Minister urges online media to resist fascism

Information and Broadcasting State Minister Yaser Khan Chowdhury has called for stronger professional standards and editorial accountability in Bangladesh's registered online news portals.

He stressed the importance of engaging skilled and professional journalists to ensure quality journalism. He also urged online media outlets to play a responsible role against terrorism, communalism and fascism while considering the sacrifices made by people to achieve democracy and voting rights.

He made the remarks on Thursday (November 12) at an exchange meeting with members of the executive committee of the Online News Portal Association Bangladesh (ONAB) at the conference room of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The minister said online news portals had raised several demands, including government advertisements, digital versions of government press releases, audits of news portals and the cancellation of registration renewal fees.

He considered most of these demands reasonable.

However, he said the new government could not implement all the proposals in a single day. The government nevertheless wanted to support online media outlets.

Yaser Khan Chowdhury stressed that maintaining specific professional standards was essential for news organisations.

He said readers would lose interest in online news portals if they failed to publish quality news and content. Professional and skilled journalists therefore needed to be engaged in these organisations.

The minister also said the government would gradually hold consultations with content creators alongside online media representatives.

He said initiatives would be taken to formulate necessary policies through discussions involving the Information and Broadcasting Minister, the State Minister and the relevant adviser.

All relevant stakeholders would be consulted before the policies were finalised.

Speaking at the meeting, ONAB President Mostafa Kamal Majumder said the government should ensure advertisements and other necessary facilities so that registered online news portals complying with government regulations could remain operational.

He also sought a positive approach from the government towards the association's members.

ONAB General Secretary Syed Nurul Huda (Rono) said the association wanted annual registration renewals to be replaced with an audit-based system.

He also called for arrangements to provide government advertisements to registered online news portals.

Syed Nurul Huda pointed out that entrepreneurs were investing substantial amounts in online news organisations.

However, he said there was no specific policy defining how the heirs of an entrepreneur could inherit ownership and assume management responsibilities following the entrepreneur's death.

He called for a clear law or policy governing ownership and succession in online media organisations.

Other speakers included ONAB Vice-President Latiful Bari Hamim, former General Secretary Shaheen Chowdhury, Senior Joint Secretary Md. Ashraful Kabir and executive committee members Touhidur Islam Mintu, Syed Arifuzzaman and Yusuf Howlader.

Other members of the association's executive committee were also present at the meeting.

//DBTech/MCR/BDE/FOE//