Talha Ahad

founder of The Centrum Media

Compiled from 8 recorded interviews. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Talha Ahad is a journalist and the founder of The Centrum Media (TCM), a news platform that describes itself as Asia's first video-based platform. He studied mass communication and film and television, and worked as a freelance video journalist in London before moving back to Pakistan in March 2016. Ahad says TCM reached break-even in its fifth month and has no investors.

Early life and background

Ahad says he was a weak student at school. He says he had a strong interest in novels and geopolitics. He says classmates discussed the 9/11 attacks in class. Ahad says his grandfathers moved from Jalandhar to Pakistan. [1][3]

Education

Ahad says he was given 15 degree options, from mass communication to media management, and that he got admission in London. He studied mass communication and specialised in multimedia journalism for his bachelor's degree. He completed a master's degree in film and television and says he specialised in documentary filmmaking. He says he finished his bachelor's degree in August 2014 and his master's in 2015. [1]

Ahad says he lived in England for six to seven years. He says he studied journalism there and also studied film. He says his university told him to apply through the entrepreneur visa route, and that he was granted an entrepreneur visa in England. He says he did not do much professional work in England. [3]

Career

Ahad says he wanted to be a journalist focused on human interest stories and video journalism. He says he saw a clear editorial tilt on Pakistani channels and decided he did not want to work with them. He says he was working with the World Bank in 2013 and that he worked with the Pakistani embassy in London for some time. He says he went to Chakwal to cover a story and was supposed to write a report on it. [1]

Ahad worked as a freelance video journalist in London for eight to ten months. He moved back to Pakistan in March 2016. He says a story on Pakistan's first female truck driver went viral, with about 19 million views. He says the perspective of international media did not fit with their editorial approach, and that the idea of starting something of their own began to form from there. He has also said he had a call with the founder of Vice. [1]

The Centrum Media

Ahad says he was about 23 or 24 when he started TCM. He says he did not know about business or monetisation at that point and that nobody knew him when TCM started. He says TCM chose to produce only videos at the start. According to Ahad, the team started with a small office of two or three people at the end of 2016 and worked from a small flat with three or four people for about a year and a half. [1]

Ahad says TCM describes itself as Asia's first video-based platform. He says it aims to be a centrist platform that gives facts from every side, and that it also aims to bring more human interest stories to the audience. He says social impact is now the core of TCM's work. He says TCM does not produce editorial political content, and that one political party approached TCM, saying it wanted TCM's audience. [1]

Ahad says TCM featured a man from Mardan who became a celebrity around the world, and that he shot that video. He says one TCM video got one million views in a single day, in its third month. He says TCM has made series on police, bureaucrats and Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and that its Guantanamo Bay series had very exclusive access. He says one of TCM's series went viral. [1]

Ahad says TCM started production work for outside clients early on and reached break-even in its fifth month. He says none of his own money went into TCM after the fifth month and that TCM has no investors. He says most of TCM's revenue has come from services work for clients. He says that for the last two years TCM has earned its own money through its news platform, and that its income comes from its own services and work. [1]

Ahad says TCM stopped taking branded content for two years because of the kind of brands it attracted. He says TCM made a film internally and posted it on its studio page on Facebook, and that many calls came in after the ad TCM made for Ufone. He says a brand asked for a video that was not in a TikTok style. He says organisations from the development and corporate sectors wanted to invest in TCM, and that a large organisation offered TCM a narrative to push, and TCM refused. [1]

Views

Ahad defines journalism as collecting facts from every side and removing emotion. He says a journalist's job is to report, and that is the ultimate job. He says a journalist can hold an opinion but must give the audience the facts, and that there is a very thin line between journalism and activism. He says the core of his work is journalism, with other ventures on the side. [1]

Ahad says he thinks censorship exists in Pakistan. He calls it an easy cop-out to blame weak journalism on censorship. He says the New York Times also self-censors based on national security. He says the information people are given forms the basis of their later life decisions, and that there is a difference between nationalism and patriotism. [1]

Ahad says patience, hard work and consistency matter, and that resilience, hard work and patience are what the whole game is about. He says few Pakistani content creators stay creators for ten years. He says he never had a businessman's mindset when he started, does not think competition is a concern, and that TCM would not sell even if it reached 50 million followers. He says the founder and personality should matter less than the work itself. [1][3]

