The Media Reform Commission plans to recommend a new law to protect journalists. It will also recommend amendments to 32 laws that hinder press freedom.
Kamal Ahmed, head of the commission, revealed the plans at a dialogue on democratic reconstruction from the mass media perspective organised by the Centre for Governance Studies at the Cirdap Auditorium in the city yesterday.
"We've found a list of 32 laws that hinder press freedom," he said.
Kamal said the commission will hold a national media survey, the first by any government body, from January 1 to 7, 2025, to assess public trust in media. The survey will reach 48,000 households and 842 surveyors will be involved.
"We have also surveyedmedia owners to understand their motivations for running media businesses. We tried to understand which organisations are profitable. If a media organisation is a loss-making project, then why are the owners still operating it? Is it because of political reasons? Is it to protect their own business interests? We are trying to understand these," said Kamal.
The commission chief also stressed the need to ensure financial security for journalists. He said there should be a minimum floor wage for all journalists, ensuring fair compensation not just for those based in Dhaka but for professionals throughout the country.
"In many cases, particularly outside of Dhaka, a journalist wears three hats simultaneously – the hat of a journalist, the hat of an advertisement procurer and the hat of a salesperson. But a journalist should not engage in advertisement collection, because that opens the door to corruption," he said.
Shafiqul Alam, the chief adviser's press secretary, also recommended replacing the journalists' wage board with a floor wage.
"Then this needs to be enforced strictly. If an organisation does not pay the journalists the minimum wage, the organisation will not be allowed to exist," he said.
Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, the founder of Digitally Right, said, "The labour law needs to be strictly enforced so that journalists are paid duly and on time. If a media organisation is not financially viable and cannot pay its journalists, then it should be allowed to close down. Those who truly want to run a media business for the sake of doing journalism will then thrive."
"Most of the journalists in Bangladesh get less than Tk 10,000 per month. Local journalists often do not get paid at all. How do you expect the highest journalistic standards from journalists who are struggling to survive?" questioned journalist Masud Kamal.
They also spoke about the failure of journalists' unions in upholding the rights of journalists.
The politicisation of unions interferes with their capacity to negotiate with the management of media organisations on behalf of journalists, said Abu Sayeed Khan, advisory editor of the Samakal. "Depoliticisation of unions is a tall order because journalists themselves are politicised."
"The unions used to work as a pressure group at one point, but they fail at their job now," said MA Aziz, former secretary general of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists.
Speakers at the dialogue stressed the need for accountability of the media in Bangladesh and the role of an independent Press Council that is not operated by government puppets.
They said that citizens have a right to seek redressal for harm caused by predatory journalism.
"The Press Council is a dysfunctional and failed institution. We need to figure out how to enable the Press Council," said Masud Kamal.
Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of the Ganosamhati Andolan, said, "The Press Council must keep watch on whether standards of journalism are truly being upheld. The Council must be allowed quasi-judicial powers so that justice can be served."
Mahbub Morshed, managing director and chief editor of the state-run national news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, said that the Press Council must run like a civil court.
Professor SM Shameem Reza of Dhaka University's mass communication and journalism department stressed the need for a universal code of conduct for journalists and regulation in the industry using methods like accreditation.
Qadaruddin Shishir, editor of AFP Factcheck, said that it needs to be considered whether media houses intentionally spreading misinformation or disinformation can be taken into account without impeding the freedom of expression.
Zillur Rahman, executive director of CGS, said, "In the last few years, journalists have been harassed and the media has become a puppet to the government."
Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, editor of the Daily Manabzamin, warned against excessive government intervention, saying that the fear of media houses being shut down and journalistic voices being silenced in the name of reforms cannot be discounted.
News Courtesy:
Commission to pitch for new law to protect journalists | The Daily Star