Print Media e.g.

Newspapers and magazines with easy conditions of entry for publishers and editors, without differentiation between authentic, credible print media and on the other, a large number of “dummy publications”. Both types enjoy high levels of freedom of expression and in many instances also receive substantial benefits from Government-controlled advertising, irrespective of whether a newspaper is a genuine newspaper with a credible level of circulation or it is a merely token, ceremonial publication whose circulation may not exceed 100 or 500 copies a day but, because of corrupt practices, receives larger volumes of Government-controlled advertising.

Electronic Media

In contrast to the ease of entry into publication for print media, the entry criteria into the electronic media sector are more exacting and more expensive i.e. the need to meet the eligibility criteria specified by PEMRA, the costs of obtaining a license e.g. Rs.5 million, the costs of equipment and satellite broadcast facilities, the relatively high cost of operating a news channel (whose content cannot be re-sold or repeated unlike the content of an entertainment channel) etc. In the print media sector there is no longer any State-owned daily newspaper or magazine. But in the electronic media sector, there are PTV and PBC, both of which receive large sums of money from the public (the TV license fee for PTV) and funds for projects from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and the public exchequer e.g. PBC, which receives over 90 % of its revenue as grant-in-aid.

Social Media

Perhaps the easiest sector for entry and the easiest to operate in, at the lowest cost, because even a single individual with a computer and Internet connectivity can maintain a website or a blog. The evolution of Face book, Twitter, and other dimensions of the Internet have also made it the most participative mass medium with optimal access, except for phases where YouTube is blocked.

Classical Media and Below-the-Line Media

Classical media, theatre, books, cinema. Below-the-line media: outdoor billboards, posters, handbills, displays, banners, etc. Each of these is not a conventional news medium and each of these is governed by different laws and mechanisms at the Federal and now increasingly, at the Provincial levels.

– The Four categories of Media page is a part of Some Basic Concerns of the Media Commission.