Quality journalism under threat

Partisan journalism and lack of security of the journalists are the major threats to quality journalism flourishing in Bangladesh, said International Press Institute (IPI) Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie yesterday.
“Quality Journalism is being hampered all over the world including Bangladesh due to partisan journalism and journalists are now facing different fears that also hinder the way to ensure the booming of journalism”, she said.
She made the remarks while talking to journalists after a seminar titled “Major threats to quality journalism: Global and Bangladesh context” organised by Jatri at its office in the city.
At the seminar, Alison expressed fear over the recent murder of journalist couple Sagor Sarowar and Meherun Runi and urged the prime minister to take effective measures to ensure trial of their killers.
In her keynote paper, she highlighted some issues as barriers to ensure professionalism in journalism.
Control of government and corporate bodies on media by threats to withhold advertising, government and corporate favouritism toward certain media houses, harsh libel and privacy laws, physical attack on journalists, lack of access to information laws and media owners censorship are among the major barriers to quality journalism, she said.
The IPI boss also held responsible self-censorship among journalists and editors or publishers and lack of security of the job of journalists for the failure to ensure quality journalism all over the world.
Barbara Trionfi, senior press freedom adviser of IPI, talked of the lack of freedom of the press in the Asia Pacific and mentioned some reasons behind this including lack of democratic government and insecurity of journalists.
“The journalists of Asia Pacific, especially in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Philippines, Myanmar, China, and South Korea, are facing different pressures from the government as well as from the criminal gangs,” she said.
Renowned journalist Zaglul Ahmed Chowhdhury, consulting adviser of The Financial Express, said, without proper democratic ruling system and constitutional freedom of the press, quality journalism cannot be established.
Boishakhi TV CEO and Editor-in-Chief Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul chaired the seminar while Press Institute of Bangladesh Director General Prof Dulal Chandra Biswas, Jatri Executive Director Jamil Ahmed and journalist Saiful Amin spoke among others.