FE reaffirms its commitment to objective journalism
Moazzem Hossain | Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Moazzem Hossain
This is a joyful moment for this paper. It commemorates today (Wednesday) the 18th anniversary of its publication as a financial daily in Bangladesh. The economy of Bangladesh has witnessed many changes -- visible and invisible ones -- that have proved its some inherent dynamism and vibrancy, notwithstanding its political anachronism, institutional malfunctioning, cronyism and less palpable progress in terms of equitable sharing of growth. However, democracy has remained more or less functional, though more in form and less in content, because of, what can be called, Bangladesh's political conundrum -- a difficult problem that seems to defy any solution, for whatever reasons. The two-year army-backed emergency rule between 2007 and 2008 -- that caused a disruption to the functioning of democracy -- failed also to pave the way for its redress, through it was then sought to be justified by some quarters as a period of catharsis to come out of the country's fractious polity. The nation then had to undergo a painful period in the name of cleaning the decks. But things, as the current developments in the country's polity do otherwise suggest, are now back to the status quo ante. Politics is otherwise going through a critical period even in the developed world, in the context of a severe global financial turmoil, more recently so in the so-called enlightened Europe. But the political systems in both Europe and America, the so-called citadels of democracy are now being strained to, what a journalist of international repute called, "breaking point by economic adversity and the shifting balance of global power". There is growing political disenchantment with the political establishments, governments particularly in the Western World being trapped between global economies and local politics", in a situation where politicians there seem to "have been imprisoned by a failure of nerve". Professionals are now getting their entry to the domain of politics. But it is still doubtful whether such professionals -- without having a proper understanding of people's pulse in addressing problems like depressed living standards, rising unemployment and penny-pinching public services -- will be able to deliver goods. So far so good. Despite all its odds in the present context, history unquestionably is on the side of political pluralism. The 'Arab spring' this year has, once again, proved this. It is no good blaming politics. Of course, elections do not make democracies. The moot factor for proper functioning of democracy lies in the task of building institutions to entrench the rule of law. And that is an unmistakable fact that politicians everywhere do need to appreciate more in their deeds than in their words. On this momentous occasion, this paper reiterates its stance on making strenuous efforts by all concerned for strengthening democracy through a focused attention given to institutionalising its principles and ideals as the road to shared progress for this country's teeming millions. This paper will like to share the joy over its stepping into the 19th year of publication with its readers, patrons, writers, well-wishers and all others concerned, with the hope that the fruits of democracy would enable the people of this country to savour freedom and independence through flourishment of their individual dynamism, creativity and enterprising qualities. To mark the anniversary of 18th year of this paper's publication, this special issue of 124 pages, in all, is being published in one-run. The publication, however, is one month and ten days behind the schedule, as this paper launched its publication on November 10, 1993. The delay in publication is mainly because of the reason for not getting all its inputs -- write-ups and every other related thing -- ready in time. This paper believes that all concerned will appreciate this reason, in consideration of the constraints that have become a business-as-usual matter in every sphere of our national life. The write-ups, analyses, articles, views and comments by different reputed professionals in various domains do provide ample insights into the state of the country's economy and other related issues. This paper believes that its readers will find such inputs quite useful and relevant to appreciating and understanding the subjects covered through this special anniversary issue, in a clear perspective. On its part, this paper reaffirms here its commitment to upholding the principles of objective journalism and unbiased news which are, to put it very modestly, its main strength. It has traversed a long way and has, in its most humble ways, made its whole efforts in past 18 years to help promote the growth of economic or business journalism. And its efforts have not gone in vain. The growth of this daily over the years does bear it out. It is certainly no mean achievement that this specialised daily now occupies the second position among the country's English-language newspapers, in terms of readership of its print copies. The internet readership base of the FE is nearly 0.5 million (five lakh), spread all over the world. As a financial daily, the FE continues to track, record, analyse and interpret the economic changes that take place in the country, in the region and also in the world outside. Business journalism, as we all know, covers news, features and articles about people, places and related to the field of business and economy. It is a welcome development in Bangladesh that most newspapers, magazines, television and radio news carry an economic or business segment. This paper believes that more coverage, reviews and analyses by publications, radio and television channels would be a positive factor for the flourishment of business, financial and economic journalism in this country. This is also a demand-driven situation that the media as a whole will have to meet and address. Having noted this, this will be befitting to state at this stage that development of economic, financial or business journalism does largely depend on the work environment. This environment relates to the functioning of free media which is, of course, an integral part of democracy. However, it depends just as much on the climate in which is operates, meaning laws and regulations, as it does on the people behind the scenes. In this context, skill of journalists is also an important issue. Skilled journalists having the professional qualities, can play a very important role for providing citizens with access to information and critical thought in an objective manner in all segments of journalism. It is not always true that the media industry "pours forth an unremitting diet of gloom". Objective journalism that demands that the practitioners themselves acquire the skill and have proper understanding of both conceptual aspects of issues and subjects under report or discussion, does not thrive on pessimism and negative news all the time. Rather, if the realities are not reflected in news coverage and comments, that causes a disservice. Facts are matters of realities and must be disseminated properly with conceptual clarity and contextual understanding. This is perhaps all the more the case with economic journalists. We, in the FE, give utmost importance to this, while abiding by professional ethics and code of conduct that are much relevant particularly to the pursuit of objective economic journalism. We will continue to do this in the future.
