Pakistan Today marketing man quits

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 27 April 2012

Pakistan Today’s marketing manager Ahmed Malik has resigned amid reports of weak financial health at the newspaper. Sources say two more key resignations may follow, after earlier salary delays, staff layoffs and operational disruptions.

Summary

LAHORE: The marketing manager at Pakistan Today has quit while another two major resignations are expected soon, indicating yet again that things are not picking up for Arif Nizami’s troubled newspaper. Ahmed Malik is reported to have resigned because of the paper’s seemingly weak financial health.

He is now likely to join a newspaper that Dunya TV plans to bring out, a JournalismPakistan.com source says. Our source adds that two more resignations of employees in key positions could come soon. These are people who are said to be quite close to Editor Nizami.

In March, five sub-editors at the newspaper’s Lahore center quit, reportedly over salaries that have been getting delayed for several months now. In February newsroom staff and page-makers in Lahore temporarily quit work to express their displeasure with the management for dilly-dallying over disbursement of salaries. At the start of the year, the paper laid off 25 percent staff.

The employees allege poor management as one of the reasons for the situation the newspaper is faced with. There have been bizarre problems. The electricity connection at the Islamabad center of Pakistan Today was cut off because of non-payment of bills while telephone lines also lay dead for days, also for the same reason.

In April the staff at the Karachi centre was forced out of the premises after a deadline to relocate the office expired.

KEY POINTS:

• Marketing manager Ahmed Malik resigned and is expected to join Dunya TV’s planned newspaper.
• A source said two additional resignations in key roles could occur soon.
• Five sub-editors in Lahore quit in March amid reports of delayed salaries.
• The paper laid off about 25% of its staff earlier this year.
• Operations were disrupted by unpaid bills, including power and telephone cutoffs and an office relocation in Karachi.