Govt wants media policy, not control
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged journalists to be neutral in their work, and assured them that her government does not want to control the media.
She also called upon them to raise their voice against militancy and terrorism.
“We don't want to control the media... it is better to run the media under a policy so that the society is not polluted,” she said.
The PM made the remarks while speaking at an Iftar party organised by Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) on the Jatiya Press Club premises.
Talking about misreporting by a section of the media, Hasina said, “You need to keep in mind that your reporting doesn't pollute society in anyway.”
The Awami League always thinks about the welfare of journalists. “But, journalists always criticise the Awami League,” she told her audience.
In this connection, she mentioned that criticisms are always good as constructive criticisms open the eyes of a government.
But the journalists should be careful so that their criticisms do not hamper the country's fundamentals based on which Bangladesh achieved its independence, the PM said.
About constructing the Padma Bridge, she said it was a challenge for her government to build the bridge with its own fund. “By the grace of Allah, we have been able to start the construction with our own resources.”
Citing some examples of development activities done by her government for the welfare of the journalists' community, Hasina said the government had changed the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and formed the Journalists' Trust Fund providing Tk 1 crore seed money.
She asked the journalists and the owners of the media houses to contribute to this Trust Fund. “You donate to this fund and the government will do its part,” she said.
The government has formed the Broadcast Policy Commission, while the strengthening of the Press Council is under consideration, Hasina told her audience.
About the eighth wage board award, the PM said some media houses had implemented it while some others were yet to do it.
“We're thinking to declare another wage board in near future,” she said.
In this connection, the PM said this time the inclusion of the electronic media in the new wage board is under consideration.
Responding to some demands of journalist leaders, Hasina said the government would extend its all-out cooperation in making the Jatiya Press Club a world-class one by ensuring modern facilities, including multi-storied buildings.
On solving the housing problem of journalists, she said the government, in the future, would provide flats to journalists instead of plots.
PM's Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, BFUJ President Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, DUJ President Altaf Mahmud, Jatiya Press Club President Shafiqur Rahman and BFUJ Secretary General Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan also spoke on the occasion.
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