Journalists, editors and media owners in the country have pledged to continue independent reporting under all circumstances, warning that internal divisions have left the press increasingly vulnerable to political pressure, intimidation and mob violence.
Speaking at the first Media Convention 2026 in Dhaka on Saturday, participants said stalled reforms and bureaucratic inertia have weakened institutional protections for media workers, exposing newsrooms to sustained threats.
Organised jointly by Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) and Editors’ Council, the convention was framed as a protest against what organisers described as repeated assaults on freedom of expression and democratic values.
Leaders from a broad range of media organisations — including television owners, press clubs, reporters’ bodies and photojournalists’ groups — attended, giving the event the appearance of a rare, near-universal gathering of the profession.
Many speakers argued that unity within the media community is now indispensable. A fragmented press, they warned, becomes an easy target for repression. A free, independent and united media, they said, is essential for building a democratic Bangladesh — a reality political actors and all stakeholders must acknowledge.
The very fact that such a convention could be organised, bringing together journalists from across nearly all spectrums, was widely seen as very significant. It was long overdue and a step in the right direction. No one can dispute the core principles articulated on stage.
Yet, some crucial issues were either glossed over or avoided altogether.
One of the most glaring omissions was the question of journalists’ financial security. While physical safety and attacks on newsrooms were discussed at length, the economic precarity that defines the profession in Bangladesh received little attention.
Yet, financial insecurity directly undermines editorial independence and the quality of journalism.
For print journalists, the last wage board — the ninth — was announced in 2019 but never fully implemented, largely due to legal challenges raised by NOAB itself, one of the co-hosts of Saturday’s event. As a result, many journalists are still being paid under the eighth wage board, declared in 2012 and implemented in 2013. With inflation over the past 13 years, the erosion of real wages has been severe.
There is no wage board for television channels or online portals. Only a handful of outlets in the capital reportedly pay salaries regularly. Conditions for journalists at the divisional, district and upazila levels are even worse. Some speakers at the convention represent organisations accused of not paying staff on time.
One veteran editor present in the audience was reportedly stopped by journalists at the airport in a protest over unpaid dues.
Without minimum financial security, it is unrealistic to expect fearless, high-quality journalism.
Questions of unity were also complicated by politics. While organisers said journalists’ unions were represented, it was noted that only those aligned with BNP and Jamaat-backed factions were visibly present. Journalists associated with the fallen Awami League regime were largely absent.
Yes, some of these journalists were more political activists than professionals. But others supported certain ideologies while still adhering to journalistic standards. Excluding them undermines the very unity the convention sought to promote.
There were also apparent double standards. Senior journalists spoke against political affiliations, yet at least one speaker currently holds a senior position in a major political party. Another speaker urged journalists to sever political ties, despite having been elected to the National Press Club from a platform aligned with another major party.
These contradictions must be confronted if meaningful reform is to take place. Elections to journalists’ bodies have become political battlegrounds rather than platforms for professional representation. If journalists were prevented from using political connections for personal or professional gain, the industry would reform itself far more quickly.
The issue of legal persecution of journalists was also largely absent from the main stage. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian government on 5 August 2024, many journalists have been implicated in what critics describe as absurd or politically motivated cases.
Some journalists undoubtedly failed to meet professional standards and, in certain cases, enabled authoritarianism. But accusing them of murder or arson—crimes they did not commit—amounts to a mockery of the rule of law.
One may disagree with what they said or did but punishing them by implicating them in unrelated criminal cases is indefensible. Some remain in jail without bail, while individuals accused of serious violent crimes have been released.
Only one speaker addressed this directly. The convention missed an opportunity to defend the principle that journalists should only be prosecuted for actual crimes, not for their opinions. If unity is truly the goal, they argue, the guiding principle should be: “All for one, one for all” — with no impunity for genuine criminal or unethical conduct.
The convention also took place against the backdrop of violent attacks on two of the country’s leading newspapers about a month earlier — attacks that were widely condemned both domestically and internationally.
Yet consistency is lacking. Attacks on outlets such as Naya Diganta and Amar Desh did not generate the same level of outrage. If the media industry is to function as a single entity, then every attack on any journalist or newsroom must be treated with equal seriousness.
There should be no “marriage of convenience”, no selective solidarity. Differences in ideology and editorial policy are inevitable. But the industry, many argue, must act as one when it comes to safety, rights and institutional integrity.
Ultimately, journalism in the country must be run by journalists — not politicians, not businessmen, and not millionaires. Only then can it become a truly institutionalised profession, rather than a tool of power.
The Media Convention 2026 may mark a beginning. But whether it becomes a turning point will depend on whether the profession is willing to confront its own contradictions as boldly as it confronts the state.
