In Asia editor Alma Freeman recently caught up with author and social media expert Beth Kanter after a talk held at The Asia Foundation’s headquarters, organized by the Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. Named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company and one of the BusinessWeek’s “Voices of Innovation for Social Media,” Kanter is the author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media for Social Change, and Visiting Scholar at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

GlobalWebIndex’s latest data shows that the internet now makes up 57 percent of global media consumption, with social media alone taking 26 percent of people’s media time, more than TV’s 23 percent. What does this trend mean?

If you think about the media landscape, it looks like a clover: you have traditional media, influencer blogs, and social media. People are now getting their information from all of those sources, especially in places with good broadband access. But this means that people, especially younger people, need to have a really good sense of digital literacy and be able to detect: Is this the whole story? Is it balanced? Is it the truth? Especially now that we have the filter bubble with Google, which is feeding us back what is likeable, as opposed to search results that are balanced.

Increased internet access, pervasive broadband, and the ability to get internet on the smartphone have made information so much more accessible. Things like the $25 tablet in India are making a huge difference. As the tools and technology become more accessible, the environment online becomes more socially interesting. But there’s always resistance to technology and social media – the argument of why should we do it now, it’s just a fad, it’s going to go away. Now, most of the nonprofits I work with view social media as an important part of their marketing, but there’s still the struggle that organizations have on getting everyone to participate. Navigating the personal and professional is also very tricky – many employees may be using it personally and care about the issues around the organization. Figuring out how to navigate and leverage that personal passion for your organization’s work in service of the mission is not an easy thing to do.

Internet usage is sky-rocketing in Asia, making it one of the fastest-growing social media regions in the world. How will this change social media and particularly, how non-profits and NGOs can use it?

That’s true, but when I go to India, I hear people say often that only 3 percent of the population is on Facebook, so why should I care? While that’s true, that 3 percent represents over 60 million people, which is the third largest country on Facebook. Most of those people are concentrated in urban areas, but that doesn’t mean that someone in a village with a smart phone can’t get that information and influence others off-line.

You have a deep connection to Cambodia, and helped raise money for the first Cambodian Bloggers conference in 2007 and recently attended another bloggers conference last year. What has changed?

I first started blogging in 2003 and had three blogs, one for non-profits, and two on Cambodia. I started getting comments from Cambodian young people, and became the bridge blogger for Global Voices, and started blogging and interacting with Cambodian bloggers more on a regular basis. Then I met Tharum, one of Cambodia’s first and most influential bloggers, and helped to get him a scholarship to go to London. He went on to become a very well-know blogger.
When I was first in Phnom Penh in 2000, there was one traffic light, and the only internet connection was in the fancy hotel that was a dial up and super slow. In 2004, there were a couple of internet cafes. Now it seems like there is Wi-Fi everywhere, and people are getting it to their phones. It has changed vastly.

What role can blogs play that traditional media cannot? Can they help increase transparency and citizen participation?

The later question is asking a lot, honestly. Unless everyone is working together, and has a tremendous amount of backing, I don’t know how realistic it is to expect bloggers and social media alone to be able to transform countries and governments. Although we have seen things like the Arab Spring which was driven by Facebook, we’re still watching to see the impact it had on lasting change. However, blogs can be an authentic, local voice. They can give a sense of what’s happening locally and how people are thinking about issues. That’s what attracted me to Global Voices. For example, during the viral online campaign to capture Uganda warlord Kony, I loved going and reading from the Ugandan bloggers. You found that what they were thinking and how they were talking about the event was completely different than here.
Social media is a double-edged sword. There is social media for good and social media for evil. It’s a question around the resilience of our networks. In September, I was supposed to be on a plane to Tunisia, but it was cancelled because of that video that triggered a wave of unrest in the region. So, I wrote a blog on why I’m not on a plane to Tunisia right now, and it was basically about how we need to build more resilience in our networks and civil society so that when something like this happens, people can rise up and resolve it, as opposed to just escalating the bad.

The inauguration ceremony of South Korea’s new president, Park Geun-hye, was held on February 25 with mixed feelings among Koreans about her election. She is the daughter of the controversial former president, Park Chung Hee, who is seen as the man who motivated Korea’s economic development miracle, but also criticized as a harsh dictator who ruled the country for 18 years. She is the country’s first female president, but is also from a conservative party in a country that ranks lowest in The Economist‘s latest Global Ceiling index, which compares 26 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in terms of the working environment for women.

