There is little progress in the implementation of media reform proposals due to the refusal of the bureaucracy, as well as the nexus between the civil-military bureaucracy and the corporate society, Information and Broadcasting Adviser Md Mahfuj Alam has said.
"Visible and invisible stakeholders in the ministry influence decision-making," he said as the guest of honour at a discussion organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) at the CIRDAP Auditorium in the capital on Sunday.
The discussion was titled "Dialogue on Self-Regulation and Grievance in Media: Political and Policy Perspectives".
Explaining the effect of this influence on his position, he said, "I have been worried about job security for the past two months, which is hindering the implementation of initiatives like the Journalist Protection Ordinance."
"I do not know if I will have my position tomorrow," he said. He hoped the law could be enacted within a short period.
While media company owners had benefitted from increased advertisement rates, the actual benefits received by journalists remained questionable, said Alam.
"What are journalists really getting? The owners do not have an answer," he said.
Commenting on media reports on 263 journalists facing harassment in false cases, he said no media house was shut down during his tenure, but 72-75 journalists faced harassment.
He said he was working with the ministry to resolve the issues.
Besides, he spoke about the powerful nexus between the civil-military bureaucracy and the corporate society, which he termed difficult to dismantle.
Kamal Ahmed, The Daily Star's consulting editor and the former Media Reform Commission head, also spoke as another guest of honour, while the session was moderated by CGS President Zillur Rahman.
Ahmed said despite the commission submitting its report six months ago, the delay in implementing the Journalist Protection Ordinance was regrettable.
He proposed recognising journalists as workers under the labour law; reforming the wage board; and bringing Bangladesh Betar, Bangladesh Television, and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha under one single umbrella.
Besides, he called for implementing the reforms by February next year.
Highlighting the need for citizen journalism training to ensure professionalism, he stressed the importance of verifying whether incidents involving journalists - such as being assaulted or seen with weapons - were acts of journalism or politically motivated extortion.
Ahmed urged the formation of an independent media commission to review or revoke the outdated licences.
In response to the non-implementation of the Journalist Protection Ordinance, the information and broadcasting adviser said he had received 18 drafts of it and recommended presenting those to the cabinet two months ago.
But the process remained stuck in the second phase, he said, outlining the bureaucracy's non-cooperation as his tenure was about to end.
"The bureaucracy is now waiting for the next government," he added.
He also said the television rating point (TRP) was fabricated during the previous government.
Dr SM Shameem Reza, a mass communication and journalism professor at the University of Dhaka, said though public trust in the media was declining, there was a lack of independent and impartial research on the subject.
Dr Shakhawat Hossain Sayantha, an associate professor at Bangladesh Medical University, and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair spoke at the event, among others.
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