Mehdi Hasan (Pakistani journalist)

For other people named Mehdi Hasan, see Mehdi Hasan (disambiguation).

This article is about the Pakistani journalist. For the British political editor, see Mehdi Hasan. For the Pakistani singer, see Mehdi Hassan.

Mehdi Hasan (Urdu: مہدی حسن) (1937-2022) was a Pakistani left-wing journalist, media historian, and professor of Journalism and Mass communication at the Beaconhouse National University.

Education

Born in the British Raj and moved to Pakistan, he held a Ph.D. degree in mass communication, from the Punjab University, "Role of Press in Formation in Public Opinion 1857-1947", an M.A. degree in Journalism, Punjab University, and was a Fulbright Scholar (1990) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he conducted research on "Coverage of Third World Countries in the American Mass Media". He published research papers in the United States and Pakistan.

Social activist

At the time of his death, he was the chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and the Dean of School of Media and Communication at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore. He was one of Pakistan's most prominent communication experts, with a specialization in political analysis.

One of the few media historians of Pakistan, Mehdi Hasan was a regular commentator and panellist for TV news channels and radio stations where he brought his academic research into social context. His book The Political History of Pakistan is a source of reference for journalists and producers. His long-held personal view is that distortion of facts by news media is distorting our history.

A long-time human rights activist and member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's Governing Council, Hasan wrote many papers, and participated in multiple seminars. In 2015, addressing a public event at University of Gujrat, Pakistan, Mehdi Hasan emphasized the urgent need to promote honest and impartial reporting and said that bad journalism is distorting the history of Pakistan. He added that all citizens of Pakistan have equal rights under the law regardless of their religions.

Journalist and news media personality

As a journalist, his activities included:

• He was sub-editor, reporter, and news bureau chief at Pakistan Press International (PPI) news agency between 1961-1967
• Elected office-bearer of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) five times during this period
• He also had been a news commentator and analyst for Pakistani television since 1964, and for Radio Pakistan since 1962, including for Voice of America, BBC News, Deutsche Welle, Reuters, and Associated Press, and a contributor to all major newspapers in Pakistan and a columnist at English daily The News International and at Urdu language newspaper Daily Waqt.

Personal life and death

Hasan died on 23 February 2022, at the age of 85.

Awards and recognition

• Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award by the President of Pakistan in 2012 for his services in the field of literature and journalism.

See also

• List of Pakistani journalists
• Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists