Media
Media Freedom Coalition concerned over Myanmar military’s efforts to muzzle media
The Media Freedom Coalition have issued a statement expressing deep concern over continued efforts by the military and police to crack down on media freedom in Myanmar.
“Media freedom is a cornerstone of democratic societies. It is essential to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Access to information is vital and journalists must be free to report on the developments in the country, including the protests, without fear of reprisal or intimidation,” reads the statement issued Friday.
Independent reporting, it noted, is all the more important in the current context, helping to counter the disinformation campaigns in Myanmar, both online and offline, and to provide the public with factual accounts of events taking place in the country.
“The importance of the work of journalists, particularly in remote areas, cannot be underestimated,” it said.
Members of the coalition who signed the statement are: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.
The statement noted that since the Feb 1 military coup, attacks against media professionals by the security forces and their offices have increased significantly. At least 60 journalists have reportedly been detained and some of these now also face charges.
Licences of five news organisations have been revoked by the military and access to local and international news networks have been suspended. The military imposed “draconian measures that repress free speech and the diffusion of reliable and verified information”.
Internet shutdowns have also been used to restrict news coverage, communications and access to information, the statement noted.
“We strongly condemn the military coup and the ongoing violence and call for the restoration of Myanmar’s democratically elected government and parliamentary assemblies elected in November 2020,” the Coalition said.
It called on the military to “immediately and unconditionally” cease attacks on, and intimidation and harassment of, journalists and media workers, and to release all those who have been arbitrarily detained.
“We call for the perpetrators of violations and abuses, including attacks on journalists and media workers, to be held accountable,” the coalition said.
It demanded the military to respect the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, refrain from the use of force, and respect the media’s freedom to report protests independently, safely and without fear of violence or arbitrary detention.
“We call for the end of all Internet restrictions in Myanmar that suppress media freedom and violate the right to freedom of expression, including freedom to seek, receive, and impart information,” the statement said.
Also read: End assault on media freedom, Fortify Rights to Myanmar
Bangladesh committed to media freedoms 'in Commonwealth and beyond': Muna Tasneem
Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem, who also represents the country on the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth, has reaffirmed her government's commitment to upholding media freedoms within the Commonwealth and beyond. “The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will continue to work closely with the UK, Namibia and our Commonwealth fraternity to continually uphold and improve media freedom nationally, globally and within the Commonwealth," she said.
The High Commissioner made the remarks at a virtual event organised by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and High Commission of Namibia, on ‘Media Freedom in the Commonwealth’ on Wednesday in London.
The event was co-hosted by the UK and Namibia at the advent of the World Press Freedom Day Conference 2021 scheduled to be hosted in Windhoek, Namibia on April 29 to May 3 in collaboration with the UNESCO.
Reflecting on the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, “Information as a Public Good”, the High Commissioner paid her tributes to journalists all around the world including those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
She called upon the Commonwealth to support sustainability and economic viability of news and media houses across the Commonwealth especially in developing countries during the Covid crisis, enhanced transparency of internet companies, and greater media and information literacy among young people to ensure information is indeed delivered as ‘public good’.
High Commissioner Tasneem also briefed the Commonwealth meeting on wide-ranging initiatives and reforms undertaken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government towards rapid liberalization, privatization and expansion of Bangladesh’s print, electronic and digital media industry over the past decade.
The High Commissioner said apart from promoting an exponential growth in private electronic and digital media in Bangladesh, specially the internet-based news portals and TV channels leveraging media freedom and freedom of expression, the present government also created the country’s first journalists’ welfare trust to support special needs of journalists and their family members, and commissioned two wage boards to enhance their pay and salary packages by more than sixty percent since 2013.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland QC and High Commissioners of a number of Commonwealth countries, spoke on the occasion.
The meeting was co-chaired by Head of Media Freedom at the UK FCDO Mr Kanbar Hussein and High Commissioner of Namibia to the UK Linda Scott.
