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committee to advise the government on the structure of the commission.

“We want to form this committee based on everyone’s opinions. Even if it takes time, it must be credible. Once established, this commission will have the authority to handle news outlet registration and find ways to regulate the digital sphere,” he added.

Sajjad Sharif, executive editor of Prothom Alo, reminded the audience that political parties had pledged to form an independent media commission before the elections.

“I remember our senior journalists working together to draft a roadmap for this commission. It focused on two main areas. First, addressing the chaos and irregularities of the last 15 years, where legal loopholes were exploited to control the media and lead it astray.

“Second, this government made an election pledge to fulfil this, but that promise remains unfulfiled. I request that the media should not be treated merely as a tool for running the government,” he said.

Nurul Kabir, editor of New Age and chief of the Editors’ Council, urged the government to act on past recommendations rather than offering new assurances to form commissions or enact laws.

“We want to engage with you, but when we begin that engagement, we want to know which pro-democracy information policies you already agree with, even before we meet. If the government has the will, we are ready. If not, it is our responsibility to realise our demands,” he said.

Shamsul Huq Zahid, editor of The Financial Express, recalled that the Media Reform Commission had submitted over 20 proposals on journalists’ economic conditions and freedoms to the interim government, but these were never implemented.

Kamal Ahmed, consulting editor of The Daily Star and head of the Media Reform Commission, said, “There is supposed to be a distinct boundary between the owner and the editor, but often that line is blurring,” he said.

He cited examples of newspapers suppressing or omitting names from reports on official lists of money launderers and loan defaulters

“When the prime minister answered a query in parliament and released a list of those accused of money laundering abroad, and similarly, when a list of the top loan defaulters was published, on both occasions, we saw how certain newspapers handled the news.

“Either they suppressed the entire list, or they published it while intentionally omitting the name of their own organisation’s owner. In such a scenario, how can the editor of that institution claim credibility before their readers? How can they claim to be delivering news that is accurate, objective, and unbiased?” he said.

Kamal stressed the need for a code of conduct but warned against government control. “The question remains: who will enforce this code? Our experience tells us that if we hand this power over to the government, it will lead to an abuse of authority. Therefore, it is our own responsibility to ensure that this code, our stance, and the core principles of journalism are followed,” he said.

Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, announced that the Editors’ Council is drafting two codes of conduct: one for owners and another for editors.

“Suppose an investor builds a hospital. They are the owner. But can they run the hospital? If they do, patients will die. Equally, many people can be the owners of the media, but only the editor can run it. Because if the owner tries to run the media, it will lead to a deviation from media values,” he said.

“We must be more ethical…. We should remain within what I’d call ethical journalism, one grounded in values. We must not practise journalism with the intent to denigrate anyone regarding any matter,” he added.

Reaz Ahmad, editor of Dhaka Tribune, said Bangladesh has a vibrant media landscape “in terms of quantity, if not always quality”, and urged a transformation toward “qualitative excellence”.

Several speakers expressed alarm over the spread of fake news on social media.

Hasan Hafiz, editor of Kaler Kantho, warned of rampant character assassination and obscenity on social media, particularly targeting women.

“People are hungry for information ... Because they do not get news from mainstream sources or fail to find truthful reporting, they turn elsewhere,” he said.

Noab President and Manab Zamin Editor-in-Chief Matiur Rahman Chowdhury criticised the race for “likes” and “views” on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.

“As long as this race continues, there is no way to escape misinformation. The mainstream media stands helpless,” he said.

AMM Bahauddin, editor of Inqilab, and Shahriar Karim, executive editor of Sangbad, also spoke at the event.