Korea inaugurated its new president, Park Geun-hye, on Feb. 25 with mixed feelings among Koreans about her election. Photo/SBS

The more telling part is that she was elected with 15,773,128 votes, which is 51.6 percent of eligible voters. This was the first time that a South Korean president got more than half of the votes since Korea reintroduced direct popular voting in 1987. The voter turnout was the highest since 1997 at 75.8 percent. SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System), where I work as a reporter and one of the three major broadcasting networks in Korea and the first and largest private broadcasting station, played an influential role in this election’s high turnout and voter engagement. They did this by using a creative outreach campaign.

Since 1987, especially among Korea’s young adults and more educated population, interest in voting has consistently waned as the public expressed increasing disappointment in politics and politicians who are seen as always fighting among themselves and not putting the interest of the people first.

To help raise voter turnout, SBS decided to try something new in the lead up to the general elections for the National Assembly in May and the subsequent presidential election in December. Before this, election coverage in Korea was mostly about delivering exit polls and ballot counts.

Starting with the general election, SBS launched an outreach campaign that asked people to take a picture of themselves in front of the polling station after they voted and send it to the broadcasting station. When we received the pictures, we put them on the lower right side of the TV screen, so everyone could see who had voted. The response was enthusiastic and spread quickly among voters, who liked having their pictures on TV. They told their family members and friends about it, and more and more people went to vote. What was striking was that the majority of participants were young people, many of whom were voting for the first time.

SBS launched an outreach campaign that asked people to take a picture of themselves in front of the polling station after they voted and send it to SBS, which then featured them on screen during election coverage. Photo/SBS

For the presidential election, SBS went a step further. We not only put pictures of the voters on the screen but also had people tell us beforehand what time they intended to vote. Then SBS sent them stickers that they could put on their car to remind them of the time and to inspire others to vote. We also made a “get out the vote” song with famous singer and actor Kim Chang-wan, who is a radio DJ at SBS. It was then made into a music video with webtoons.

On election day, SBS received 65,000 pictures of people voting, mostly younger voters. This also encouraged many older people, who were nervous that a strong turnout among young people might sway the vote, to also go out and vote, which helped raise the voting rate even more.

SBS also focused on making the ballot-counting coverage on live TV more engaging. We made computer graphics incorporating scenes of movies and TV shows using scenes from the popular the Korean movie, “Friend,” in which the main characters are running. It was designed so that it looked like the main characters were the candidates, putting the candidate with the highest vote in front. SBS also used sports like fencing to show how the candidates were performing in different districts. Mark MacKinnon, a correspondent for Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper tweeted that “after watching how South Korean TV covers an election, I’ll never watch CNN again” and CNN correspondent Paula Hancocks responded, “Don’t worry, I’m taking notes!”

For the first time since 1987, the voting rate actually rose instead of dropped. The biggest difference compared to the 2007 presidential election was the massive voting among people in the age group of 20-30. As in 2007, people in their 50s and 60s still voted the most, 82 percent and 80.9 percent respectively, which is 5 percent higher than before, but the rate for voters in their early 20s jumped from 51.1 percent in 2007 to 71.1 percent, and those in their late 20s jumped from 42.9 percent to 65.7 percent. The voting rate of those in their early 30s was 67.7 percent which was 16.4 percent higher than four years ago, and that of those in their late 30s was 72.3 percent which was 13.8 percent higher than before.

On February 27, the government awarded SBS President Woo Wan Gil a medal for the network’s contribution to the nation. We were proud of ourselves as a media company not just because of the medal, but because we engaged Koreans to follow the elections and go to vote, which is the most basic democratic responsibility. We realized that even when people tend to ignore the news, if you do it right, they will watch. And, even in this day and age, the media can play a critical role in improving society.

Chong-ae Lee, a current Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, is a senior reporter on the Future and Vision Desk for SBS in Korea, where she has worked since 1995. At Harvard, she is studying journalism related to complex trauma, focusing on people who have experienced the effects of periods of colonialism, war and military-influenced dictatorial administrations followed by rapid economic growth. Her fellowship is under the auspices of The Asia Foundation, and administered by the Foundation’s Asian American Exchange unit. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Over the last few weeks, in our blog, our studies, in well-respected surveys, at think tanks and other organizations, and the media, the topic of corruption and transparency seems to be everywhere you look. However, there seems no clear consensus on the extent of the problem in various countries, from Mongolia to Indonesia to Afghanistan, nor what corruption and transparency actually mean for a country’s well being.

For example, a just-released Open Budget Survey from the International Budget Partnership ranks Afghanistan as the second greatest improved country out of 100 in budget transparency. That survey also places Indonesia in the top 25 percent in the ranking. At the same time, a World Bank analyst Peter Blunt, published a piece declaring that patronage remains a defining feature of governance in Indonesia. And a new UN report on Afghanistan found that corruption had dropped nine percent since 2009. It also found that the amount paid in bribes has risen by 40 percent to $3.9 billion, twice the country’s domestic revenue. Here are recent excerpts and analysis from In Asia:

Asia Foundation deputy representative in Indonesia, Laurel MacLaren, reacted to the new Open Budget Survey findings last week: “The survey certainly present good news for Indonesia, which is one of only 17 countries – with peers that include Germany, South Korea, and the United States – categorized as providing ‘significant information’ about the government budget to citizens.” But, she goes on: “Just as we were to let out a collective cheer, however, a copy of the article by World Bank’s Peter Blunt, “Patronage’s Progress in Post-Soeharto Indonesia,” reminded us of the many battles to come. Blunt’s paper credibly argues that patronage remains a defining feature of governance in Indonesia.”

Mongolia was again ranked the world’s fastest growing economy this year, and moved up 26 spots from 120 to 94 in Transparency International’s 2012 “Corruption Perceptions Index,” and up from 88 to 76 in the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business Index.” But, at the same time, local businesses still struggle under rampant corruption, according to a just-released Asia Foundation report. Foundation experts blogged about the direct impact on businesses in the country: “Over 17 percent of large businesses spent over 50 percent of their time overcoming non-productive obstacles, such as obtaining or renewing licenses, facing temporary prohibitions, and navigating an unstable regulatory environment.”

Also, in the Philippines, a new agreement brings two unlikely sides together – the media and political parties – that marks a step toward curbing rampant corruption in the media: “The covenant commits the signatories – both media practitioners and political parties and candidates – to reject engaging in acts that contribute to corruption in the media, which has consistently marred Philippine elections.” Read more from Maribel Buenaobra and Jerryll Reyes in Manila.

And, to the disappointment (but perhaps not surprise) of billions of soccer fans, investigators came out this week and declared soccer to be the world’s most corrupt sport, with the “epicenter of the global corruption in Asia.”

Taken together, this information seems to prompt the age-old question: To what extent does corruption really determine a nation’s economic and social livelihood? Join the discussion.

Alma Freeman is The Asia Foundation’s global communications manager and editor of this blog. She can be reached at afreeman@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Ahead of May 2013 midterm elections in the Philippines, media organizations and political parties signed last week the “Covenant Against Media Corruption 2013,” an agreement that marks a significant step toward curbing rampant corruption in the media. Veteran journalist Marites Vitug of Rappler, called the covenant a “milestone in itself in contemporary media history.”

Corruption in the media is particularly common during election season. The new covenant aims to curb corruption ahead of midterm elections in May.

The covenant commits the signatories – both media practitioners and political parties and candidates – to reject engaging in acts that contribute to corruption in the media, which has consistently marred Philippine elections. This is welcome news, as corruption has significantly damaged Philippine society by creating a culture of impunity whereby corrupt officials are not prosecuted and media practitioners turn a blind eye or do not expose corrupt practices. To date, the media, considered the gatekeepers of information, have not had to adhere to the highest ethical and journalistic standards and have typically assumed the roles of publicists and spin doctors for politicians and candidates. Information, which is supposedly accessible to the public, becomes a commodity and is sold to the highest bidder, particularly during election season. In the Philippines, there are well-known accounts of politicians and candidates keeping a “media payroll” especially during election seasons to secure favorable coverage from reporters. There have also been instances when radio broadcasters, particularly based in the provinces, sell airtime to politicians to augment their income.

