The extraordinary story of Prothom Alo

AS we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Prothom Alo, I am proud to say that there has never been a newspaper in the history of Bangladesh that sold nearly four lakh copies daily. There has not also been a paper that involved itself with so many educational, social and humanitarian issues as Prothom Alo. All this has made this newspaper the most trusted, loved and patronised in the country. Such is its credibility that at times of natural calamities people spontaneously approach Prothom Alo to give relief to the victims and express a desire to become associated with its humanitarian efforts. All this is testimony of the place this newspaper has gained in the hearts and minds of its readers, patrons and the advertisers.
On this auspicious occasion I thank its readers, but for whose support we could not have come where we have. Every paper has its readers. But ours seem to be different. They not only read Prothom Alo, they love it, share its ideals and feel ownership of it. That is why when the paper makes a mistake, or slips from their expectation, the reaction is swift and merciless. They cannot stand the paper they love to make any error. To say that we are grateful is perhaps the biggest understatement that I can make. We are beholden to them and owe all our success to them.
Then, of course, there are our advertisers who, having seen the unique paper that Prothom Alo is, have extended their full cooperation. Though ours is a commercial relationship still there is a special bonding between the paper and the advertisers, as the latter share many of the values and goals of Prothom Alo. We are proud of this shared ethos.
How did the "miracle" of Prothom Alo become possible?
First and foremost was its adherence to ethical journalism, and its commitment to fundamental rights, democratic politics and a market economy with social justice. We believed that Bangladesh could do better than it hitherto had. We believed in its people and their love for the country. That is why we relentlessly followed stories that told not only of what went wrong but also how to correct them, and more importantly of the people who were behind the solutions to our considerable problems.
There was always an attempt by us to focus on the outstanding success being achieved by our farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, community organisers, business leaders, NGOs, teachers, students and people in general. Our fight against corruption was relentless. More revelations about corruption and the people behind it found place in Prothom Alo than anywhere else. We were vigilant about political mal-practice and partisanship that earned constant ire from political leaders.
The magic of Prothom Alo also happened due to the staff who come together to bring it out. From the very outset, I was deeply was impressed by their talent, skills, commitment and enthusiasm. There was such a festive spirit behind all their effort that working with them during the preparatory stage of the paper became a joy for me. Over years they have all matured into masters of their respective responsibilities. Most importantly they always adhered to a high moral standard, both in their professional and personal life, that has made the readers trust the paper, that nothing else could have done.
Today, when I visit them from time to time I do not miss any opportunity to tell what wonderful work they are doing and how proud I am of every one of them. On this auspicious occasion of the 10th anniversary, I pay my deepest respects to all my colleagues, both journalist and those of other departments, in Prothom Alo.
No story of Prothom Alo would be complete without a word of appreciation for the Board of Directors of Mediastar, the owning company of Prothom Alo, lead by its Chairman and Managing Director, Latifur Rahman (Shameem Bhai to us all). The Board's commitment to principles of press freedom and ethics of journalism has been, and continues to be, unequivocal. There has not been a single incident when I as the publisher, or Mati Bhai as the editor, felt any pressure of either publishing or not publishing any news.
Simultaneous with total non-interference on the journalistic side, there was strict monitoring of the financial aspects of the business, which helped us not only to be efficient and highly productive, but also to be visionary and determined, as it threw one higher target after another for us to achieve. I have no hesitation in highlighting the role of Mr. Latifur Rahman in pushing the paper to attain the unprecedented height that it has. He never wavered, not for a fleeting moment, from his total commitment to the paper. He made the necessary investments both in requisite amount and at the moment it was necessary, even when unexpected rise of newsprint cost pushed the budget totally off track. I have always been impressed by his capacity to see beyond the immediate and the obvious. Often, he foresaw the rise of the paper before either its editor or publisher did. This is especially true for circulation rise, where his intuition seemed always far sharper than our market calculation.
However, my favourite part of Prothom Alo's story deals with the paper's editor, Matiur Rahman, Mati Bhai to us all. He turned out to be, perhaps, the most outstanding editor of our times, whose innovations, creativity, tireless commitment, intuitive capacity to guess the need of the readers and superb organising capability combined to make the Prothom Alo the most popular newspaper ever in this country. His fully deserved the Magsasay Award that he got, and which made our journalism recognised in the region. In all honesty.
I have nothing but admiration for this man. His effort behind the paper is unmatchable and beyond measure in ordinary terms. For him it was a labour of love, and what a fantastic love affair it was. Over the last ten years there has not been a moment when he did not put the interest of the paper over that of his own person. There were moments when he was ill. There were other times when he was under psychological strain. Yet nothing, absolutely nothing, could dampen either his spirit or energy to put in his best to make the paper better.
There is a story that I must share with out readers on this occasion. I have known Mati Bhai since my student days and greatly admired his organising capacity as a student leader. His role as the editor of Bhorer Kagoj impressed me sufficiently to say to him, on several occasions, that I would very much welcome an opportunity to work together. Implicit in my suggestion was a hidden desire to bring out a Bangla daily with similar values, ideals and goals of serving the nation as The Daily Star.
Many months later, Mati Bhai suddenly asked me whether my wish of working together was serious. When I replied in the affirmative he said he was planning to quit Bhorer Kagoj and that if I really wanted to work together this was the moment to plan something.
I have been feeling the need for a vernacular daily alongside The Daily Star for a long time. Following Mati Bhai's offer I approached Mr. Latifur Rahman if a Bangla paper would interest him. It was bad time for any new venture as he was struggling with a very deep and excruciating personal tragedy, that of his daughter's (Shazneen's) brutal murder. He was my natural choice as the sponsor of a Bangla paper as I admired his commitment to free and independent journalism, his strict adherence to financial propriety and his managerial style of total non-interference but very strict supervision through Board meetings. There was also the feeling that a new project would help him to divert his mind of the tragedy that anybody would find so hard to accept, leave alone live with.
After presenting my arguments to him as to why we should go for a new Bangla daily, and explaining its market potential, I suggested the name of Mati Bhai as its editor. Obviously, I spoke a lot about him, but there was one sentence that Shameem Bhai never tires of repeating, one that he says played a vital role in making up his mind about the venture. I said: "If there is any editor that I consider to be superior to me then it is Mati Bhai." I believed it then, and after ten years of his miraculous and magical performance, my belief stands stronger and deeper. He is by far the best editor of our generation. I wish Mati Bhai, all his staff and everybody connected with this paper a very happy 10th anniversary, and many more anniversaries to come.

The writer is the Publisher of Prothom Alo, and the Editor-Publisher of The Daily Star.