Govt Promotes Press Freedom: Hasan

Information Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud said that the government of Prime Minister Sheik Hasina is supporting freedom of the press with a view to creating a ' debate-based ' culture.

"Objective journalism is a must to build a society based on debate We should make a concerted effort to this purpose," he said at the opening ceremony of a memorial book entitled ' Swapner Sarathi Shah Alamgir ' at the Jatiya Press Club auditorium.

Columnist Sohrab Hasan, Jatiya Press Club President and daily Jugantor Editor Saiful Alam, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), former President Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Jatiya Press Club Senior Vice-President Omar Faruque, newly elected President Kuddus Afrad, Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ).

Dr. Hasan, also the Joint Secretary-General of the Awami League, said it is the responsibility of all concerned to make concerted efforts to improve the journalistic standard.

Although the country has undergone a massive media growth, he said the current trend of getting involved in ill rivalry when reporting the latest news in a rush is lowering the news quality.

Dr. Hasan said that because of this' competition' it was sometimes not possible to maintain objectivity.

He said PIB, as well as the Press Council, were requested to organize workshops required to raise awareness in this regard.

Asked about the development of the online portal registration process, the minister said the government is working on registering online outlets after March 17 and will be registering existing portals in the first step. He hoped that enrolment would help bring consistency to online news portals.

Paying glowing tributes to Shah Alamgir, the minister said he was a high-status journalist and a good soul.

"Shah Alamgir was never looking for publicity. I was always impressed by her actions and abilities," he said.

Source: BSS