Media committing crimes should be punished: Speakers at roundtable

If a media outlet publishes any news to advance its own agendas by undermining the country's independence or children's rights, then it should be punished, said editors of several media outlets at a roundtable discussion.

The question of freedom and responsibility of newspapers came to the forefront after Prothom Alo published a photo feature last week. They claimed captions for two separate photos got mixed, and removed the photo within 26 or 29 minutes. Following that, a journalist was arrested.

"From its very beginning, the Editors Guild has been demanding that the Press Council's opinion should be taken before arresting a journalist," said Editors Guild President Mozammel Babu at the roundtable meeting on "Journalistic Freedom and Responsibility" organised by the Editors Guild, an organisation of media editors of the country, held in the capital yesterday.

Mozammel Babu, editor of Ekattor Television, said, "No one is above the law. If someone is aggrieved by reports, features or photo features of a journalist, he can seek the Press Council's help in this regard. The hazards in the journalists' works can be mitigated to some extent in this way."

"We were waiting for Prothom Alo to remove the mismatch in the photo feature and end all the controversy by replacing the photo of Zakir Hossain. But even after 48 hours, that picture was not replaced. Many have started to believe that Zakir Hossain is a made-up character and someone has embarked on a series of conspiracies to denigrate the achievement of great independence by dressing up this character. Many of us felt that the Prothom Alo and the Daily Star's continuous campaign was a combined effort.

"Journalists have the responsibility to find out those who commit crimes and distort the truth in the name of publishing newspapers. We are talking about people who work to incite the nation with false pictures, and false captions."

He further said, "Why do respected citizens like Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, and Rawonak Jahan, not make statements regarding Prothom Alo's malpractice? Why does the United Nations Commission on Human Rights not make a statement after seeing that those who take pictures of children for Tk10 are violating children's rights? I think Prothom Alo has official pads of all of them, with which it issues statements."

Nayeemul Islam Khan, emeritus editor of the Amader Notun Shomoy, said, "We conducted a 30-month survey of Bangladeshi newspapers following the incidents on 11 January 2007. It was a content analysis of newspapers including the Daily Star and the Prothom Alo, the Ittefaq, the Jugantar and some other newspapers. Through analysis, we found out that the Prothom Alo and the Daily Star make up a case by intermittently publishing columns and personal opinions. 

"A context is created in this way. Does the Prothom Alo create a context and kill someone or do something like that? No, Prothom Alo may not do it, but in this context, someone comes forward and does it.

"Sheikh Hasina is under threat.  She has faced over a dozen attacks and now a context for such attacks is being created again."

He further said, "Zakir Hossain's statement was put inside the quotation marks. There are three sentences. There is no consistency among those three sentences. I personally doubt whether anyone can get three sentences like that from a day labourer even by travelling all over Bangladesh. Journalism is about giving language to the marginal people, but it does not mean you would put your own words in someone else's mouth."

He said if one newspaper or media outlet makes a mistake, it is other media outlets' responsibility to point it out to them.

"None of us are above the law. However, I am against the Digital Security Act," he said.

Former president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul said, "If journalism is not free, it is not journalism. If you speak the words taught by someone else, it is not journalism.

"If a newspaper keeps making these mistakes, then they are actually harming journalism. People lose faith and trust in the press altogether, not just in that particular media outlet. Even in acknowledging your faults, you have to be careful to consider how many mistakes you can make and how many times you can acknowledge them."

He said the Transport Act was introduced in 2008 along with the Digital Security Act. Among them, only the Digital Security Act is being implemented but we cannot even come close to implementing the Transport Act.

Bangladesh Press Council Chairman Justice Nizamul Huq said, "The Press Council Act needs to be changed to take proper measures regarding these matters. At the same time, applications should be sent to the council in the proper way regarding these issues."

He also said, "A case against a journalist should come to the Press Council first. It would check to see if it is a criminal offence. The offences which should be trialled in court would be sent there, and the rest will be judged by the council itself."

"Many people at home and abroad are saying what the Press Council is doing to deal with these issues, but the fact is that our Press Council operates on the basis of a law that was created on 14 February 1974 by Bangabandhu. There was no other media in the Press Council other than the print media at that time. As a result, we have legislation that deals with print media only. Currently there are discussions regarding bringing other media under the Press Council," he added.

Human rights advocate ZI Khan Panna said, "I have only one thing to talk about – why is there a press council? What is its responsibility? What is the purpose of the Press Council? If there is any mistake in a newspaper then it should go to the Press Council. However, the council has no teeth, no eyes, no claws."

He also said, "It does not allow in any law to arrest people at 2 am or 3 am. CID men in plain clothes went to arrest the journalist, but what if criminals went there instead of the CID men? How would one be able to get proof of their profession? This is a malpractice, an abuse of law, which has been happening repeatedly.

"Everyone says that the judiciary is independent, but I ask how independent is it? If the department is given freedom but it does not act independently, if it has no independent mentality, then there is no benefit from this independence. It is free on paper only."

When Mozommel Babu asked if doing a photoshoot of a child by paying him Tk10 was a crime, Panna said a case should be filed under the Children Act regarding such matters.

When Nayeemul Islam Khan asked, if Panna thinks the Digital Security Act should be implemented, the human rights advocate replied, "I would still say it is a black law, I do not support such acts."

Mozammel Babu said after the election on 5 January 2014, the Prothom Alo published a news report that voters did not participate in the election. It also published a photo where Hindu women were seen participating in the polls at that time. On the next day thousands of houses belonging to Hindus were attacked across the country and many were killed. Under what act these crimes should be judged?

In response to that, Panna said, "Was any case filed in this regard? I cannot decide what act should be implemented here. Many people participated in that crime."

General Secretary of Jatiya Press Club Shyamal Dutta said, "If someone continuously uses a media outlet with a particular political philosophy then it is a special case. The Children Act states whether a child can be photographed for Tk10 or not. These are basic, but if the media is used as a political platform, that is a different matter."

He said, "Before 2006, the Prothom Alo ran a campaign to present the Bangladeshi political practices as bad. Can that event be separated from what is happening today?"

He concluded his speech by saying, "We protest against Shams's arrest. We want freedom of media."

Former chief information commissioner and Ajker Patrika Editor Professor Dr Golam Rahman said, "There is no room for publishing partial truths in the newspapers. If any newspaper publishes reports to fulfil a particular purpose, we should talk about it.

Article-19 Regional Director for South Asia Faruq Faisel said, "Misinformation and disinformation are being spread in the society, which should be stopped. Our readers and general public should also be aware if someone is misrepresenting something."

Former Information Commissioner and Dhaka University teacher Dr Sadeka Halim said an internal narrative was created through the incident that happened on Independence Day. The news on Prothom Alo cannot be taken lightly.

"The Prothom Alo, and the Daily Star are preparing a discourse. It is necessary to see first whether their discourse is in favour of independence. Diversity is needed, but do not publish news based on misinformation.

"Not only a journalist, no one should be arrested in the middle of the night. The Digital Security Act cannot be used indiscriminately. The Press Council must act responsibly."

Bangladesh Pratidin Editor Naem Nizam said, "The government and state should be separated. Criminal offences should be treated differently from journalistic errors.

"We have repeatedly said any issues related to the media should through the Press Council. Action must be taken if it is a criminal offence. I think the Press Council should be much stronger and people should put their trust in the council."