The Express Tribune

The Express Tribune

Front page on January 1, 2015
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) Lakson Group
Publisher Bilal Ali Lakhani
Editor Kamal Siddiqi
Managing editors M. Ziauddin
Founded April 2010
Political alignment Centre-left
Social liberalism
Egalitarianism
Language English
Headquarters Plot 5
Expressway
Off Korangi Road
Karachi, Pakistan
Sister newspapers Daily Express
Website www.tribune.com.pk

The Express Tribune is a major daily English-language newspaper in Pakistan. Part of the Lakson Group of companies, it is the flagship publication of the Daily Express media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper, in partnership with International New York Times, the global edition of The New York Times.[1] Headquartered in Karachi, it also prints copy from offices in Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar. It was launched on April 12, 2010, in broadsheet format, with news design distinctive from traditional Pakistani newspapers.

Its editorial stance identifies with social liberalism, and its readership is generally on the mainstream left of Pakistani political and social opinion. Topics the newspaper covers include politics, international affairs, economics, investment, sports and culture. It runs a glossy called Express Tribune Magazine on Sunday, which includes social commentary, interviews and a four-page supplement with recipes, reviews, travel advice, blogs and technology news. As of 2012, it has the widest online readership in the country locally and internationally.[2]

Part of Express media group

The Express Tribune joins other brands of the Express media group including the Urdu-language Daily Express newspaper. It is accompanied by a twenty-four-hour Urdu news channel, Express News, and an Urdu entertainment channel, Express Entertainment. It also contains a technology supplement called '@internet'. It used to run an English-language news channel called Express 24/7, now defunct.

The paper's stated mission is "to defend the liberal values and egalitarian traditions we believe in, and which deserve to be upheld in writing that is both informative and insightful".[3]

Staff

The publisher of The Express Tribune, Bilal Ali Lakhani, is the son of Sultan Ali Lakhani. The managing editor, Muhammad Ziauddin, was previously associated with Dawn. The editor, Kamal Siddiqi, was previously associated with The News.

The op-ed editor is Omar R. Quraishi, who was also previously associated with Dawn. The Photographer Athar Khan, was previously associated with The News Karachi.

Access

The Express Tribune is available online via Epaper and through a live website which includes news and blogs. The print edition is available through hawker, via subscription or at news stands. The print edition includes a six-day-a-week copy of the Asia edition of the International Herald Tribune.

The Express Tribune is a supporter of The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a local not-for-profit organisation providing education to children in need. Up to 30 per cent of subscription profits are donated to the TCF.

Terrorist attack and self-censorship

On December 2, 2013, Express Media Group's offices were targeted in a terrorist attack in which 3 staff workers were killed.[4][5] Pakistani politician Altaf Hussain condemned the attack and said that it is obligation of the government to ensure the safety of the people.[4] TTP later took the responsibility of the attacks and declared the paper to be propagating against their militant group, citing it as their reason for the attack. As a result, the chief editor, Kamal Siddiqi, decided to not allow any opinions, articles and news stories that may offend the militant groups, by changing the paper policy, in order to prevent any more terrorist attacks by those groups directed towards the media group. The new policy states that the paper may not write anything that opposes any terrorist attacks, any militant organizations (including TTP) and their statements, or any right wing political parties like Jamaat-e-Islami. Some journalists criticized the move towards self-censorship, Ayesha Saddiqa, a regular columnist said "I said to the editor, 'what am I to do, start writing about cooking or films?' Because that's all that's left.".[5]

In March 2014, a New York Times story about what Pakistan officials knew in regard to Osama bin Laden's presence in the country was censored from the front page of the International New York Times in Pakistan by the local distributor, the Express Tribune.[6]

In November, 2014, one of its staff members revealed in a post on Foreign Policy that the editor asked his staff, following a request by Pakistan's intelligence agencies, to give wider coverage to anti-Government protests by Mr. Imran Khan and Mr. Tahir-ul-Qadri.[7]

See also

References

External links

  1. ↑ Express Tribune: About us
  2. ↑ Bilal Lakhani, Express Tribune: Note from the publisher The Express Tribune/International New York Times April 12, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ ET mission statement
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Express Media Group's Karachi office comes under attack". The Express Tribune/International New York Times. AFP. December 2, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jon Boone (February 28, 2014). "Liberal newspaper Express Tribune cowed into silence by Pakistani Taliban". The Guardian. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ Ravi Somaiya (March 22, 2014), Times Report on Al Qaeda Is Censored in Pakistan The New York Times Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Not fit to print: an insider account of Pakistani censorship". Foreign Policy. November 20, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.