Most of the media in the country is owned by businessmen. Due to the direct and indirect political involvement of this business community, ‘media capture’ or ‘media coercion’ has now gained an institutional basis. As a result, professional journalists are often forced to cover news for their own protection and fail to ensure professional accountability. Transparency International (TIB) believes that this has not only hampered the development of free media, but has also exposed the crisis of credibility of the media.
Tomorrow (May 3) on the occasion of World Free Media Day 2021 in a press release on Sunday (May 2) TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman gave this information.
He said Article 39 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh guarantees freedom of thought and conscience as well as freedom of speech and expression of every citizen and freedom of the press. But in the face of various pressures and restrictions, both open and hidden, this constitutional right has been transformed into a cover document. And the failure of the free media and the failure to ensure the professional protection of journalists have undermined the democratic foundations of the state as a whole, as well as the people's right to free and impartial information.
On the other hand, the Digital Security Act has become a major obstacle to chain-free journalism, professionalism of the media and independent flow of information. In particular, the establishment of the media to protect corporate capital and the trappings of its approval for political considerations, with weak institutional and financial structures, have created new examples of professional and livelihood security risks for journalists. The professional and economic risks to the media and journalists have become more pronounced during the Covid- 19 pandemic. In addition to the closure of many media outlets, many journalists have been fired or forced to change their profession. Therefore, Transparency International (TIB) has called for the immediate implementation of the constitutional obligation of free media and free flow of information and the implementation of international commitments to ensure a conducive environment for independent and professional media.
In the notification, he also ranked Bangladesh 152nd out of 180 countries in the latest World Free Media Index and 132nd out of 161 countries in the World Opinion Report, proving the fragile state of the country's media. In particular, these two indices over the past decade indicate the severity of Bangladesh's steady decline or deteriorating situation.
Dr. Zaman said that the theme of this year's World Free Media Day to ensure free flow of information is "Information as a Public Goods" but the mentality of some sections of the government in implementing the Right to Information Act in Bangladesh is "Information is government property"; Control will remain in the hands of the government and the government will publish as much information as it wants, which is curtailing the people's right to know as well as hindering the development of free media. In particular, Covid -19 has narrowed the scope of journalists' access to information and the disadvantages of field-level data collection, investigative journalism, and the opportunity to publish sensitive reports. In recent years, lawsuits have been filed against the media, journalists, writers and cartoonists for publishing news or information in the wake of the Preventive Digital Security Act. However, just like the vaccine against covid 19, free journalism could have been an effective vaccine to control rumors and false information by creating awareness among the people.
Freedom of the media and the right to free information are directly relevant to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 16 - especially the goal 10. Zaman added that an open and participatory policy framework is crucial for the freedom of the media, which effectively contributes to the achievement of SDGs by ensuring access to information, freedom of expression and security of journalists. Therefore, it is necessary to break the net of nefarious collusion between business and politics and create a conducive environment for the establishment of free media; Knowledge of the media and disclosure of information needs to be enhanced so that the freedom of the media, an important means of obtaining information as a 'product of the people', is protected.