‘Govt is gagging media even if they broadcast the truth’

The Chief Editor of Ekattor Television Mojammel Babu today said it is not the government's job to gag media, yet it continues to do so even when media broadcasts the truth.

Mojammel Babu also lamented on the hindrances being created when publishing online content at a seminar on "Role of media in preventing extremism" at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital.

He said they are held accountable for each and every line of a video content, yet "portals" seem to get away with it.

Syed Ishtiaque Reza, editor-in-chief of Gazi TV and Sarabangla.net, said it is easy to blame the media. He also added that people have expectations from the media and it has to meet those. That is why it is necessary to have uninterrupted flow of information.

Chief of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Md Monirul Islam has urged both the print and electronic media to run reports with caution to help tackle militancy and terrorism.

"The main aim of terrorists is to create panic and draw people's attention. They try to carry out any attack to get the highest media coverage," reports UNB.

The Center for Social Advocacy and Research Foundation (CISARF) organised the programme. Its chief Shabnam Azim conducted the event.