Ahad says Pakistan needs to decide as a nation who it is and what its long-term strategy is, and that Pakistan does not have a national policy. He says Pakistan lacks heroes it can idealise. He says he has considered a mandatory national service model like those in Turkey, Israel and Taiwan. He says less than 1% of Pakistanis take O-levels. [1]

Ahad has said that youth have great potential, and that people in power and business he meets seem to have a solution for Pakistan. He has said that people he saw move into government were unable to really do something, that people do not trust the government, and that no minister lasts more than six to eight months. He has also said that people brought in from outside, including from Google and the World Bank, were also unable to fix the problems. [4]

Ahad has said he wrote an article asking how Pakistan can be fixed. He says China will cross the US by GDP by 2026. [1][4]

Personal life

Ahad describes himself as a storyteller and a journalist at heart, and as generally optimistic about Pakistan. He says he has felt imposter syndrome and self-doubt while building TCM. He has said he started receiving calls from unknown numbers, that he does not need fame, and that mental health is a genuine issue. He also says he is not even a content creator and only chats. [1][2][3]

Timeline

2013
According to Ahad, he was working with the World Bank.[1]
2014
Ahad says he finished his bachelor's degree in August.[1]
2015
Ahad says he finished his master's degree.[1]
2016
Ahad moved back to Pakistan in March.[1]
2016
According to Ahad, TCM started with a small office of two or three people at the end of the year.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-11-26 Talha Ahad on building Asia's first video-only newsroom Thought Behind Things
Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza Returns to the Podcast - Politics, Power & Perspective | Episode 162 Talha Ahad
@IrfanJunejo's Honest Take on Fame, Family and Money | Episode 101 Talha Ahad
The Real Reason Pakistan Isn’t Progressing | Jawad Majid Khan | Episode 206 Talha Ahad
Cultural Fusion in Pakistan | Adeel Afzal | Talha Ahad Podcast | Ep 16 Talha Ahad
Imran Khan, TLP, Establishment & Digital 'Dehshatgardi' | Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza | T.A Podcast Talha Ahad
Jinns, Energies, and the Girl Who Can See It All! | Alizay Rahman | Episode 143 Talha Ahad
A Conversation on Resilience, Leadership, and Change | Mohammad Khosa | Episode 111 Talha Ahad

Frequently asked questions

Who is Talha Ahad?

Talha Ahad is a journalist and the founder of The Centrum Media (TCM). He studied mass communication and film and television. He worked as a freelance video journalist in London before moving back to Pakistan in March 2016.[1]

What does Talha Ahad do?

Talha Ahad started TCM (The Centrum Media), which has a news platform. He says the core of his work is journalism, with other ventures on the side.[1]

Where did Talha Ahad study?

Talha Ahad studied mass communication and specialised in multimedia journalism for his bachelor's degree. He completed a master's degree in film and television. He says he finished his bachelor's degree in August 2014 and his master's in 2015. He says he studied journalism and film in England and lived there for six to seven years.[1][3]

What company did Talha Ahad found?

Talha Ahad started The Centrum Media (TCM). He says the team began with a small office of two or three people at the end of 2016. TCM describes itself as Asia's first video-based platform.[1]

How does Talha Ahad's company TCM make money?

Talha Ahad says most of TCM's revenue has come from services work for clients. He says TCM reached break-even in its fifth month and has no investors. He also says that for the last two years TCM has earned its own money through its news platform.[1]

Did Talha Ahad live outside Pakistan?

Yes. Talha Ahad says he lived in England for six to seven years. He moved back to Pakistan in March 2016.[1][3]

How does Talha Ahad define journalism?

