Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ataullah Tarar on Friday said the newspapers of the country had received the maximum advertisements of Rs 9 billion whereas the new channels were given Rs 6 billion advertisements. Responding to the question of Senator Sarmad Ali Khan pertaining to criteria for news channels and newspapers during the question hour session of the second meeting of the 340th session of the Senate of Pakistan, the Minister informed that the newspapers were facing financial crisis due to which the current government paid special attention to it. Ataullah Tarar said at present as per the 1997 Services Manual, advertisements were given to the news and media outlets. He added that a policy for advertisement was introduced in 2021 which was amended in 2022. “There is no criteria to gauge electronic media’s eligibility for getting advertisements. However, our rates’ committee based on rating of news channels allows a limit or number of advertisements to be given to a particular channel,” he said. The Minister underlined that at presented no advertisements for any news channel were halted by the current government. The criteria, he said for advertisement was to convey the intended message to maximum audience effectively, whereas the rating system for news channels helps achieve that ambition. Moreover, the Audit Bureau of Circulation checks the circulation of the newspapers and then issues advertisements to the widely circulated newspapers, he added. In the Budget 2024, he said 10 percent duty was imposed on the paper used for newspapers which was imported, but it was waived off and no new tax was imposed on newspapers due to the prevailing crisis. He urged the House that the prevailing Policy needs to be improved and made effective under the guidance of the mover of the question and All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS).
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