Study finds people want more than watchdogs for journalists
A study of the public’s attitude toward the press reveals that distrust goes deeper than partisanship and down to how journalists define their very mission.
In short: Americans want more than a watchdog.
The study, released Wednesday by the Media Insight Project, a collaboration between the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, suggests ways that news organizations can reach people they may be turning off now.
“In some ways, this study suggests that our job is broader and bigger than we’ve defined it,” said Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute.
The study defines five core principles or beliefs that drive most journalists: keep watch on public officials and the powerful; amplify voices that often go unheard; society works better with information out in the open; the more facts people have the closer they will get to the truth; and it’s necessary to spotlight a community’s problems to solve them.
Yet the survey, which asked non-journalists a series of questions designed to measure support for each of those ideas, found unqualified majority support for only one of them. Two-thirds of those surveyed fully supported the fact-finding mission.
Half of the public embraced the principle that it’s important for the media to give a voice to the less powerful, according to the survey, and slightly less than half fully supported the roles of oversight and promoting transparency.
Less than a third of the respondents agreed completely with the idea that it’s important to aggressively point out problems. Only 11% of the public, most of them liberals, offered full support to all five ideas.
“I do believe they should be a watchdog on the government, but I don’t think they should lean either way,” said Annabell Hawkins, 41, a stay-at-home mother from Lawton, Oklahoma. “When I grew up watching the news it seemed pretty neutral. You’d get either side. But now it doesn’t seem like that.”
Hawkins said she believed the news media spent far too much time criticizing former President Donald Trump and rarely gave him credit for anything good he did while in office.
“I just want the facts about what happened so I can make up my own mind,” said Patrick Gideons, a 64-year-old former petroleum industry supervisor who lives south of Houston. He lacks faith in the news media because he believes it offers too much opinion.
Gideons, though, said he gets most of his news through social media, which is skilled in directing followers toward beliefs they are comfortable with. He said he knows only one person who subscribes to a newspaper anymore — his 91-year-old father.
Polls show how the public’s attitude toward the press has soured over the past 50 years and, in this century, how it has become much more partisan. In 2000, a Gallup poll found 53% of Democrats said they trusted the media, compared with 47% of Republicans. In the last full year of the Trump presidency, Gallup found trust went up to 73% among Democrats and plunged to 10% among Republicans.
The survey’s findings point to some ways news organizations can combat the negativity.
Half a century ago, when newspapers were flourishing and before the internet and cable television led to an explosion in opinionated news, the public’s view of the role of journalists was more compatible to how journalists viewed the job themselves, Rosenstiel said.
“We were the tough guys, we were the cops,” he said.
The study indicates now that consumers are interested in news that highlights potential solutions to problems and want to hear about things that are working, he said.
“We tend to think that stories that celebrate the good things in society are soft stories, kind of wimpy,” he said. “But they may be more important than we think in providing a full and accurate picture of the world.”
People who put greater emphasis on loyalty and authority tend to be more skeptical of the core values that journalists try to uphold, as opposed to those who give greater weight to fairness, the study found. Changes in the way a story is framed can make it more widely appealing to different audiences.
In one example, researchers took a story about a canceled recreation center project in a low-income neighborhood and emphasized the element, less prominent in the original story, that the parks director had diverted funds designated for the project by the city’s mayor. The change led to the story being seen as more trusted and appealing by a broader set of the public, especially those made who place value in authority.
The nationwide survey was conducted with 2,727 adults in the fall of 2019, with a second set of interviews done last August with 1,155 people who had completed the first survey.
The study found that majorities of Americans believe that the media doesn’t care about them and tries to cover up its mistakes. Despite the negativity, Rosenstiel said he believes there’s room for both sides to come to a better understanding of each other.
Believe it or not, most journalists are pretty sincere, said Rosenstiel, a former reporter for the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek.
