Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Saturday, citing the financial pressures of running media outlets.
“To set up a media organization, owners must have money because they need to pay journalists’ salaries,” he told a roundtable titled “Review and Actions of Media Reform Commission’s Report” at Dhaka Reporters Unity’s (DRU) Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium.
Shafiqul agreed with the principle of “No wage board, no media” and acknowledged the need for incentives to ensure proper functioning. “In the last 15 years, many leaders have become newspaper owners—yet they have never spoken out for journalists’ rights,” he said.
He emphasized that if any journalist is injured or killed at work due to inadequate safety measures, the responsibility must lie with the owners. He also remarked that if a union leader becomes an editor, they must resign from their union post, and vice versa.
Md Mia Hossain, member secretary of the Journalist Community of Bangladesh, delivered the keynote. He said: “Due to the absence of proper and effective policies, journalists are not receiving their rightful salaries. Month after month, wages remain unpaid, forcing them to live in inhumane conditions. These issues need urgent attention. Through proper laws and policies, journalism must be brought to a fully professional level.”
The keynote suggested several reforms, including forming a task force, monitoring electronic and online media, registering journalists, and enacting a specific law for the declaration of electronic and online media outlets.
DRU President Abu Saleh Akon said: “We must claim our rights ourselves. We need to be united. We do not get security. We are beaten in front of the police, in court, and even at the press club.”
Ekramul Haque Bhuiya, editor of DBC News, urged that TV and online platforms be brought under the Wage Board policy.
Sakhawat Hossain Badsha, former DRU president, noted that without DRU’s representation in the Media Reform Commission and other government media committees, true media reform will not be possible.
Other prominent journalists and media members attended the roundtable.
