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Newspapers lack proper policy, says Latifur

BSS, Dhaka
Former chief of the caretaker government Justice Latifur Rahman has said the newspapers in the country cannot contribute up to the expectations since they lack a proper policy.
"The press in Bangladesh is absolutely free. But they are not guided by a proper policy," he said while inaugurating the two-day biennial conference of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) at the National Press Club in the city.
Information Minister Tariqul Islam spoke on the occasion as the special guest, said many newspapers are making money but are reluctant to give better wages to journalists.
"We have discussed the formation of the 6th wage board for the journalists, but some of the ownereditors did not respond positively." He, however, said negotiations were underway to give newspersons a new wage structure.
BFUJ President Gias Kamal Chowdhury presided over it.
Latifur said the newspersons, despite many odds, have been playing a key role in society to educate people and mould their opinion on national and international issues.
He, however, said there are some who have been practising yellow journalism, but the number is not big. "I humbly request all the newspersons to prepare reports
based on facts," he added.
Citing the caretaker government's role in ensuring press freedom in 1991, he said former chief adviser of the caretaker administration Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed had paved ways by repealing articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Special Powers Act.
Tariqul also said the newspapers have been using the press freedom in a negative way. "If you take any newspaper, you will find them flooded with negative and frustrating news items," he said posing a question about whether newspapers should make people feel frustrated instead of optimistic.
Criticising the trend of advertisement culture in the press, the information minister said the publishers are compelling the readers to swallow whatever they publish. A newspaper, he said, is bought surely not to see the pages riddled with commercial advertisements, which occupy even the front and back pages.
Referring to the propaganda by a major political party and a few journalists abroad, the minister said such false and fabricated campaign would not yield anything. The alliance government is not rootless, he said in an oblique reference to the main opposition Awami League.
The BFUJ leaders demanded immediate formation of the sixth wage board, 60 percent dearness allowance and a national policy for newspaper industry.