Govt to finalise policy amid criticism

Admin — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 16:13:29 +0000

Online Mass Media
Govt to finalise policy amid criticism
The government will finalise an online mass media policy soon to ensure objectivity in news reports, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said yesterday.
“The policy will not exert control on the freedom of the mass media. Rather it will help improve professional skills of journalists and ensure objectivity and
transparency,” he told a discussion, “Draft Online Mass Media Policy 2012: Review and Evaluation”, at Dhaka University (DU).
Department of Mass Communication and Journalism organised it in RC Majumdar Arts Auditorium.
The government move however has been criticised by journalists and the opposition BNP.
At a press briefing, BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday demanded cancellation of the draft policy, saying the government was trying to
establish control on online news media.
“The draft policy is contradictory to the spirit of democracy. The government wants to obstruct press freedom and creative spirit. That’s why we are opposing it,” he
told the briefing at BNP’s central office in the capital’s Nayapaltan.
CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Boishakhi TV Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul told another programme, “In an era of globalisation, instead of controlling the content of online news
portals, the government should focus on strengthening social values and educate the internet users at large.”
He was addressing a dialogue on Freedom of Expression on Internet, which eventually turned into a protest against the proposed guidelines, organised by Voice for
Interactive Choice and Empowerment (VOICE), an NGO, at Jatiya Press Club.

-With The Daily Star input

The post Govt to finalise policy amid criticism appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

Ministry to set up body for online media policy draft

Admin — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 02:30:54 +0000

The information ministry on Wednesday decided to set up a committee involving online media stakeholders to work out a draft of the online media policy.
The information secretary, Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, said that they would set up the committee to draft the online media policy. ‘Previously we made the talking point. But that was not a draft policy.’
Online media houses and bloggers lodged their protests against the points the ministry earlier made for the online media policy.
Online media stakeholders said that the points of the draft policy were impractical and such a policy could stall the growth in the information and communications technology sector.
The Barta24.net editor, Sarder Farid Ahmed, said that the ministry had made some impractical points which are almost impossible for online media houses to go by.
‘The ministry earlier said that the hosting must be done locally and it is impossible as the government does not have the infrastructure to support such local hosting. The amount of registration fee is also impractical and is contradictory with the government’s vision for a digital Bangladesh,’ he said.
The Banglanews24.com editor, Alamgir Hossain, said, ‘If authorities want to have an online medial policy in place, it should be made flawless.’
Khaled Saifullah, editor of Noakhaliweb, said that the proposed registration fee and 2 per cent tax were too much as online media houses are not profit-making entities.

-With New Age input

The post Ministry to set up body for online media policy draft appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

online media policy - Dhaka Mirror

Govt to finalise policy amid criticism

Ministry to set up body for online media policy draft