Talha Ahad defines journalism as collecting facts from every side and removing emotion. He says a journalist can hold an opinion but must give the audience the facts. He also says there is a very thin line between journalism and activism.[1]

References

  1. Talha Ahad on building Asia's first video-only newsroom . Thought Behind Things , 2021-11-26.
  2. Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza Returns to the Podcast - Politics, Power & Perspective | Episode 162 . Talha Ahad .
  3. @IrfanJunejo's Honest Take on Fame, Family and Money | Episode 101 . Talha Ahad .
  4. The Real Reason Pakistan Isn’t Progressing | Jawad Majid Khan | Episode 206 . Talha Ahad .
  5. Cultural Fusion in Pakistan | Adeel Afzal | Talha Ahad Podcast | Ep 16 . Talha Ahad .
  6. Imran Khan, TLP, Establishment & Digital 'Dehshatgardi' | Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza | T.A Podcast . Talha Ahad .
  7. Jinns, Energies, and the Girl Who Can See It All! | Alizay Rahman | Episode 143 . Talha Ahad .
  8. A Conversation on Resilience, Leadership, and Change | Mohammad Khosa | Episode 111 . Talha Ahad .
Show the source passages (113 statements)
  1. He says he was a weak student at school. School mein I was really bad. I was not a A grade or B grade
  2. He says he had a strong interest in novels and geopolitics. Lekin mujhe novels ka, geopolitics specially, uh woh kaafi zyada shauq tha.
  3. He says classmates discussed the 9/11 attacks in class. jab 9/11 hua hai to class mein na bachche baat kar rahe hain
  4. He says he was given 15 degree options, from mass communication to media management. Aur usne mujhe na phir ek din laake 15 options de diye. Right. From mass comm to uh media management.
  5. He says he got admission in London. So I just got a admission in London aur phir maine kaha bas wahan jaake agli cheez dekhenge
  6. He studied mass communication and specialised in multimedia journalism for his bachelor's degree. So I uh got into mass communication, but then I specialized into multimedia journalism in my bachelors.
  7. He completed a master's degree in film and television. I did my uh masters in film and television
  8. He says he specialised in documentary filmmaking. but then I specialized into documentary filmmaking
  9. He says he finished his bachelor's degree in August 2014 and his master's in 2015. So 2000 so 2014 uh August mein mera bachelors khatam hua, 15 mein masters khatam hua.
  10. He says he wanted to be a journalist focused on human interest stories and video journalism. I was like achha I want to be a journalist but more into human interest stories, video journalism.
  11. He says he saw a clear editorial tilt on Pakistani channels and decided he did not want to work with them. tilt aapko ek bahut wazeh nazar aa raha hai. So wahan se it was a moment I was like ke nahi I don't want to work with Pakistani channels
  12. He worked as a freelance video journalist in London for eight to ten months. 8-10 mahine I worked as a video journalist like a freelancer in London
  13. He moved back to Pakistan in March 2016. So in 2016 March mein I came back to Pakistan
  14. He says a story on Pakistan's first female truck driver went viral, with about 19 million views. it was Pakistan's first uh female truck driver. Yes. That went crazy viral. We got like about 19 million views
  15. He says the perspective of international media did not fit with their editorial approach. jo international media ka ek woh perspective hai nahi ji hamare editorial ke saath nahi baith rahi
  16. He says the idea of starting something of their own began to form from there. To wahan se the idea sort of started uh coming ke yaar why don't we start apna kuch hona chahiye.
  17. He says he was about 23 or 24 when he started TCM. I was like probably 23, 24 when I started
  18. He says he did not know about business or monetisation when he started. Mujhe uh business ka nahi pata tha, monetization nahi pata tha
  19. He says TCM chose to produce only videos at the start. So that was probably a one vertical ke yaar let's just only produce videos
  20. He says the team started with a small office of two or three people at the end of 2016. So end of 2016 uh we started uh probably exactly in the same sort of time uh probably yeh week hoga ya pichla hoga when we started the office. Very small, do teen logon ke saath we started
  21. He says the team worked from a small flat with three or four people for about a year and a half. hum log literally for the first probably one and a half year ek chhote se flat mein teen chaar log baith ke munh neeche karke sirf kaam kar rahe the
  22. He had a call with the founder of Vice. I had a call with Sarosh jo Vice ke founder the
