Bangladesh Media Mostly Affiliated to Political Parties, Study Reveals
27 January 2021Political affiliation, family ties and business interests largely shape the media ownership patterns in Bangladesh and ownerships of media houses also shift hands to those who are connected to the incumbent government and the ruling party, a study revealed.
Ali Riaz, the professor of political science at Illinois State University in the United States, and Mohammad Sajjadur Rahman, a PhD candidate at the Strassler Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University of Massachusetts, carried out the research on the basis of data available from October 2019 to December 2020.
The study observed that most of the owners of media outlets in Bangladesh are directly or indirectly affiliated to different political parties.
The study titled ‘Who Owns the Media in Bangladesh’ was conducted under a project of the Centre for Governance Studies, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy in the USA, according to a release issued by CGS on Tuesday.
It focused on 48 media outlets, including newspapers, radio and television stations, and web portals, which are owned by 32 business entities.
Analysing data, the report shows that family ties, political affiliations and business interests mainly shape the ownership pattern in the media-scape in Bangladesh.
The study also revealed that since 2009, the ruling Awami League has provided TV licences to individuals who are directly involved with its party or whose loyalty to the regime is unquestionable.
The Awami League government has provided licences to 36 private TV channels from 2009-2018 while the BNP government granted licences to five channels from 2010-2006, the study says.
The study also observes that political considerations, especially the government’s penchant for silencing its opponents’ voices, have led to the shutting down of various media in the country; for instance the closure of news based private television channel CBS on September 6, 2007, during the military-backed caretaker government, shutting down of daily Amar Desh, Islamic TV and Diganta TV during the Awami League regime.
The state has used at least 20 acts, laws, and policy documents to regulate, control or contains information flows within Bangladesh.
It also says that almost all the media outlets are owned by big business groups with diverse financial interests; mainly in banks and financial institutions, insurance, energy, and real estate sectors.
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