Pakistani music journalism
Encyclopedia
Music journalism in Pakistan
has grown especially with the growth of the country's pop music
industry and scene.
Popular music journalism was uncommon in the country till about 1985 when Karachi
's tabloid, The Star started printing reviews written by Farrukh Moriani who is also considered to be the country's first ever pop music critic.
At the end of the Eighties and with the coming of the Liberal
government of Benazir Bhutto
in 1988, the once repressed and frowned upon (by the Islamist dictatorship of General
Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq), Pakistani pop music emerged from the underground and started gaining mainstream popularity.
With this came another pioneering Pakistani music and fashion
critic Fifi Haroon who was amongst the first in the country to undertake full features on the growing local music scene. Another frontrunner in this regard was M. Ali Tim.
The arrival of Nadeem F. Paracha
in 1990 that music journalism started to be taken as a serious form of journalism
in Pakistan. With Paracha was Farjad Nabi (at The News International
) and Aysha Aslam (at the Herald). The New's Instep magazine also began to do regular features on the Pakistani music scene.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
has grown especially with the growth of the country's pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
industry and scene.
Popular music journalism was uncommon in the country till about 1985 when Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
's tabloid, The Star started printing reviews written by Farrukh Moriani who is also considered to be the country's first ever pop music critic.
At the end of the Eighties and with the coming of the Liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
government of Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
in 1988, the once repressed and frowned upon (by the Islamist dictatorship of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq), Pakistani pop music emerged from the underground and started gaining mainstream popularity.
With this came another pioneering Pakistani music and fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
critic Fifi Haroon who was amongst the first in the country to undertake full features on the growing local music scene. Another frontrunner in this regard was M. Ali Tim.
The arrival of Nadeem F. Paracha
Nadeem F. Paracha
Nadeem Farooq Paracha , , is a left-liberal Pakistani journalist, cultural critic, satirist and short story writer.-Early life:...
in 1990 that music journalism started to be taken as a serious form of journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
in Pakistan. With Paracha was Farjad Nabi (at The News International
The News International
The News International , published in tabloid size, is the largest English language newspaper in Pakistan. The News has an ABC certified circulation of 140,000. It is published from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad...
) and Aysha Aslam (at the Herald). The New's Instep magazine also began to do regular features on the Pakistani music scene.
See also
- Fasi ZakaFasi ZakaFasi Zaka is a television host, satirist, political columnist, radio talk show host, music critic, academic and Rhodes Scholar in Pakistan. He is recognized for being one of the few media polymaths in Pakistan with a successful presence in print, television and radio, he is a public intellectual...
- NFP clonesNFP clonesNFP Clones is a term used by many Pakistani pop artists to describe a number of new music critics influenced by the country's controversial journalist and writer, Nadeem F...
- Muniba Kamal
- BandbajaBandbajaBandbaja was Pakistan's first online music magazine. Formed in 2003 by several college students, it was headed by music critic and youth icon, Nadeem F. Paracha. It was run and owned by a young music scribe, Safwat Saleem, who resides in the United States of America...
- The News InternationalThe News InternationalThe News International , published in tabloid size, is the largest English language newspaper in Pakistan. The News has an ABC certified circulation of 140,000. It is published from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad...
- Music Critics