Looking at the 2013 elections as an opportunity to change these practices and eventually help define the landscape of Philippine media and its ethical standards, Media Nation focused on the issue of corruption at its ninth annual gathering, organized by Pagbabago@Pilipinas, in November. For almost 10 years, Media Nation has served as an annual gathering and retreat for the media to discuss various issues that persistently hound their work and profession, from the challenges of political reportage, and violence against journalists, to the media’s role in nation-building. More significantly, the annual event provides an opportunity for them to reflect on their mission, revisit their role as gatekeeper of information, and renew their commitment to public service. The Asia Foundation has helped convene the event since the very first Media Nation 1 in 2004.

Of course, the issue of corruption is nothing new in the media: the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) published two editions of a book, News for Sale, in 1998 and 2004, tackling the pervasive and deep-rooted issue of corruption in the Philippine media taking place most particularly during election years and campaign periods. In response to reported incidence of media corruption, media outlets have tried to address the issue through strict guidelines and policies which are enforced through Codes of Conduct and Ethical Standards. For instance, major networks such as ABS CBN and GMA 7 provide a cap or limit to the amount or value of gifts that can be received by a reporter or journalist. But these codes of conduct and ethical standards are clearly not adequate in addressing media corruption.

The covenant signing was the first time that media practitioners and organizations have come together with people from opposite sides of the fence – candidates and political parties – to clean up their ranks to bring greater accountability in the Philippine media. And, steps are already being taken. On the heels of the signing, the Secretary General of one of the major parties issued a memo announcing their support, explaining the covenant, and encouraging the cooperation of all their local candidates.

Maribel Buenaobra is The Asia Foundation’s director of Programs and Jerryll Reyes is a program officer, both in the Philippines. They can be reached at mbuenaobra@asiafound.org and jreyes@asiafound.org, respectively. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual authors and not those of The Asia Foundation.

A buzz of excitement filled the room, with camera lights flashing and fingers fervently typing on laptops and smartphones. Students, young professionals, and seasoned journalists from around the Asia-Pacific gathered eagerly for the start of BlogFest Asia 2012 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, The four-day affair earlier this month brought together the region’s best and brightest bloggers and technologists to exchange ideas on more effective blogging and the digital landscape.

From left to right, Panelists Sopheap Chak of Global Voices and Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), David Isaksson of Spider (moderator), Moses Ngeth of Community Legal Education Centre, and Ramana Sorn of CCHR participate in a discussion titled “Practical Aspects of Internet Empowerment: Gender, Language & Civic Engagement” at the third BlogFest, held in Siem Reap.

In the spirit of the ASEAN region’s goal of economic integration by 2015, BlogFest was created to build a community of social media enthusiasts that fostered the exchange of ideas and culture. Approximately 200 people from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Burma, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia, the United States, and Cambodia attended this third BlogFest, after the first in Hong Kong in 2009 and Penang, Malaysia in 2010.

Topics ranged from the practical (commercializing blogging, cyber security, using blogs as a resume, blogging with multimedia) to the more theoretical (defining internet freedom and responsibilities, using the internet to empower and promote civic engagement, defending freedom of information and expression). However, the most poignant discussions took place on the topic of ensuring freedom of expression, press, and information – a critical and urgent issue for the region.

In September, three prominent bloggers in Vietnam were handed prison sentences, charged with propaganda against the one-party communist state. In Malaysia, a blogger was arrested in early July for allegedly insulting one of the country’s royalty, an offense punishable by up to seven years in prison. Bloggers and activists in the Philippines have been battling a new internet law called the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which took effect in October 2012 (the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on the law after strong protest). The law penalizes computer-related crimes, including identity theft, online fraud, child pornography, and cyber terrorism, but critics are most concerned about its overreaching provisions related to libel. A person found guilty of libel on the internet could be imprisoned for up to 12 years. According to the new law, a libelous comment on blogs or any other social media platform like Twitter is considered a more serious crime than printed libel.

