Media Role In Public Opinion Making Of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor)

China-Pakistan relationship began in 1950.At the end of the 20 th century,the relationship between the two countries has flourished,especially in the 21 st century.With the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC),the relationship between the two countries has entered a new era of mutual beneficial corroboration and development.China has offered Pakistan many times a helping hand at the economic,social and international levels.Pakistan has also supported and helped China in many cases as a neighboring friend.Initially,Pakistani media has observed the effectiveness of the relation with China.As a medium to send or receive information throughout the country,media has always been a very significant part of public representation.The media has always played a vital role in the implementation of the CPEC.The study was conducted in order to understand whether the media has played a positive or negative role in shaping public opinion related to CPEC.This study will also help us understand the credibility of different media tools and their performance in countering defamation against CPEC.People in general are well acknowledged about media and they are satisfied with its credibility of sharing information which make them aware about project through its reporting in depth and always has latest news and information which helps in opinion making with respect to CPEC.Another reason for this consensus is the historical relationship between China and Pakistan and its bilateral agreements.The friendly relations between China and Pakistan have made the public optimistic about the project.Information jointly released by the two countries through the media has also deepened the public's understanding and awareness of the image of the project.The research shows that the media,as an important medium between general people and the government,can play an appropriate role and clearly explain the position of the government to the public,which is also recognized by the public.The research of this study examines the trust of the Pakistani people in the media and finds that there is a positive link between the media and the public.The public's full understanding of the outcomes of CPEC comes from the positive and responsible role played by the media.The media has become an important bridge connecting the public with the CPEC.The research method of this study is mainly based on questionnaire survey,in order to understand the views of government officials and the general public on the topic that media is an important bridge between CPEC and the general public.The data in this study are from questionnaires on the same topic as well as different research papers and articles of relevant institutions.Although it is a new project,researches on the security,economic,regional and citizen challenges faced by the CPEC have been sufficient,while the researches on the role of the media are relatively few.Therefore,this study will discuss in detail how the media plays a role in the project of CPEC and thus influence the ideas of the general public.This study also confirms the positive response of the majority of the public to the role of the media,and discusses extensively how the media creates a narrative that produces a positive response in the thinking mode of ordinary Pakistanis.In order to better understand this study,this paper is divided into six chapters.The first chapter has the detailed introduction about the topic and literature review to see what other researches have done in the past,to address the research questions which were raised while doing research and detailed answers are given,the hypothesis of the study,the significance of this study and what methodology will be used and highlighting the theoretical frame work of the study.The second chapter includes a detailed study of the background and overview of the Pakistani media tools(i.e.print,online,electronic media etc),how they working and regulate authorities in the context of CPEC.Also has detailed discussion on the functions of media.The third chapter answers the influence of media in the opinion making of CPEC and also that how media is playing role to eliminate the rumours of the CPEC,there is also a discussion about how western media do harm to the project and how they make argument against this project.The fourth chapter has the statistical data,different age groups,ethnicities,educational background,religions are considered,the role of media related to CPEC and how they made the public opinion.The fifth chapter consists of conclusion,the findings we got from the research,recommendations and suggestions.The summary of the whole six chapters of this research is that media has played a very positive role of CPEC.The results showed that 83% of the common people who responded to the survey were satisfied with the role of media.Further it also showed that out of 250,214 respondents have access to media on daily basis and lot of people have full trust on whatever information they gain from it.More than 50% believe that the media plays a positive role in shaping public opinion on CPEC.It is through media that people are well aware of this project's outcome and how their lives will be changed,once the project is fully completed.From the research it has been witnessed that every media in Pakistan i.e.print,social or electronic media they have played a positive role in opinion making of CPEC project.This paper also further discusses how the media can continue to gain the public's trust by trying to become more powerful.