The minister for information and broadcasting, Zahir Uddin Swapan, has said: “Because a matter such as journalism could not be given structure, there used to be only one challenge — freedom of the press. Now a bigger challenge than that has become misinformation and disinformation.”
He made the remarks in his address as chief guest at a meeting on Monday at the Barishal Circuit House auditorium, organised by the Bangladesh Sangbadik Kalyan Trust with the cooperation of the Barishal district union.
Putting a series of questions, the information minister said: “Has there been any change in journalists’ standard of living? Has the level of professional security increased? Has security of pay increased? Has the professional environment improved? Has the respectful relationship that ought to exist between a journalist and an owner come about? Has the government been able to play the role it needs to play on whether the wage board is observed? But the sides now are not the state or the state’s intelligence agencies against a courageous individual practising free journalism. That is not the conflict now. The big question now is whether a professional, talented, competent journalist will be able to survive in this profession with honour and dignity.”
Also present at the meeting were a member of the Sangbadik Kalyan Trust, Kawsar Hossain Khandaker; the publicity and publications secretary of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), Shahjahan Saju; and the president of the Barishal District Union of Journalists, Azad Alauddin. The meeting was chaired by the managing director of the Bangladesh Sangbadik Kalyan Trust, Mohammad Abdul Bari.
Journalists from various districts of the division, leaders of journalists’ organisations and officials concerned attended the meeting. Earlier, at 10am, the information minister took part in a tree-planting programme on both banks of the Swanirbhar canal at Charkaua in Barishal sadar upazila. He later took part in a views-exchange meeting with health administrative officials of Barishal division and with the doctors, nurses, officers and staff of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report