Editors Guild emerges

The Editors Guild, Bangladesh has started its journey, with an aim of “protecting editorial freedom and promoting responsible journalism in the country”.

The new organisation is composed of editors and leaders from news publications and outlets across media. Its first committee was formed on December 21, with bdnews24.com's Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi as its convener, according to a press release issued yesterday.

Janakantha Executive Editor Swadesh Roy and Gazi Television and sarabangla.net Editor-in-Chief Syed Ishtiaque Reza have been elected joint conveners.

The first meeting of the organisation was hosted by Zulfiqer Russell at the offices of Bangla Tribune in Dhaka.

Ekattor Television Editor-in-Chief Mozammel Babu, DBC Television Editor-in-Chief Manzurul Islam, ATN Bangla Chief Executive Editor ZI Mamun, ATN News Chief Executive Editor Munni Saha, Asian Age Editorial Board Chairman Shoeb Chowdhury and Bangla Tribune Editor Zulfiqer Russell are also in the committee.

“This is an association of those who are giving editorial leadership in news publishing industry in the country,” said Khalidi in his introduction of the guild, after the inaugural meeting of the organisation.

The media has grown significantly since independence, but news organisations remain weak as institutions, said Syed Ishtiaque Reza. “We have come together with a desire to change the situation.”