  23. He says TCM describes itself as Asia's first video-based platform. So we are also Asia's first video-based platform.
  24. He says TCM aims to be a centrist platform that gives facts from every side. we want to be a centrist platform in Pakistan jo aapko actual information laake de de
  25. He says a third aim was to bring more human interest stories to the audience. The third was to bring uh more human interest stories in front of the audiences
  26. He says TCM featured a man from Mardan who became a celebrity around the world, and that he shot that video. Woh jo mardan se he became like a celebrity all over the world. So we were the one who jisko usne feature kiya hai. I shot that video
  27. He says one TCM video got one million views in a single day, in its third month. In our third uh month, Khan Baba ki video ek din mein got 1 million views
  28. He says social impact is now the core of TCM's work. So now I think social impact is our like core of our thing
  29. He says TCM has made series on police, bureaucrats and Guantanamo Bay prisoners. So abhi humne police diaries, bureaucrats, Guantanamo Bay uh ke prisoners ke saath
  30. He says one of TCM's series went viral. humne Julie ki series ki, it was like a you know really like a uh viral sort of video and and the whole series was really viral
  31. He says TCM's Guantanamo Bay series had very exclusive access. we just did a Guantanamo ki series. That was a very exclusive access
  32. He says TCM has made a series with drone survivors that it was going to launch. we'll be launching uh Drone Survivors ke saath humne ek series ki hai
  33. He says TCM has interviewed Manzoor Pashteen and members of Lal Masjid. Manzoor Pashteen pe jab humne interview kiya, humne Khadim Hussain ka interview kiya, humne uh Lal Masjid waalon ke interviews kiye
  34. He says TCM started production work for outside clients early on. We started with the production work
  35. He says TCM reached break-even in its fifth month. within our fifth month hum break even pe aa gaye the
  36. He says none of his own money went into TCM after the fifth month. So after fifth month ek bhi rupaya meri jeb se nahi gaya
  37. He says TCM stopped taking branded content for two years because of the kind of brands it attracted. phir woh humne 2 saal bilkul hi rok diya branded content because jis tarah ke woh brands aane lage
  38. He says most of TCM's revenue has come from services work for clients. abhi bhi hamara jo revenue hai woh mainly hum logon ki ab to zahir hai thoda bahut YouTube and all of it, but zyada jo tha woh services wala kaam tha
  39. He says that for the last two years TCM has earned its own money through its news platform. for the last two years hum log TCM apne paise bana rahe hain. Centum Media ka jo news platform hai
  40. He says TCM has no investors. So koi investor nahi hai, koi kuch nahi hai.
  41. He says TCM's income comes from its own services and work. It's all basically services ya kaam wahan se paisa aa raha hai
  42. He says organisations from the development and corporate sectors wanted to invest in TCM. in the last two years from development sector to corporate sector har banda wanted to invest
  43. He says a large organisation offered TCM a narrative to push, and TCM refused. Abhi ek bahut bade idare ne ek achha khasa ke ji yeh yeh kaam ho raha hai. This is the narrative hum push karna chahte hain but woh jaana TCM pe chahiye because aapke So we have refused.
  44. He says TCM made a film internally and posted it on its studio page on Facebook. Humne na woh film internally bana li. Humne nikali, humne apne Facebook pe studio ka page tha us pe daali hui hai.
  45. He says many calls came in after the ad TCM made for Ufone. Sir uske baad itni humein callen aayi ke yaar jis tarah aapne Ufone ke liye ad banaya tha na
  46. He says TCM made a story about a barber shop that was funded by Gillette. us time ek uh barber shop ke upar ek story ki aur woh Gillette ne jo hai usko fund kiya tha
  47. He says a brand asked for a video that was not in a TikTok style. Leisure Club tha. They were like you know humein ek video banani hai and we don't want something more very TikTok style
  48. He says TCM does not produce editorial political content. Lekin like editorially political content hum nahi karte.
  49. He says one political party approached TCM, saying it wanted TCM's audience. one of the party came to us, uh reached out and said ke ji humein aapki audience chahiye
  50. He says he does not think competition is a concern. Matlab yeh woh baat mere khayal se hai hi nahi ke ji competition hai toh ab main unique kya karoon
