Freedom of Press and Thoughts on Media Industry in Bangladesh

 

World Press Freedom Day is observed on 3rd May every year throughout the world.

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference.

May 3 acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. It is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Yearly on May 3, nations around the world celebrate World Press Freedom Day to recognize the role of journalists and news organizations in sustaining democracy. Never has this been clearer than now, during COVID-19, when our very lives depend on truthful information, public conversations and probing accountability.

Like health workers and law and order forces, journalists are also fighting a fierce battle at this moment in all countries endangered by coronavirus. Journalists are also assaulted and cornered by lawbreakers, dons and goons when reports on illegal activities get published.

Reporters Without Borders has informed that the future of journalism will be determined within next ten years. The crises that pose impediments to the independence of media have become more remarkable during the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic. If sensible people do not stand by journalists, newspapers are most likely to face insurmountable hurdles in days to come.

According to the ranking of Reporters Without Borders, Bangladesh holds 151st place out of 180 countries in terms of freedom of press. Bangladesh held 150th place in 2019 in this regard.

Prominent citizens and learned think-tank express the opinion that democracy and freedom of press are dependent on each other. One cannot prevail without another. Most of the media houses and newspapers of Bangladesh are suffering from persistent financial woes. Another problem is most of the news organizations have not been able to build up professionalism among their workforce. Eminent scholars have called upon Bangladesh government to back up the news industry with necessary financial aid during the ongoing perils deepened by coronavirus pandemic.

Worries have come up about the imminent impact of electronic general procurement (EGP) on the fate of print media including newspapers and magazines in Bangladesh. Through the use of EGP the quantity of advertisements for newspapers will come down to one tenth of the current size of advertisements which means an advertisement of 50 (fifty) inches will be reduced to 5 (five) inches through EGP which is bound to cast terribly adverse effects on the earnings of Bengali and English newspapers of Bangladesh. As EGP would place advertisements online, there is a risk of tampering the requirements and specifications stated in advertisements by unscrupulous officials. The Asian Age published a report titled "E-ads policy will kill print media" on 20 December 2017.

It should be noted that good governance and socio-economic justice cannot be established without freedom of press. At times the online version of newspapers is blocked by ghostly hands following the publication of investigative reports.

Geopolitical crisis worsened by the rise of authoritarian regimes, technological retardations, lack of democratic principles, lack of confidence and impact of economic constraint often put journalism at stake.

Authoritarian rulers most of the time tend to gag the voice of media agencies and newspapers. In many countries the ruling authorities cannot tolerate contradictory opinions. Countries like China, North Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq and Egypt are often found imposing their own views and doctrines on media.

We are living in a globalized world where digital technology is at everyone's fingertips. There are lots of propaganda, campaign, advertisements and rumours being spearheaded everywhere. Confusion is galore over the distinctions between commercial, political and editorial content. It leads to the advent of an ambience where freedom of speech and freedom of press become shaky.

Troublesome laws are being enacted in some countries in this situation to harass journalists. In our country different aspects of Digital Security Act are often debated.

Journalists at times come under physical, legal and professional threats when they write against crimes, corruption, financial graft and irregularities, banking scams, radical outfits, repression etcetera. Editors and owners of different newspapers and media outlets also face predicaments for similar reasons.

The coronavirus pandemic is further threatening media freedom worldwide, according to the annual World Press Freedom Index.
Compiled by Reporters Without Borders, the 180-country index notes a correlation between a country's ranking and its response to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Both China at 177 and Iran, which dropped three places to 173, censored their coronavirus outbreaks.
Norway again topped the index while North Korea came in last.

In Iraq, which dropped by six to 162, the government stripped the Reuters news agency of its licence for three months after it published a story questioning official coronavirus figures.

However, it should be remembered that journalists don't only prepare reports and publish news items. Lots of journalists across the globe are actively engaged with scholarly activities like writing articles, giving lectures at universities, speaking at conferences and doing research works. The extent of journalism has become much wider last several years through the expansion of online news portals and satellite television channels. People are now accustomed to both newspapers' printed as well as soft versions. Journalists have certain specialties like politics, international affairs, education, health, literature, business, fashion, sports etc. Some journalists are so versatile and rich with wisdom that they can at a time work on all fields of media.

Being able to work with an unbiased outlook is the most valuable thing for journalists. In the current world plagued with misinterpretations, falsehood and malice,  honest media professionals can play effective roles for exposing the truth by vanquishing the dissemination of fallacies.

From the perspectives of Bangladesh, journalists from our own country as well as from some other states helped us extensively during our glorious Liberation War of 1971. They illustrated the vices, atrocities and war crimes committed by Pakistan Army to the global masses and thus acquired universal support in our favor which expedited our independence. People engaged with Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, the wartime radio station during 1971, whetted our freedom fighters' confidence and enthusiasm.

To borrow a few words from former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "Developing and newer democracies are much more susceptible to the tactics of populists and demagogues - they often do not have strong institutions, free press, or the infrastructure required to defend their nascent democracies."

Hasanul Haq Inu is a Member of Parliament (MP), Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Ministry and former Information Minister of the Bangladesh government.