PM's role in welfare of journos unprecedented: Hasan

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said media-friendly Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has played an unprecedented role in the welfare of the journalists and expansion of the mass media, reports BSS.

"We think that criticisms expedite the advancement and it helps in work. Mass media in Bangladesh enjoy optimum freedom. And the freedom of the press and the expansion of media in Bangladesh are examples for other developing countries," he said while addressing the Representative Conference-2023 of BFUJ-Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists as special guest at the Jatiya Press Club (JPC) in the city.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressed the conference as the chief guest.

BFUJ president Omar Faruque presided over the conference while its secretary general Dip Azad conducted it. Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) president Sohel Haider Chowdhury and BFUJ regional leaders, among others, addressed it.

Dr Hasan said the journey of private televisions and radios started during the regime of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He said, "When we formed the government in 2009, there were 10 TV channels and 450 daily newspapers, which are now 1,260. Thirty-five TV channels are on air while more five will be on air soon. A number of private FM radios were approved. Several dozens of community radios were given approval while most of them are on air. This proves how media-friendly Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government are."

The minister said once Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman did journalism and he allocated the land for the JPC. His daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had declared in 2014 here to do something for the journalists that will be sustainable, he added.

He said the Journalists Welfare Trust has been established at her initiative and it has become a place of dependence for all journalists.