Dawn is the name of a Pakistani newspaper that is owned by the Dawn Media Company. Besides owning a morning and evening newspaper, the company also owns a news magazine, a radio show, a TV news channel, and multiple online news outlets.
The Dawn newspaper was the first English newspaper in Pakistan, and was originally owned by the the founder of Pakistan and Pakistan’s first Governor-General, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and a political ally, Yusuf Haroon. But after Jinnah’s death, Haroon became the sole owner of the paper. And after that, the newspaper company slowly expanded into the large conglomerate that it is today, with the current owner, Hameed Haroon being the 11th richest man in Pakistan.
In 2018, the Dawn News Company came under fire for being biased in favor of the now ex Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, and for allegedly influencing the vote of the 2018 elections. Due to this the news company also experienced political censorship, which Haroon argues is the silencing of free speech. But many also argue that the company’s relentless favoritism of a politician who was dismissed by the Supreme Court for the revelation of his name in the Panama Papers for having illegal off shore accounts, warrants this censorship because it is unethical journalism. And although it is not known to the public whether the company is funded by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Sharif’s political party), it has often crossed the public’s minds because of Haroon’s close personal relationship with Nawaz Sharif.
The Dawn newspaper being an English paper, has a largely middle to upper class audience, and by so obviously promoting a certain political party, the paper is able to gather Influential supporters for the party. The paper also often targets public sentiment in order to gain public trust by reminding the audience that the first owner of the newspaper was the beloved founder of Pakistan. And from personal experience and observation, I believe that this tactic works because Dawn newspaper is often the main source of political information for a majority of the people around me.
After researching the Dawn Media Company, I have discovered just how unethical news reporting can often be, and how it is so often run by billionaires who are probably largely motivated by money, and not uncovering the truth. I also believe that this assignment opened my own eyes up as well, because I personally did frequently read the Dawn newspaper to keep myself up to date with Pakistani politics because it is one of the only English newspapers available. However, the only thing that I am not quite completely sure of my own opinion on is the censorship of the newspaper and TV channel. I personally do not believe in censorship, and believe that it squanders free speech, however when it is free speech that can negatively impact the future of a country, I am not quite sure where I personally stand.
References:
BBC interview stirs Pakistan controversy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 09, 2020, from https://www.google.co.jp/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-44872978
Long, R. (2017, September 05). Dawn Delhi I: Genesis of a Newspaper. Retrieved October 09, 2020, from https://www.dawn.com/news/1354278
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