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JOURNALISM today faces unprecedented attacks worldwide, targeted by powerful actors regardless of the size or influence of the targeted media outlet. Politicians, security forces, and individuals wielding technological tools are simultaneously undermining legacy or mainstream media.

Donald Trump set the tone when he branded journalists ‘enemies of the people.’ In his second term, the attacks have only grown more brazen. Politicians across the globe have followed suit, no longer willing to face scrutiny, dismissing investigations as nothing but conspiracies.

On the battlefield, the situation is even grimmer. In Israel, the campaign to silence coverage of atrocities has broken all records. According to the United Nations, Israel killed more journalists in the past two years than were killed in the two World Wars and the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq combined. Elsewhere, too, journalists are routinely targeted by security forces who operate with impunity, enabled by weak civilian leadership.

The online arena is no safer. Social media has become a weapon in the hands of conspiracy theorists and hate preachers. They spread disinformation, incite violence and starve traditional outlets of revenue. In the US, right-wing extremists routinely threaten journalists. In Bangladesh, too, we’ve seen mobs whipped up through online portals against media houses.

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Bangladesh’s missed opportunity

HERE at home, many hoped that the interim government would bring breathing space for the press. Instead, hostility lingers, reforms stall, and discredited policies of Sheikh Hasina’s

regime remain intact. Rather than dismantling the rotten machinery of state media, the government has chosen to keep it on life support. Similarly it filled in the vacancies at the failed press regulatory body, which was supposed to be dismantled and replaced with a new truly independent institution with a broader mandate covering all forms ofÌýmedia.

The Media Reform Commission’s findings were clear: the previous government captured the media sector. TV licenses were handed out not for journalistic merit but for political loyalty. Ownership was murky, with no checks on illicit funding. As a result, media outlets became little more than shields for vested interests.

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Journalists at the breaking point

JOURNALISTS here are underpaid, insecure, and often silenced. The idea of a minimum wage aligned with civil service scales isn’t radical — it’s overdue. If the 2013 Wage Board had been implemented properly, reporters would already be on par with mid-level civil servants. But owners prefer to squeeze staff while chasing government advertisement revenue.

The result is a profession riddled with fear and compromise. Journalists cut corners to survive. Outlets sell headlines for political protection. Over 500 so-called ‘newspapers’ exist only to pocket state ads. The real press — the one trying to do its job — pays the price.

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Fear in the newsroom

INTIMIDATION remains the daily reality. Reporters are harassed online, threatened with violence, or slapped with false charges. Threats on social media and mob violence — rather than state action — are now the main sources of pressure leading to self-censorship and attacks. Though the government claims to act firmly against such threats, the results are lacking.

Journalists are getting sacked or sidelined frequently due to owners realigning attempts with political forces perceived as likely winners in the upcoming elections. Officially, the government insists it doesn’t meddle in editorial decision makings, but fear persists.

Without protection laws or an independent watchdog, incidents like these pile up without accountability.

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The dead weight of state media

THEN there’s state media. For decades, politicians of all stripes have promised autonomy for BTV and Betar. None delivered. Today, despite collapsing viewership, their budgets keep ballooning — Tk 320 crore for BTV and Tk 205 crore for Betar this year alone. Creativity is stifled, artists are underpaid and the content feels stuck in another century.

The state news agency BSS is no better: bloated payrolls, politicised hiring and shrinking relevance. Yet taxpayers shell out Tk 38 crore a year to keep it afloat. It even allowed unsustainable expansion, instead of restructuring and driving for efficiencyÌýsavings.

It’s time to merge BTV, Betar and BSS into a single National Broadcasting Corporation — independent, professional and worth the public’s money.

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The monopoly problem

TOO many outlets are owned by too few families. Many owners hide behind shell companies, running multiple channels or newspapers that churn out the same content to dominate public opinion. Globally, democracies have responded with strict anti-monopoly laws. Bangladesh has done nothing.

India, often pointed to as a comparison, fares no better. Its ‘Godi media’ has become synonymous with ruling-party propaganda. But at least it has begun debating a cross-ownership ban. Bangladesh hasn’t even started.

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A reform agenda the government can’t dodge

IF THE interim government is serious about freeing the media, it needs to act fast and act big. Half measures won’t cut it.

Here’s what bold reform looks like:

—Transparency in ownership: expose hidden investors and illicit funding.

—Legal protection: pass a Media Protection Law with teeth.

—Independent oversight: create a permanent Media Commission with real power.

—Consolidate state media: build a National Broadcasting Corporation.

—Fair wages: implement the long-delayed wage board.

—Recognise journalism as a public good: with tax breaks and support policies to match.

—One family, one media: break up monopolies and force restructuring.

Unless these reforms move forward now, the interim government risks breaking its promise of ‘making the media independent, strong and objective.’

Journalism in Bangladesh will remain trapped in a system rigged for political control and financial manipulation.

And without a free, fearless press, democracy itself doesn’t stand a chance.

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Kamal Ahmed is an independent journalist, and was the head Ìýof the Media Reform Commission Ìýin Bangladesh.