Sunday, May 27, 2012

RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal

Fast Facts

  • Radio Mashaal was launched in January 2010 in order to provide reliable reporting in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
  • Languages: Pashto
  • Coverage: 9 hours daily
  • Established: January 2010
  • Distribution: Radio (AM, SW), Internet (www.mashaalradio.com)
  • Locations:  Prague headquarters, Islamabad bureau
  • Staff: 16 (Prague), 23 stringers
 
www.azadiradio.org

Media Environment

  • Pakistan has been dubbed “the world’s most deadly country for journalists” for two consecutive years by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Northwest Pakistan, where Radio Mashaal broadcasts, is especially dangerous due to militancy and a general lack of security. Illegal radio stations in the region spread pro-extremist propaganda and harmful disinformation and journalists are routinely threatened, kidnapped, and attacked.
  • Freedom House Freedom of the Press Index, 2012: Not Free (144th/197)
  • Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, 2012: 151st/179

 

RFE/RL’s Newest Service

  • Radio Mashaal provides a rich variety of programming, including local and international news, in-depth political reporting featuring local policymakers and tribal elders, and special feature programs dedicated to youth, women’s issues, human rights and health care. Two years after its launch, Radio Mashaal has established itself as a trusted news source and continues to attract a growing audience. Listeners value Mashaal for its professionalism and focus on local issues.
  • Radio Mashaal journalist Daud Khattak, was selected as a 2011-2012 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow by the National Press Foundation. Shaheen Buneri was also recognized for his work by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, which awarded him a 2011 Persephone Miel Fellowship.
  • When Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011, Radio Mashaal provided around the clock coverage from Abbottabad, providing important context to Pakistani listeners.
  • During devastating floods in July 2010, Radio Mashaal was the only media to send reporters into rural and uneasily accessible areas. Amongst others, programs based on reports from these isolated villages, provided crucial information for people who had lost homes and property, and gave expert advice on water-borne illnesses.
  • “Hujra,” meaning a community guest house, is one of Mashaal’s feature programs that facilitates dialogue between common people and concerned governmental officials. 
  • Radio Mashaal’s reporting has numerous examples of tangible impact on the lives Pakistanis. Two days after a Mashaal correspondent reported on impoverished blind twins in South Waziristan tribal agency, a politician called the two brothers and announced a lifelong financial monthly package. On January 20, a local journalist also paid for their treatment and check-ups after listening to the Mashaal report. Similarly, a report about a girl shining shoes on the streets of Jalalabad prompted an NGO in Afghanistan to get involved, providing a monthly salary on the condition that the child stays enrolled in school.
  • In 2011 Mashaal launched Frontline SMS system that enables people to send local texts to the station free of charge. This way, even audiences who lack Internet access are able to share their problems or to critique the Mashaal’s programming.

Meet Radio Mashaal

Maliha Amirzada - Radio Mashaal

Service Snapshots: Maliha Amirzada

Maliha Amirzada is a correspondent for RFE's Radio Mashaal. We caught up with her to discuss Radio Mashaal and its impact on Pashtun society. More

Facts & Stats

Map of Pakistan
Population
166 million (World Bank estimate, 2008)

Most Common Languages:
Punjabi, Sindhi, Siraiki, Pashto, Urdu

Press Freedom Index (Freedom House):
Not Free, ranked 144 out of 197 (2012)

Press Freedom Index (RSF):
151 out of 179 (2012)

Corruption Index (Transparency Int.):
134 out of 183 (2011)

Global Peace Index (IES):
146 out of 153 (2011)

Human Rights Watch:
Report on Pakistan (2012)

Amnesty International:
Pakistan Report (2011)