Bangladesh Newspapers in unprecedented crisis: Editors’ Council

Bangladesh Desk: The Editors’ Council on Monday in a statement said that the newspaper industry was now facing an uncertain future due to the coronavirus crisis, but did not get any effective assistance and cooperation from the government.

It said that the newspaper industry regarded as service providing industry had never faced such a situation in the past.

It has been noticed that the demands placed at different times to the ministries concerned by the newspapers have not been taken into cognizance. ‘A kind of indifference and non-cooperation to this service industry has rather been evident.’

News workers have continued to work risking their lives in the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, proving their commitment to the people. They have to discharge their duties under different pressure and threats, said the statement.

‘The news outlets and news workers are being compelled to resorting to self-censorship, which is negative for developing a healthy and transparent administrative and social system,’ it said.

The statement adopted in the council’s meeting held on August 22 said that the newspaper industry is being deprived of the assistance, which has been extended even to the profit-making industries at a time when the newspaper industry was struggling to survive amid the ordeals.

It said that the world had been going through troubled times due to the ongoing coronavirus situation.

The statement, sent by the council’s general secretary Naem Nizam, said that the cases against journalists under the Digital Security Act and harassments had increased disturbingly. ‘We strongly oppose this,’ it mentioned.

The council demanded an immediate move from the government so that newspapers did not require separate registrations now made mandatory for their online versions.

The government recently published a list of 34 online news portals which did not include any known, major and acceptable newspapers’ portals.