'The gap is between journalism and non-journalism'.

KARACHI -- The Society for Alternative Media and Research organised on Thursday evening a dialogue between senior and junior journalists 'to bridge the gap' between them at the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

The first speaker of the programme representing the younger lot of media persons was Ali Ausat.

He said a young man who entered the field of journalism should have a strong reading habit. But youngsters today hankered after glamour, which was causing the communication gap to occur between senior and junior media men.

He suggested that platforms be made where the fresh batches of media persons could benefit from their elders' experiences.

From the seniors' side Dr Jabbar spoke first. He said: 'We are not inclined to reading books.' The institutions where mass communication was being taught were producing media technicians. There was nothing wrong with that, but there was no attention to content and research, he added.

Rana Javed said the gap existed because the seniors often disparagingly said that their juniors did not know how to compose a news item, whereas the juniors said that their [seniors'] time had passed - they are failures. This space needed to be lessened. He also mentioned that in the electronic medium those who decided what news item or report should go on air were seniors, adding that 'we are not doing journalism, we are doing jobs'.

Ashraf Khan said the younger lot was working under better conditions. Seniors' dedication and commitment to their work was incomparable. Pointing out that young media persons did not have ideological basis, he talked about the syllabus used for teaching journalism at educational institutions, arguing that it was not compatible with the need of the hour. He agreed with an earlier speaker that there was a lack of reading habit in junior journalists.

Mohammad Saqib said the...

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