From Newspapers to Smartphones: Changing Trends of Getting Pakistan News

For decades newspapers and radio remained the only two sources of Pakistan News. The importance of newspapers started dwindling as Pakistan Television (PTV) started transmission in November 1964. Breaking news bulletins and colorful TV screens caught the attention of the masses. Moreover, getting news through news bulletins was relatively easy for the illiterate masses. The advent of television news channels eclipsed the popularity of print media.

Electronic media remained the predominant source of news in Pakistan throughout the first two decades of the 21st century. However, the trend of getting news witnessed a significant change during the last couple of years as the internet and smartphones became widespread in the country.

Currently, there are several sources of getting news in Pakistan. Let’s have a look at the available platforms to get news in Pakistan.

Print Media

Print media is the oldest source of getting news in Pakistan. Daily newspapers alongside radio were the only two sources of news for several years. At the time of the inception of Pakistan, there were only two newspapers working in the country. Currently, dozens of daily newspapers are published in Pakistan. Print media ruled the minds and hearts of people in Pakistan for decades as it was the primary source of news for Pakistanis.

However, as more and more electronic media channels started emerging in the first decade of the current century, the importance of print media started waning. Today, only a few people in the country read the newspaper regularly. The majority of the young Population in Pakistan are not good readers of newspapers.

Electronic Media

Perhaps, electronic media is the leading source of Pakistan news currently. Electronic media has taken the position of print media as the most predominant source of news in the country. Dozens of TV news channels have been established in the country since 2000 when the broadcast media was opened to the private sector. There is strong competition among different news channels to outpace one another in rapid coverage of news.

Major news channels including Geo News, ARY news, and 24 News HD broadcast news bulletin after every hour to cover all the latest developments in the country. Besides providing live news updates, news channels also telecast news shows where different analysts give their valuable opinion about different developments. Currently, electronic media is the principal source of news for Pakistanis. However, the growing popularity of digital media and social media suggests that they may replace electronic media as the primary source of news in Pakistan in the coming years.

Electronic Media

Perhaps, electronic media is the leading source of Pakistan news currently. Electronic media has taken the position of print media as the most predominant source of news in the country. Dozens of TV news channels have been established in the country since 2000 when the broadcast media was opened to the private sector. There is strong competition among different news channels to outpace one another in rapid coverage of news.

Major news channels including Geo News, ARY news, and 24 News HD broadcast news bulletin after every hour to cover all the latest developments in the country. Besides providing live news updates, news channels also telecast news shows where different analysts give their valuable opinion about different developments. Currently, electronic media is the principal source of news for Pakistanis. However, the growing popularity of digital media and social media suggests that they may replace electronic media as the primary source of news in Pakistan in the coming years.

Digital Media

During the last couple of years, digital media has emerged as a popular source of online news in Pakistan. Smartphones have replaced TV sets. Nowadays many educated young Pakistanis do not set in front of the TV to get news. Instead, they just type "news today" on their smartphone and quickly learn about the latest updates. The daily lives of people have become very busy. They are too busy to get a free slot in their busy daily schedules to sit in front of the TV to watch the news.

Today, every media outlet, be it a newspaper or a TV channel, provide regular news updates over its website. Moreover, there are also some news websites like Humariweb and Urdu point that every Pakistan news update to users.

Social Media

Social media is another wonderful platform for Pakistanis to get news. Social media websites are not only platforms to stay in touch with friends but also to get the latest news updates. According to Statista, a German company specializing in market and consumer data, there are 45 million active Facebook users in Pakistan currently. This number is increasing rapidly with every passing day.

Moreover, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram are also witnessing an upsurge in users from Pakistan. Social media users get news updates from these platforms. Nobody bothers to turn on the TV when he gets live streaming of all mainstream TV channels on his smartphone.

Some users get instant updates from the aforementioned social media platforms, others go to YouTube and enjoy every news update through live streaming. YouTube has been a great setback to the demand for TV sets. Nowadays anybody can turn his smartphone into a TV to enjoy live streaming anytime.

Summing up the discussion, nothing is permanent but change. Like every other thing, the trend of getting Pakistan news is changing rapidly. Currently, Print Media, Electronic Media, Digital Media, and Social Media are four different sources of Pakistan news. Electronic Media is currently the most predominant source of news in Pakistan. However, digital media and social media are likely to take their place in the near future.

Throughout the last half of the 20th-century newspapers remained the primary source of news in Pakistan. Today carrying a newspaper seems quite old-fashioned. You can read the same news on your smartphone. Therefore, in this digital era smartphones are about to replace newspapers.

Here is Hamza Ahmad an Seo expert and want to share my ideas with the audience regarding the media industry. I hope it will be very valuable for the users.