This is a joyful moment for this paper. It commemorates today (Wednesday) the 18th anniversary of its publication as a financial daily in Bangladesh. The economy of Bangladesh has witnessed many changes -- visible and invisible ones -- that have proved its some inherent dynamism and vibrancy, notwithstanding its political anachronism, institutional malfunctioning, cronyism and less palpable progress in terms of equitable sharing of growth. However, democracy has remained more or less functional, though more in form and less in content, because of, what can be called, Bangladesh's political conundrum -- a difficult problem that seems to defy any solution, for whatever reasons. The two-year army-backed emergency rule between 2007 and 2008 -- that caused a disruption to the functioning of democracy -- failed also to pave the way for its redress, through it was then sought to be justified by some quarters as a period of catharsis to come out of the country's fractious polity. The nation then had to undergo a painful period in the name of cleaning the decks. But things, as the current developments in the country's polity do otherwise suggest, are now back to the status quo ante. Politics is otherwise going through a critical period even in the developed world, in the context of a severe global financial turmoil, more recently so in the so-called enlightened Europe. But the political systems in both Europe and America, the so-called citadels of democracy are now being strained to, what a journalist of international repute called, "breaking point by economic adversity and the shifting balance of global power". There is growing political disenchantment with the political establishments, governments particularly in the Western World being trapped between global economies and local politics", in a situation where politicians there seem to "have been imprisoned by a failure of nerve". Professionals are now getting their entry to the domain of politics. But it is still doubtful whether such professionals -- without having a proper understanding of people's pulse in addressing problems like depressed living standards, rising unemployment and penny-pinching public services -- will be able to deliver goods. So far so good. Despite all its odds in the present context, history unquestionably is on the side of political pluralism. The 'Arab spring' this year has, once again, proved this. It is no good blaming politics. Of course, elections do not make democracies. The moot factor for proper functioning of democracy lies in the task of building institutions to entrench the rule of law. And that is an unmistakable fact that politicians everywhere do need to appreciate more in their deeds than in their words. On this momentous occasion, this paper reiterates its stance on making strenuous efforts by all concerned for strengthening democracy through a focused attention given to institutionalising its principles and ideals as the road to shared progress for this country's teeming millions. This paper will like to share the joy over its stepping into the 19th year of publication with its readers, patrons, writers, well-wishers and all others concerned, with the hope that the fruits of democracy would enable the people of this country to savour freedom and independence through flourishment of their individual dynamism, creativity and enterprising qualities. To mark the anniversary of 18th year of this paper's publication, this special issue of 124 pages, in all, is being published in one-run. The publication, however, is one month and ten days behind the schedule, as this paper launched its publication on November 10, 1993. The delay in publication is mainly because of the reason for not getting all its inputs -- write-ups and every other related thing -- ready in time. This paper believes that all concerned will appreciate this reason, in consideration of the constraints that have become a business-as-usual matter in every sphere of our national life. The write-ups, analyses, articles, views and comments by different reputed professionals in various domains do provide ample insights into the state of the country's economy and other related issues. This paper believes that its readers will find such inputs quite useful and relevant to appreciating and understanding the subjects covered through this special anniversary issue, in a clear perspective. On its part, this paper reaffirms here its commitment to upholding the principles of objective journalism and unbiased news which are, to put it very modestly, its main strength. It has traversed a long way and has, in its most humble ways, made its whole efforts in past 18 years to help promote the growth of economic or business journalism. And its efforts have not gone in vain. The growth of this daily over the years does bear it out. It is certainly no mean achievement that this specialised daily now occupies the second position among the country's English-language newspapers, in terms of readership of its print copies. The internet readership base of the FE is nearly 0.5 million (five lakh), spread all over the world. As a financial daily, the FE continues to track, record, analyse and interpret the economic changes that take place in the country, in the region and also in the world outside. Business journalism, as we all know, covers news, features and articles about people, places and related to the field of business and economy. It is a welcome development in Bangladesh that most newspapers, magazines, television and radio news carry an economic or business segment. This paper believes that more coverage, reviews and analyses by publications, radio and television channels would be a positive factor for the flourishment of business, financial and economic journalism in this country. This is also a demand-driven situation that the media as a whole will have to meet and address. Having noted this, this will be befitting to state at this stage that development of economic, financial or business journalism does largely depend on the work environment. This environment relates to the functioning of free media which is, of course, an integral part of democracy. However, it depends just as much on the climate in which is operates, meaning laws and regulations, as it does on the people behind the scenes. In this context, skill of journalists is also an important issue. Skilled journalists having the professional qualities, can play a very important role for providing citizens with access to information and critical thought in an objective manner in all segments of journalism. It is not always true that the media industry "pours forth an unremitting diet of gloom". Objective journalism that demands that the practitioners themselves acquire the skill and have proper understanding of both conceptual aspects of issues and subjects under report or discussion, does not thrive on pessimism and negative news all the time. Rather, if the realities are not reflected in news coverage and comments, that causes a disservice. Facts are matters of realities and must be disseminated properly with conceptual clarity and contextual understanding. This is perhaps all the more the case with economic journalists. We, in the FE, give utmost importance to this, while abiding by professional ethics and code of conduct that are much relevant particularly to the pursuit of objective economic journalism. We will continue to do this in the future.