  51. He says TCM has not yet accessed the Indian market. hum logon ne toh abhi tak Indian market ko access nahi kiya
  52. He says patience, hard work and consistency matter. I think patience, hard work and consistency
  53. He says TCM has produced more than 6,000 videos in about five years. now it's like 5 years and we have produced more than 6,000 videos
  54. He says TCM runs an academy that trains people. Ab hum log TCM Academy ke andar logon ko jab train karte hain
  55. He says TCM has just started TCM Arabic and plans to launch TCM UK next year. we just started TCM Arabic. Uh next year we are planning to launch TCM UK as well
  56. He says TCM wants to move into more original content and shows. more of original content, shows aur us side pe jaana chaah rahe hain
  57. He hosts a new podcast called The Pakistan Pivot. I am doing this new podcast called The Pakistan Pivot
  58. He says he worked with the Pakistani embassy in London for some time. I have worked with the um jo hamari embassy hai London mein unke saath kuch arsa maine kaam kiya
  59. He says he was working with the World Bank in 2013. I was working with the World Bank. 2013 ki baat hai
  60. He says he went to Chakwal to cover a story and was supposed to write a report on it. Chakwal mein basically hum gaye ek story cover karne ke liye and I was supposed to write a report on it
  61. He says nobody knew him when TCM started. Obviously when we started, Talha ko koi bhi nahi jaanta tha
  62. He says he has felt imposter syndrome and self-doubt while building TCM. So that's the imposter syndrome and self doubt and all of those things come in.
  63. He describes himself as generally optimistic about Pakistan. I am generally very optimistic person and asal mein bhi I have hope
  64. He describes himself as a storyteller and a journalist at heart. by heart, I think I'm a storyteller and a journalist
  65. He says he never had a businessman's mindset when he started. mere zehen mein kahin bhi uh businessman wala mindset nahi tha
  66. He says TCM would not sell even if it reached 50 million followers. Abhi tak bhi yeh nahi ke yaar probably 50 million followers ho gaye to hum kisi ko bech denge
  67. He says the core of his work is journalism, with other ventures on the side. but the core jo kaam hai woh journalism hai
  68. He says the founder and personality should matter less than the work itself. founder is not important, the personality is not important, aap kaam ke saath pehchane
  69. He defines journalism as collecting facts from every side and removing emotion. definition of journalism is ki aapne facts collect kiye hain maximum har side se and and then emotions remove kiye hain
  70. He says a journalist's job is to report, and that is the ultimate job. as as a journalist, your job is to report. Right. Like that's your ultimate job, that's it
  71. He says a journalist can hold an opinion but must give the audience the facts. As a journalist, aapka opinion hai but for your audience, aapne facts unko bataane hain
  72. He says there is a very thin line between journalism and activism. There is a very thin line between journalism and activism
  73. He says he thinks censorship exists in Pakistan. mera I think censorship exist karti hai
  74. He calls it an easy cop-out to blame weak journalism on censorship. it's an easy cop-out ki oh yaar hamaari journalism uh woh is wajah se buri chal rahi hai
  75. He says the New York Times also self-censors based on national security. wait, so New York Times also self-censors based on national security
  76. He says the information people are given forms the basis of their later life decisions. aap unko aisi information dein kyunki us information ki buniyaad ke upar unke aage zindagi ke faisle honge
  77. He says there is a difference between nationalism and patriotism. there is a difference between nationalism and and and patriotism
  78. He says China will cross the US by GDP by 2026. China by GDP will cross the US by 2026
  79. He says Pakistan needs to decide as a nation who it is and what its long-term strategy is. You just need to decide as a nation ke bhai this is who we are, this is our long-term strategy
  80. He says Pakistan does not have a national policy. we don't necessarily have a national policy
  81. He says Pakistan lacks heroes it can idealise. Matlab hamare paas heroes nahi hain
  82. He says he has considered a mandatory national service model like those in Turkey, Israel and Taiwan. sometimes I really think about ki woh jo Turkey aur Israel aur aur aur Taiwan wala model hai na, ki where you have a mandatory one year uh military service
  83. He says less than 1% of Pakistanis take O-levels. It's less than 1% of the population jo ke O-levels kar rahi hai
