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Newspaper industry going thru' tough times

Senior journalists tell discussion

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Senior journalists of different national and local dailies yesterday urged the government to take steps, including selling newsprint at a fair price, to save the newspaper industry which is going through tough times.
They were addressing a discussion meeting tided "Problems of the newspaper industry" at the CIRDAP Auditorium in the city organised by Progressive Democratic Party.
Editors of four national dailies-Amar Desh, Amader Shomoy, Manabzamin, Bhorer Kagoj—and about 30 editors and publishers of local dailies were present at the discussion presided over by Ferdous Ahmed Quarishi, convenor of Progressive Democratic Party.
They urged the government to prepare a proper policy in line with the present situation of the newspaper industry.
The editors urged journalists and employees of all newspapers to unite and form a common platform.
They said newspapers are facing difficulties as their production costs are increasing and flow rate of advertisements is slow.
Speakers at the meeting said newspapers had a significant role in bringing the changes that took place on January 11, 2007 but the caretaker government did not pay attention to the industry's problems.
They urged the government to provide bank loans to potent but small newspapers to help them
survive.
Motiur Rahman Chowdhury, editor-in-chief of Dainik Manabzamin, in the keynote speech said, "When the existence of a newspaper is at stake, one cannot expect freedom of editors or journalists. 1/11 [January 11, 2007) has presented us with a tragedy like this."
He alleged that corruption and irregularities take place in allocating government advertisement to newspapers.
Motiur accused the caretaker government of suppressing the newspaper industry instead of standing by its side.
"Newspapers had a great role in bringing about 1/11 but the fact is newspapers have been suffering after 1/11," he said adding that the caretaker government did not show any sympathy or have interest in talks in this regard.
The Manabzamin editor-in-chief urged the government to prepare a proper policy in fine with the present situation of newspaper industry.
Most editors and publishers of local dailies urged the government to allocate them government advertisements. They also urged the government to raise the rate of advertisements.
Describing the faulty advertisement distribution by Department of Films and Publications (DFP), the editors of local dailies said a proper system should be developed for distribution of the DFP advertisements.