Journos Are Landing in Politicians' Pockets Due to Internal Divisions: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has remarked that journalists are effectively surrendering themselves to the control of politicians due to their own internal schisms.

He made these observations on Monday while addressing a seminar titled "Review of Media Reform Report," organized by the Broadcast Journalist Center (BJC) at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in the capital.

Addressing the gathering, the BNP Secretary General highlighted the fragmentation within the media community. "You have numerous unions—such as BFUJ and DRU. Furthermore, these are split into factions aligned with different parties; sometimes there are two factions, sometimes three. You are becoming partisan yourselves," he said.

He warned the media professionals about the consequences of this partisanship. "Political parties naturally want to keep you in their pockets. However, if you allow yourselves to be pocketed, that creates a problem," Fakhrul cautioned.

Reiterating his party's stance on press freedom, Mirza Fakhrul stated, "Our commitment is very clear. Through our 31-point outline, we have unequivocally stated that we want to envision and build an independent media. That is why we pledged to form a commission regarding this matter."

He concluded by affirming, "We hope that if we are entrusted with the responsibility of forming a government through the people's mandate, we will undoubtedly give this issue priority."

Key Highlights

• Event: BJC Seminar on Media Reform at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center.
• The Issue: Fakhrul criticized media unions for factionalism, arguing that these divisions make it easier for political parties to co-opt journalists.
• The Promise: BNP pledged to prioritize the establishment of an independent media commission based on their 31-point reforms if elected.