A commission constituted by a search committee will look into the execution of the broadcasting policy, says PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said no media across the world runs without any policy or guidelines.
The broadcasting policy has been designed following long discussions incorporating opinions of cross section of people to ensure accountability of media along with safeguarding its freedom, she said.
She said this in an occasion of giving cheques of financial allowance/donation among the sick, insolvent and accidentally injured journalists and family members of the deceased of media personnel at a function at her Tejgaon office here, state-run news agency BSS reported.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today ruled out the suspicion of a section of people that the newly announced national broadcast policy would curtail the freedom of press saying her government
firmly believes in complete freedom of media.
“We would not have given permission to so many televisions and newspapers in the private sector if we didn’t believe in the freedom of press and speech,” she said today.
The Prime Minister said a commission to be constituted by a search committee will look into the matter of the execution of the broadcast policy. The policy has been formulated fulfilling a long run demand of the journalist community, which was liked by everybody but a few who never supported our activities.
The donation/allowance was given from a specially constituted first ever government fund introduced by the Awami League government in 2013 to support the journalists considering their financial woes.
So far, the government has extended financial support to 437 journalists from the fund while today the Prime Minister handed over cheques to 181 journalists as per recommendation of a committee of the information ministry this year.
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu presided over the function organised by the Ministry of Information.
The Prime Minister said journalists always face difficulties during their duties. Some of them die, some sustain injuries and some fall sick seriously. Out of that consideration, she said the government has undertaken the benevolent step to support them during their financial hardship.
Sheikh Hasina said the government has already constituted a trust fund to give the system of giving financial support to journalists an institutional shape, from where journalists would get support every year.
The government would allocate seed money for the trust fund very shortly, she said urging the journalist leaders to mobilise more money for the fund from other private sources.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
