Language: English
Estimated Reach: 100,000 per day
Main output: Newspaper
Founded in 1941, Dawn is the oldest newspaper in Pakistan. After the partition of the sub-continent in 1947, it was simultaneously published from Delhi and Karachi until its offices in the Indian capital were burnt after a month. The first edition of independent Pakistan started in Karachi on August 15, 1947, Now, the newspaper is also published from Lahore and Islamabad.
Widely regarded as the most credible English language publication in the country, it espouses liberal views and supports fundamental rights and democracy.
The newspaper is part of the Asia News Network – a grouping of 23 regional publications in South Southeast Asia – who share editorial content and hold conferences etc.
In 2011, Dawn signed an agreement with WikiLeaks to have exclusive first use of content relating to Pakistan.
Dawn includes syndicated content from a range of western publications including TNI partner, the Washington Post. The wider Dawn Media Group also runs a TV station in Urdu of the same name and other publications.
The organisation has also faced the brunt of the state’s heavyhandedness for its reporting, most notably in 2016 when it published a story about civilian leadership asking the military to act against terrorists. The story was denied by the authorities and the newspaper was made to face consequences for its reporting and its distribution was disrupted in large parts of the country. Many years later the authorities admitted Dawn was not at fault.
Disinformation reporting.
The newspaper has published articles about disinformation. One of their journalists Ramsha Jahangir (now left) wrote a blog for First Draft about what they were doing. It has also published investigations into how Twitter and other social media platforms were being used for orchestrated campaigns to target political rivals and smear journalists critical of the incumbent government.
The publication rigorously upholds the principle of journalism and factual reporting. In the era of fast-paced information, its website is widely considered a source of authentic information, making it arguably one of the most visited websites in Pakistan with over seven million page views every month.
Discrediting legitimate media reports as fake news has become a key tactic of Pakistan’s ruling party. Soon after coming to power in 2018, Imran Khan’s administration launched the @FakeNews_Buster Twitter account, in order to 'counter fake and negative reports. Dawn has been a target of this.
