Media's influence on students

Parents unhappy young people dropping out to join the media

By Uroos Ahmed

KARACHI: More and more students are deciding to enter the Media as a profession before finishing school and many colleges report a steady dropout rate for young people venturing into the broadcast media.

Since the country’s first FM radio channel hit the waves in the late 1990s, radio has largely become a source of extra pocket money for young people who wish to work and study.

Students who spoke to Daily Times said this had not affected their career or education. “It’s fairly simple. I’m sure people my age join the media for money and exposure. Also, you get to meet people in the media and you realize what you have been missing out on,” said Ali Sattar, who dropped out of his first-year of law to work for a radio channel. His mother’s friend, who is the CEO of the radio channel he works for, approached him and said they were expanding their channel’s marketing department for which, they were putting together a team. “Each year, there has been tremendous growth and there is a lot of exposure. Since I joined, I have met most of the owners of Karachi’s most posh restaurants. It’s just a really fun job and what makes it even better is that I have [the channel] backing me up with everything I do.” When asked what about his education, Ali said he had every intention to complete a degree because one can’t go too far without it.
“I started off as one of the very first DJs at the radio channel back in my A-Levels and there has been no turning back since because after I started working with FM, I realized this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” said Fahad Panni who has been with the media for the past 12 years. He said it wasn’t about money initially and he joined because it was just a fun job. The money became good later on and 12 years later, he had foreign universities offering him a Masters degree without an undergraduate degree because of his work experience. “I have no regrets dropping out of college but I firmly believe that education is important,” Panni said.

Others choose to hang on to college and work at the same time. Shahzad Sheikh is one of them. Currently in his last semester of his undergraduate degree at one of the city’s most reputable business schools, Sheikh is ready to follow in the footsteps of his father, a well known name in the film industry. “I want to pursue a media career but I want to complete my education first. I do feel that it is important to learn how things work in the industry so I have occasionally taken up modeling offers.”
Ahmed Safder is studying towards an undergraduate degree but also hosts three television shows for a local channel. “I can cover my basic expenses and my tuition fee at college and save up enough as well,” he told Daily Times. “Initially, I hadn’t planned to go into the media but then, I got an offer for a play called ‘Karachi High’ and I started off from there. Before that, I used to work for a multinational company and study in the evenings but it was very tiring. Media, however, has given me the opportunity to make money, keep myself busy and have time for myself and my studies as well.”

When Daily Times spoke to parents of those who had dropped out of school to pursue a career in radio or television, opinions seemed divided. “I appreciate it that my son feels responsible enough to be working at the age of 19, but I also feel that he will not make it very far in this field. Let’s face it, it is not a very promising career,” said Mrs Hussain. Her son took up Law after his A-Levels. While he was waiting for his results, he received an offer from a radio channel and decided to take it up until he went back to college. However, he then chose to drop out of college to continue his job at the radio station. Mrs Hussain is a doctor.

Her husband agreed that academics were essential. “I have nothing against the media and I agree that my son enjoys his work, but he doesn’t have a degree and his work is at odd hours, which does not allow him to have a proper routine in life. God forbid but I eventually foresee him having trouble with his family life as his work is bound to interfere with the family structure.”
Anees Ansari is another concerned parent. His daughter changed her major to Journalism while she was in her final year of BSc Economics and Management. “A career in the media is no career at all. The fad would eventually fade away unless you are working in production or direction or anywhere behind the scenes, which in itself is not a steady income sometimes,” said Ansari. He was also critical of the monetary benefits of journalism. “I don’t think that the salary that young people get or would get in another five years with the steady rise in inflation is sufficient for a comfortable lifestyle.”