Staff correspondent :

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat agreed with the demands of journalists to bring social media under a policy and accountability and said that steps will be taken by talking to journalists and other stakeholders in this regard. He said, “As journalists have emphasized the need to bring all social media, including YouTube and Facebook, under a policy and accountability framework, I as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting agree with this demand and will try to fulfill it by discussing with journalists.” The state minister said these things in a meeting with the leaders of Broadcast Journalist Center (BJC) in the meeting room of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at the secretariat on Wednesday.
Referring to the meeting with various journalists’ organizations, Mohammad Ali Arafat said, “I have received another proposal from various journalists’ organizations to formulate a policy to determine the qualifications and quality standards of journalists. He said that the government of Bangabandhu’s daughter and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown a liberal approach to media expansion in the last 15 years. The government has ensured full freedom of media. You (professional journalists) want policies to determine the qualifications of journalists to bring order to the media. We will talk to you and work it out.” He said that legal action will be taken against those who are involved in irregularities in providing broadcasting or internet services in disregard of existing laws.
Responding to the call of journalists to take action against sudden retrenchment in the media, the state minister said that it is a violation of the Universal Charter of Human Rights. He will issue formal instructions so that no organization can fire its journalists at short notice. A layoff notice must be served at least three months in advance. Similarly, if a journalist wants to quit journalism, they also have to inform the authorities before a certain period, like two-three months. At this time, the state minister asked the journalists for their cooperation in meeting their demands.
BJC Chairman Rezwanul Haque Raza, Member Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, Treasurer Manas Ghosh, Trustee Board Member Syed Ishtiaq Reza and others were present in the meeting.