In comparison, Cambodia’s current state of internet freedom is relatively unrestricted: its cyber law is still in draft form, although outright criticism of the government remains scarce and self-censorship widespread. Blogger Sopheap Chak, one of the conference organizers and project coordinator at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said in an interview with the Cambodian Daily: “[There are] not many bloggers writing about social issues or politics…This is probably [due to] self-censorship because you can see all of the cases of harassment of journalists offline.”

Cambodia ranks 117 out of 179 in the Press Freedom Index (tied with Zimbabwe and Venezuela) and currently lacks a Freedom of Information law. Meanwhile, the looming cyber law raises concerns among bloggers and human rights groups wary that the proposed legislation will limit freedom of expression. The government assures that the cyber law is not meant to punish critical voices, but rather to prevent crime and protect data. However, in the context of a shrinking space for civil society and an increase in human rights violations in Cambodia, some are beginning to express scepticism.

According to Freedom House, the government is increasingly concerned with the internet’s potential to serve as a platform for the opposition. In February 2011, numerous media outlets reported on the shutdown of several opposition websites, including KI-Media, a popular news aggregator and commentary blog. The government denied any involvement.

However, the situation is definitely not all doom and gloom in Cambodia. For instance, the government could have easily barred an event like BlogFest from happening; instead, the Cambodian Minister of Information, Khieu Kanharith, attended and presented awards on the final day of the conference. While the state wields heavy influence over traditional media outlets, new and social media are, as of now, largely ungoverned. The ICT infrastructure and growing internet penetration (3.1% in 2011) provide immense potential for overcoming challenges.

Increasingly, Cambodians are getting excited about harnessing technology for development, as evidenced by events like BarCamp Phnom Penh, an open technology conference, TEDxPhnom Penh, and the Asia BlogFest. Technologists, bloggers, and others hope these events can be incubators of innovative solutions to pressing development challenges and a source of inspiration for Cambodians interested in participating in social media.

In one of the conference’s final workshop sessions, “Cybercrime Law in the Philippines,” speaker Tonyo Cruz shared with his Cambodian counterparts applicable lessons from the Filipino context. It was encouraging to hear him remind participants that despite different nationalities, that as netizens of the internet, they are all in this together. He added, “Only in an atmosphere of freedom could we make full use of social media and technology for good [governance] and progress.” As I watched participants brainstorm ideas to form networks across the region via Twitter and Facebook, the excitement and immense potential the digital landscape has to empower and unite voices for positive social change was undeniable.

The Asia Foundation was one of several sponsors who supported BlogFest Asia 2012.

Lisa H. Kim is a program associate for The Asia Foundation’s Cambodia office. She can be reached at lkim@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

Malaysiakini, a trailblazing, online news service based in Kuala Lumpur and published in English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil with an impressive readership of 2.5 million per month, has for more than a decade found a way around the country’s strict censorship policy by publishing only online. Now, after 13 years of online service, Malaysiakini may be able to offer its news to readers in print.

In 2010, Malaysiakini applied for a permit required by the government to publish and sell 40,000 print newspapers in and around Kuala Lumpur. The Home Ministry rejected the application without giving a reason. Malaysiakini challenged the decision, calling the ruling unconstitutional and a violation of freedom of expression. Finally, on October 1, the Malaysian High Court declared that the Home Ministry’s decision to deny Malaysiakini a publishing permit application was “improper and irrational” and against the principles set forth in the Malaysian constitution.

Traditional media (print, TV, radio) in Malaysia are closely aligned with or controlled by members of the ruling party and exercise a high degree of self-censorship to maintain their government-controlled media licenses. This year in its Press Freedom Index, Freedom House ranked Malaysia 144th out of 197 countries, putting Malaysia behind Uganda and even Libya. It ranked Malaysia 31st out of 40 Asian countries.  In April, a global outcry erupted over the lack of local media coverage and the censorship of international media footage of the BERSIH 3.0 rally in April. The High Court’s declaration on Malaysiakini is therefore a noteworthy and timely victory for press freedom here.

While most Malaysians still get their news and information from newspapers, in recent years internet news sites have emerged as a counter force to the traditional media. Malaysiakini has blazed the trail with its hard-edged, investigative reporting, which is often critical of the government. In fact, many political observers attribute the opposition coalition’s (Pakatan Rakyat) strong showing in the 2008 general elections to the power and persuasion of internet media, such as Malaysiakini. Some argue that Malaysiakini’s anti-establishment reputation and critical style was the real reason that the Home Ministry denied its application for a printing license, fearing more widespread penetration of Malaysiakini’s critical reporting, beyond just the internet.

