Participants at a dialogue on the mass media on Sunday underscored the need of free and accountable mass media, while denouncing their role of a minion during the immediate past autocratic regime led by Awami League.
Non-governmental think tank Centre for Governance Studies organised the 鈥楧ialogue for democratic reconstruction of mass media,鈥� at the capital鈥檚 CIRDAP auditorium.
Speakers said that the mass media were facing multi-layered problems that should be addressed to ensure their free and accountable role.
Press secretary to the chief adviser Shafiqul Alam at the dialogue said that the media did not speak for the people in the past 15 years, rather in cases they collaborated with the autocratic regime.
He also remarked that while people accused some media outlets for acting as allies of the perpetrators of the mass killings, self-realisation had yet to dawn on them.
He hoped that the media reform commission would propose a reform agenda that would support the mass media in playing role with independence and would help restore press freedom.
The mass media systematically failed to report accurately on enforced disappearances rather established the narrative of the Awami League regime, he said.
鈥楾he media need to stand before a mirror to see the failure,鈥� Shafiqul said.
The press secretary also highlighted the need for effective implementation of the copy right law which he said was connected with the journalists receiving proper payment for their work.聽
Editor-in-chief of Daily Manabzamin Matiur Rahman Chowdhury spoke about his fear of a reform agenda, reminding the audience that a reform commission in 1975 proposed the then government to shut all the newspapers except four.
He said that all the earlier governments attempted to curb press freedom, making journalism difficult.
Unlike the past rulers, Matiur said that present chief adviser Professor Yunus asked journalists to write freely but due to self-censorship no media outlets were doing the real journalism.
Media Reforms Commission chief Kamal Ahmed said that the commission would place recommendations based on public opinions.
Centre for Governance Studies chair Munira Khan said that many television channel owners went into hiding since the August uprising, but their channels were running.
Organisation chief executive Zillur Rahman said that local journalists were not paid, rather they were asked to earn by themselves.
Former state minister for information Professor Abu Sayeed, Digitally Right Bangladesh founder Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha chief editor Mahbub Morshed, senior journalists Abu Sayed Khan and Masood Kamal, among others, spoke at the dialogue.