Media Ownership as a 'Protection Racket': A Political Economy Study Based on Journalists' Interviews in Pakistan

This Study examines instrumentalisation of the media in Pakistan, specifically, how the conglomerate ownership makes journalism a weapon of defense and power. Using ten in-depth interviews of working journalists, the study focuses on how media institutions are used to help their owners advance their financial and political interests through narrative management, suppression of critical scrutiny and legitimization of supplementary business interests. Thematic analysis through NVivo 15 indicates that weaker regulatory frameworks, ambiguous ownership constructs and the growing collision of media, corporate and political elites have transformed journalism as a watchdog to a stronghold of private defense. Such a form of protective instrumentalisation is undermining the ethics of journalism, the democratic role of press and an accountability crisis of titanic dimensions in the communication space of Pakistan. The reconceptualization of media as a tool of impunity broadens the political Economy agenda and the necessity to reform the system and be more transparent regarding ownership.