A lecture on "media and security" was organized by the DSS Department on October 21, 2010. Renowned media personality Syed Talat Hussain, Executive Director Aaj TV was the main speaker. Mr. Talat Hussain first through his presentation and then during the question and answer session, educated the audience about the various dimensions of media, its impact, popular myths surrounding the absolute power media holds over public perception and opinion and related issues. bust the myth of media�s absolute power and hold over the public opinion making, Mr. Hussain stated that not only is the public extremely diverse, with different preferences to select from, but the overall component of information based news channels does not accede beyond 40% with different trends of viewership. Focusing more on the electronic media and its outreach, he further said, that where on one hand media�s primary role is perception building, on the other hand, it is at best a tool of information sharing and dissemination. It projects on screen the developments at domestic as well as international level, but given its 24/7 outreach to the people, the impact it carries through live images etc gets highlighted. The concept that media has the power to create, make or break political situations, is not true, as they are only a tool of information sharing. Media (print or electronic) can be manipulated by governments, which he termed as strategic rigging of critical issues, such as the case of WMDs in Iraq, unless challenged and counter narrated.
The lecture was followed by a very engaging Q&A session in which students of DSS department, ranging from PhD to MSc level along with the faculty discussed this very critical issue. The guest and faculty were later joined by the honorable Vice Chancellor QAU, Dr. Masoom Yasinzai, who engaged in an informal discussion with them and exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.
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