NA Standing Committee on Information & Broadcasting calls for revival of glory of Pakistan Television
ISLAMABAD, Sep 20 (SABAH): Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has called for revival of grandeur of Pakistan Television which had been acclaimed worldwide in the past. The Committee suggested for optimum utilization of its present infrastructure and Human resource for making it a profit earning entity. The committee also suggested for establishment of a dedicated educational channel. The Committee met at PTV Headquarters, Islamabad on Friday under the chairmanship of Pullain Baloch, MNA to discuss agenda related to PTV and payment of salaries to the media workers.
The committee was of the view that revival of glory of PTV was need of the hour without losing its status of a family channel and conforming it with the present trends. The committee said that PTV had immense human resource potential and state of art infrastructure which could be utilized to regain its former status. The committee also suggested for a dedicated educational channel as the experience of imparting education through PTV during COVID-19 had proved to be successful. The Committee directed PEMRA and PID to aggressively pursue payment of salaries/outstanding dues to the media workers.
Apprising about the compliance on previous recommendations of the Committee regarding appointment of regular heads of PTV and PBC, the Secretary M/o I&B informed that the process of reconstitution of Boards of both the organizations was underway and was expected to be concluded within days and the appointment of the regular Director General (PBC) and Managing Director (PTV) would follow the notification of Boards. She further informed that people from cross-section of society had been shortlisted for inclusion in Boards of both the organizations.
The Acting Managing Director gave an exhaustive presentation on the existing HR, financial health, Marketing strategy and the production activities at PTV. He informed that considering the need for revamping and modernization of the state-owned broadcaster, the present government initiated series of measures that include induction of Anchors from private sector, investing in modern production equipment, developing digital infrastructure, besides content modernization. He further informed that a financial strategy had been devised that include revamping existing financial strategy to attract advertisements on competitive rates, exploring partnerships for production, implementing budget control measures and reduction in operation cost. Regarding revamping Human Resource, the Managing Director informed that focus would be paid on training PTV personnel in cutting edge broadcast technologies, content creation and management to foster innovation and bring in talented creative young talent.
The Members of the committee observed that PTV was in dire need of transformation bringing it up to the latest trends to cater the needs of its viewers. They also called for opening PTV doors for opposition for gaining public confidence. The Members of the Committee also critically viewed severe mismanagement, unjustified promotions and inconsistent fiscal decisions taken in PTV previous managements. They stressed for rejuvenation of production facilities at PTV which had been acclaimed worldwide in past. The Members were critical about the hiring of Anchors from private sector. They were of the view that expertise and intellect should be considered while hiring of such human resource. They also suggested for pooling up of resources of government media organizations to reduce burden on the national exchequer.
The committee asked for provision of details of packages being offered to the Anchors hired from private sector besides details of HR, infrastructure and logistics at all PTV stations. The Committee directed for following strict merit policy for hiring and promotions in PTV. It was also decided for a comprehensive presentation on its Marketing Strategy in next meeting of the Committee.
The meeting was attended by MNAs; Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, Ms. Kiran Imran Dar, Ms. Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, Ms. Sharmila Sahiba Farooqi Hisam, Ms. Sehar Kamran, Syed Amin Ul Haque, Muhammad Miqdad Ali Khan, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi, Barrister Daniyal Chaudhry, Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Secretary M/o Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Managing Director PTV, Principal Information Officer (PID), Director General PBC, Chairman PEMRA and officers of concerned departments.