The conditions seem favorable for greater media freedom and freedom of expression in Malaysia, as Prime Minister Najib has less than six months to call the 13th general elections. In the past year, in an attempt to attract votes, the prime minister has repealed and amended several of Malaysia’s Colonial-era laws affecting civil freedoms, including the Internal Security Act and the Printing Presses and Publishing Act.

However, Malaysiakini’s victory is not yet in the bag. The High Court’s declaration only means that Malaysiakini has the right to submit an application, while the Home Minister must still consider and approve it. “Although the decision is likely to be appealed, the court decision is a step in the right direction. Malaysiakini will be asking the Home Minister to take cognizance of the verdict and make the necessary changes to the Printing Presses and Publications Act,” said Malaysiakini’s co-founder and CEO, Premesh Chandran. The Home Minister has revealed his preference for an appeal.

The case will become a test of Prime Minister Najib’s rhetoric for change, and Malaysians will be watching closely to see if and when Malaysiakini’s application is approved.

Anthea Mulakala is The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Malaysia. She can be reached at amulakala@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.

The primary objective of terrorism is not to kill; it is to create greater fear. The real challenge for media here is to cover militant activity without creating anxiety, and for that, there has to be a collective strategy. The media hasn’t done enough to create public opinion against these militant organizations. We need to raise the cost of using violent means to achieve political objectives. If these are the benchmarks, we haven’t really performed well.

Mainstream media’s role is particularly critical now, because the militants are creating their own publications. And, I must say, the literature that they produce is quite compelling, and very, very effective. For instance, some of their publications highlight governance challenges, the energy crisis, spiraling inflation. They criticize the government for not doing enough to secure lives and properties and for slow administrative processes. Then, they present themselves as an alternative to the government. They provide materials outside mosques after Friday prayer congregation, and set up illegal radio stations. The government has tried to use jamming devices, but it’s not easy to counter these, especially in areas controlled by the Taliban. So, their voice keeps resonating with the people, and that is a big, big challenge.

Q: And, the media there has a reputation for being highly emotional, if not sensational in its coverage.

That’s true. In fact, as a reporter who covers a suicide bombing, for example, the first thing that your editor wants is a death count and strong, heavy-hitting visuals. By showing graphic, gruesome images, we are actually helping the militants to achieve their objective to create anxiety and fear. It is important that when we cover activities, we also condemn any group that uses violence in our coverage. This is where media will have to come together to develop a strategy to cover militant activities without glorifying them. But, consensus on this will be critical.

Q: What is the relationship like between mainstream media and the government in Pakistan?

Actually, until 2007 the media weren’t really criticizing the government. It was only when Pakistan’s former President General Pervez Musharraf started making some bad decisions, like firing Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, that the media became very critical of him. I agree that the media should always have an adversarial role with the government, but too many here are now positioning themselves with the opposition – they have become political actors themselves. They criticize the government no matter what it does, and that is not a very healthy trend.

For example, when the government says it’s going to raise the price of gasoline, reporters immediately start interacting with the people on the streets to get their take. The people are obviously going to say this is a bad thing, and that’s what gets published. But those reporters aren’t also going to the economic experts to explain to the people the government’s reasons for such action.

It’s our role to educate the people about the kind of society we have turned into, and the kind of society we should become. As you start educating the people, mindsets will change and it will become easier for the government to deal with these militant groups.

Q: When we look at events unfolding in the Middle East, do you see any resemblance to public outcry in Pakistan after Musharraf fired the Supreme Court judges?

The media played a tremendous role in mobilizing the people during the movement to restore the judges. That movement actually resulted in General Musharraf’s ouster. The media in Pakistan are very powerful, but with great power comes great responsibility. It is perhaps easy to get rid of one person, but very difficult to create a different system. That is something we all have to keep in our minds while we are looking at the situation in the Middle East. I always say that I’m not really a big fan of revolutions because revolutions always create unintended consequences. I don’t think we need a revolution in Pakistan, I think we need evolution and greater progress.