  84. Talha Ahad is associated with TCM (The Centrum Media). When and why did TCM (The Centrum Media) start?
  85. He says The Centrum Media has a news platform. for the last two years hum log TCM apne paise bana rahe hain. Centum Media ka jo news platform hai
  86. Talha Ahad has said he started receiving calls from unknown numbers. Unknown numbers, unknown not the intelligence agencies like known number but main nahin jaanta tha mujhe callen aana shuroo ho gae.
  87. Talha Ahad has said he does not need fame. Mujhe fame ki zaroorat nahin hai.
  88. Talha Ahad has said mental health is a genuine issue. ek mental health bhi to ek genuine chiz hai
  89. Episode 101 of his podcast features Irfan Junejo. Talha Ahad. @IrfanJunejo's Honest Take on Fame, Family and Money | Episode 101
  90. Talha Ahad says he had not originally planned to host a podcast. podcast ab jab mera to khud plan nahin tha main to bahut camera ke pichhe tha
  91. Talha Ahad says TCM aims to release fifty to sixty videos a month. ab ham TCM ke oopar pachaas se saath videos a month hamne nikaalni hain
  92. Talha Ahad says the TCM content plan includes three explainers, two exclusive series and a podcast. Yaar tin explainers honge, do exclusive series hain, podcast
  93. Talha Ahad says one episode has gone out every week for about a year and a half. har haphte ek episode to pichhale dedh saal se har haphte ek episode ja rahi hai
  94. Talha Ahad says his grandfathers moved from Jalandhar to Pakistan. mere naana daada jalandhar se idhar aae
  95. Talha Ahad says he lived in England for six to seven years. main England mein chhah saat saal raha
  96. Talha Ahad says he studied journalism in England. journalism padh raha tha
  97. Talha Ahad says he studied film in England. journalism padh raha tha, film padhi
  98. Talha Ahad says he was granted an entrepreneur visa in England. mujhe vahaan entrepreneur visa mila
  99. Talha Ahad says his university told him to apply through the entrepreneur visa route. mujhe meri university ne kaha ki ji application bhare aap log agar vah entrepreneur visa se bolte hain
  100. Talha Ahad says he did not do much professional work in England. Obviously mainne professionally bahut zyaada kaam nahin vahaan kiya.
  101. Talha Ahad says few Pakistani content creators stay creators for ten years. Yah vaali chiz Pakistan mein bahut kam hamen dekhane mein aai hai ki jo content creator hai vah pichhale das saal se content creator hi hai
  102. Talha Ahad says resilience, hard work and patience are what the whole game is about. it's just I think resilience, it's hard work, patience I think vah hai game saari
  103. Talha Ahad says he is not even a content creator and only chats. I am not even a content creator, main to bas gap lagaata hoon
  104. Talha Ahad has said that youth have great potential. Har banda ke youth jo hai vah badi takdi hai aur potential bahut hai
  105. Talha Ahad has said that people in power and business he meets seem to have a solution for Pakistan. whether it's a prime minister, a politician, bureaucrat, establishment ke logon, intelligence agencies ho, business community ho, har bande ko I feel like aap usse milen to uske paas solution hai.
  106. Talha Ahad has said that people he saw move into government were unable to really do something. phir vahi log jab ham dekhate hain sarkaar mein jaate hain they are unable to really do something.
  107. Talha Ahad has said that people do not trust the government. log trust hi nahin kar rahe hain sarkaar ko.
  108. Talha Ahad has said that a few weeks earlier he wrote an article asking how Pakistan can be fixed. So kuchh weeks pahle I wrote this article I think mainne aapko bhejaata hai Don mein, how can we fix Pakistan?
  109. Talha Ahad has said he hosted a podcast with Imran Khan. imraan khaan ke saath jab hamne podcast kiya
  110. Talha Ahad has said he did a podcast on the banking world and the economy. Aapse kuchh mahine pahle, I don't know saal ho gaya hai kitna but we did a podcast. Obviously vah thoda sa zara banking world aur economy ke oopar thi.
  111. Talha Ahad has said that no minister lasts more than six to eight months. Chhah aath mahine zyaada ek minister nahin chal raha
  112. Talha Ahad has said that people brought in from outside, including from Google and the World Bank, were also unable to fix the problems. Jo idhar aae, koi Google se aaya, koi World Bank se aaya, koi kahaan se aaya, but they were also like really unable to fix all of this.
  113. Talha Ahad's podcast is titled T.A Podcast. Talha Ahad. Imran Khan, TLP, Establishment & Digital 'Dehshatgardi' | Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza | T.A Podcast