Stay alert to those in govt who back graft
Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi yesterday called upon the media to stay alert against those in the government who patronise corruption.
He also urged journalists not to blame the government for corruption of any government employee.
“If we blame the government for corruption of any government employee, the corrupt employee will get the opportunity to get away. We will have to keep the government's image intact."
Rizvi was addressing an award-giving ceremony on investigative journalism organised by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) at its Dhanmondi office.
The government officials, who create obstacles for journalists working on investigative reports, do it for their own interest. There are many ministries, departments, divisions and directorates of the government. Corruption at any ministry or any department does not mean that the government is responsible for it, Rizvi said.
“In many cases, owners of the media houses do not pay taxes. On the other hand, they spread propaganda against ministers,” he said, adding that owners of many media houses are big industrialists who often use their media houses to put pressure on the government for their business purposes.
ATM Shamsul Huda, former chief election commissioner and a member of TIB's board of trustees, said, "It is really very tough for the media in the country to do investigative journalism. You will have to find out the methods for your survival.”
While sharing their experiences in doing investigative reports, three journalists --Mustafiz Shafi, Sharmin Rinvy and Iftekhar Mahmud -- talked about various obstacles and challenges they faced at different levels of the administration.
Nine journalists from the daily Prothom Alo, Khulna-based daily Purbanchal, Maasranga TV, Independent TV, and Jamuna TV were awarded for their reports on investigating journalism.
Comments