DHAKA, April 23, 2019 (BSS) -The government is likely to place two bills on media — Media Employees Act (Conditions of Service) 2018 and Broadcast Act — in third session of the Jatiya Sangsad (JS), said Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud here today.
“We would not be able to place these two bills in parliament in the session beginning tomorrow. But we hope to place the bills in the next (3rd) session,” he said at a meeting with Broadcast Journalists’ Association (BJA) leaders at the Secretariat.
The Information Ministry has already finalized the draft of the two laws on protecting media employees and broadcast media and sent those to the Law Ministry for vetting, Hasan said.
“We talked to the Law Ministry over quick vetting of the laws. We hope they will do so. After the vetting, we will place the bills in parliament after the cabinet’s approval,” the minister said, adding once the bills are passed in parliament, security of the journalists, including job security, will be protected.
Millions of Taka is being laundered through advertisements in foreign channels, creating fund crisis in the domestic channels, Hasan said, adding that it has created many problems in paying salaries to the journalists.
In many cases, news section is being shut down, the minister said, adding none of these would have happened if advertisements were not given to foreign channels.
Responding to a demand of the journalist leaders, the minister said his ministry will cooperate in organizing the Asia Summit.
Editor-in-Chief of GTV and sarabangla.net Syed Ishtiaque Reza and Broadcast Journalist Center Chairman Rezwanul Haque and its Member Secretary Shakil Ahmed were present in the meeting, among others.