational uplift of People of

Sanghar District

1.6 Problem Statement

This study attempts to answer the following questions:

 What is the role of Electronic Media in Socioeconomic Development of District Sanghar?

 What are the key challenges faced by Electronic Media in Socioeconomic Development

of District Sanghar?

1.7 Significance of the Study

This study is highly significant for media houses operating in Pakistan as with the findings of

this research study will allow the media sector to work effectively towards highlighting and

benefiting the rural population of Sanghar District. Furthermore, the increased focus on the
issues of people of Sanghar District will lead to the socioeconomic development of the region.

Moreover, the findings of this research study will also be helpful for the government of Pakistan

as well as for the provincial government of Sindh in addressing the issues of people of Sanghar

District which will improve overall living conditions of the local people.

1.8 Scope of the Study

The research study will be only be studying the role as well as the key challenges faced by

electronic media in socioeconomic development. Moreover, the study will be only focusing on

the Sanghar District of the Sindh Province of Pakistan.

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