For those interested in Pakistani politics and journalism, Pakistan Mein Sahafat Ki Mutabadil Tareekh [An Alternative History of Pakistani Journalism] is not an ordinary book. It has been produced by the Society for Alternative Media and Research (SAMAR) led by Mazhar Arif, a renowned advocate for public interest media; and authored by Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, an equally prominent academic and journalism educationist.
The book is not a reproduction of facts alone, but goes beyond the remit of the usual chronological compilations, by juxtaposing Pakistan’s political and socio-economic contexts against the evolutionary trajectory of journalism.
This adds a three-dimensional depth for anyone seeking to understand Pakistan’s chequered history of journalism and its impact on shaping the national political psyche. In this sense, the book fills a key gap in the available literature on public interest journalism’s attempt to impact national politics in the country’s formative decades.