“Regular people should note that when journalists say they are just doing their job, they actually mean that,” he said, “because they define their job a certain way. They’re not lying. They really don’t think of themselves as secret agents of the Democratic Party. They have these set of principles that they think they’re upholding.”
GLAAD Media Awards presenters support transgender athletes
“Schitt’s Creek” and “The Boys in the Band” were winners at the GLAAD Media Awards, which included soccer’s Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger calling for transgender students to be accepted as “part of the team” in sports.
Harris and Krieger, spouses who play for the Orlando Pride and were on the 2019 World Cup-winning U.S. women’s national team, presented an award in Thursday’s virtual ceremony to the film “Happiest Season,” about a lesbian romance.
The couple drew attention to transgender athletes amid widespread efforts to restrict their participation, including a recently signed Mississippi bill that bans them from competing on girls or women’s sports teams. It becomes law July 1.
Read: Meet Tashnuva Anan Shishir: the first transgender woman in Bangladesh to Present the news.
“Trans students want the opportunity to play sports for the same reason other kids do: to be a part of a team where they feel like they belong,” Krieger said.
Added Harris: “We shouldn’t discriminate against kids and ban them from playing because they’re transgender.”
“Star Trek: Discovery,” “I May Destroy You” and “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” were among the other projects honored in the pre-taped ceremony hosted by Niecy Nash. It’s available on Hulu through June.
The GLAAD awards, in their 32nd year, recognize what the media advocacy organization calls “fair, accurate, and inclusive” depictions of LGBTQ people and issues. Presenters and winners in this year’s event highlighted priorities including the importance of solidarity and self-respect.
Read Ashrayan: In Hatikumrul, a transgender community's hopes thrive with permanent addresses.
“Friends, I’m so proud to stand with the LGBTQ community tonight, just as the LGBTQ community stands with Black and diverse communities,” said Sterling K. Brown, who presented the outstanding documentary award to “Disclosure.”
The “This Is Us” star, citing the Black Lives Matter and Black Trans Lives Matter movements, said that “we’re going to keep spreading that message of unity and justice until every one of us is safe to live the lives we love.”
JoJo Siwa, the teenage YouTube personality and performer, presented the award for outstanding children’s programming to “The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo.” She said in January that she’s part of the LGBTQ community.
Read The most famous Bangladeshi female athletes of all time
“I have the best, most amazing, wonderful girlfriend in the entire world who makes me so, so, so happy and that’s all that matters,” Siwa said. ”It’s really cool that kids all around the world who look up to me can now see that loving who you want to love is totally awesome” and should be celebrated.
Other awards went to Sam Smith, who was honored as outstanding music artist for the album “Love Goes”; Chika, named breakthrough music artist for “Industry Games,” and “We’re Here” won outstanding reality program.
Cast members from “Glee,” including Chris Colfer, Amber Riley and Jane Lynch, paid tribute to Naya Rivera and her character in the series, gay cheerleader Santana Lopez. Rivera, 33, died in an accidental drowning in July 2020.
Read Brazilian transgender dancer shatters Carnival parade taboo
Transcending borders, through films
Over the past decade and a half, this migrant worker from Bangladesh has mesmerised the audience in South Korea with his prowess on the screen. Yet Bangladesh-born Korean superstar Mahbub Alam, also known as Mahbub Lee, holds the distinction of being unknown to many in his own land of birth.
For Mahbub, it was a long journey and rarely an easy one. When he migrated to South Korea in 1999 to fund his ailing mother's treatment in Bangladesh, little did this alumnus of Government Tolaram College in Narayanganj know what lay in store for him.
Also read: Forbes Asia's 100 Digital Stars features Bangladeshi actress pori moni.
Thanks to his elder brother who was in Korea then, he got a job in a garment factory. Seven months later, his mother passed away in Bangladesh. While his elder brother returned to his home country, Mahbub chose to stay back. And his urge to protect fellow garment factory workers from exploitation in Korea prompted him to participate in social movements.
