Karachi’s Newspaper Seller: Fighting to Stay in Business in the Digital Age
55-year-old Navid Khan is selling newspapers from last 35 years at Perfume Chowk Karachi. He begins his day at 6am picking up newspapers from Nipa but works till midnight. But after working 16-17 hours daily, he no longer is able to make ends meet.
Tariq Masaud Alyani
Karachi: Navid once sold 300-400 newspapers in a day. Today, not more than 20-25 copies are selling. “We are living in the mobile age,” he says. “People don’t read newspapers any more, they look at their phones.”
He still has on offer popular dailies includingJang, Express, Nawa-i-Waqt, 92 News, Ummat, Kawish, Awami Awaz and Ibrat, but there are hardly any buyers. Most readers continue to prefer Urdu newspapers, but digital media now reigns.
Navid emphasizes the difficulties facing vendors: no social security, no health care, no retirement. (Many customers buy newspapers without paying.) Naveed also lost 11-year-old son recently, further complicating life for his family of six children (Daughters).
Despite challenges, he remains hopeful:
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