“I first came to Korea in 1999 and I worked in a textiles and garment factory, where my job involved pressing film covering onto the fabrics. It was hard work, using a lot of industrial chemicals,” Mahbub said in an interview with AsiaRights.
"At first, I wasn’t involved in any activism, but after about three years I started to do voluntary work in the Bangladeshi migrant community, taking up issues like industrial accidents and non-payment of wages. Many migrant workers in Korea work in very small firms, and their bosses sometimes cheat them out of their wages," he said.
Also read: How a Bangladeshi woman scripted a success story in vermi venture.
"I became secretary of the Bangladesh Mutual Association, which dealt with these sorts of social problems. Then in 2002, the Migrant Workers Trade Union was established. It was organised under the umbrella of the Korean Confederation Trade Union. We started going to rallies, and I became busy in the Union, writing publicity material for them and so on.”
But Mahbub was quick to realise that stories of unjust treatment of garment workers in the South Korean apparel industry must surface in the mainstream media in order to drive a lasting change for them. So, he decided to test his luck at something new -- making documentary films on the plight of workers in the Korean garment industry.
Bongo launching season 1 of Based on Books contents on Eid-Ul-Fitr
Bangladesh’s first video streaming platform Bongo plans to launch the first season of ‘Bongo BOB (Based on Books)’ "to set a new industry standard for content" during Eid-Ul-Fitr.
Bongo has increased its production capacity over the last few years to produce more originals. It has partnered with noted and popular authors in the country for this unique collaboration.
Through a refined selection process starting at Ekushey Book Fair last year, it has selected some of the best-seller books and going to produce content based on these books, according to a press release.
Read First prize giving ceremony of Valorant PowerUp Series held
Detailing the project, Bongo says, "In Bangladesh, cinema was once called a “Boi” or Book. Maybe it's because the early journey of filmmaking started from the inspiration of different books and literature. Like the first silent film of the subcontinent ‘Bilvamangal’ and the first film with dialogue ‘Jamaishti’, Bangladesh's first talking film ‘Mukh O Mukhosh’ was also literary-dependent.
"This literary reliance has not only enriched the Bengali film but also brought it a commercial success as well as international recognition. Films around the world are no exception. Looking at the world of movies at the moment, we can see that all of the world-famous superhero movies are made from comic books published by Marvel and DC Comics. The journey of this duo of books and movies is eternal."
Also read: Bongo releases new horror series '2 Mad Men'
13 get 'Woman of Inspiration Award 2021'
Thirteen women were awarded the "Woman of Inspiration Award 2021" Saturday (March 27, 2021) on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Global nonprofit organisation JCI Bangladesh organised the programme at a Dhaka hotel to honour the exceptional women "who inspire others to be more and do more."
The inspirational women received the award in different categories including entrepreneurship, banking, legal affairs, business innovation, medical innovation, defence, art and culture, fashion and beauty, media, and corporate leadership.
Read Legendary Women in Bangladesh with Pioneering Contribution in Diverse Fields.
Veteran singer Namita Ghosh passes away
Veteran Singer Namita Ghosh, a vocalist of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, died in Dhaka on Saturday (March 27, 2021). She was 63.
Namita breathed her last at a hospital in the capital.
She left behind three brothers, two sisters and a host of relatives to mourn her death.
Read Noted singer Jane Alam passes away
She will be given a guard of honour around 1 pm at a temple in the city’s Shakhari Bazar, said a press of Bangladesh Awami League.
Prime Minister and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina on Saturday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Namita Ghosh.
Read PM shocked at death of Namita Ghosh
She prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, AL general secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader also expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Namita Ghosh.
Read Remembering Shahnaz Rahmatullah
Editors' Council calls for immediate review of DSA
The Editors' Council on Saturday demanded an immediate review of the Digital Security Act (DSA) in line with the law minister's statement.
TIB criticises re-registration plan of online portals
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the government directive to all national dailies and TV channels for getting their respective online news portals registered separately.