Parliamentary Committee reprimands BTV
It has hit the nail on the head
THIS is a long overdue piece of admonishment that had to be sounded to the government-controlled electronic media the BTV which is financed by public money to serve public interest. And that it has come from none other than chief of the parliamentary standing committee on information ministry Obaidul Quader makes the censure authentic and appropriate on the interpretation of the information ministry's role as well as that of BTV authorities which have been rightly put under the legislative microscope. BTV newscasts are for the most part made up of longwinded speeches of government party leaders in a monotonous and predictable refrain.
In spite of 20 years of restored democracy in the country, BTV could not break out of its government or ruling party pandering image. It couldn't even attain an autonomous status in all these four decades. Still, that shouldn't have been the reason for it to be carrying, as the parliamentary standing committee chief mentioned, "28- minute long speeches" of leaders. It is imperative for the sake of its own survivability based on credibility that BTV's news coverage and treatment showed an acceptable level of professional integrity. Let it not forget that it's enmeshed in competition with ten private television channels.
It is rather unexpected in our political culture though, for somebody sitting on the power-wielding side of the fence to come forward and make a candid admission of such a fact in an exemplary act of self-criticism. We felicitate him for his forthright views that instantly strikes a responsive chord with most people in the country who are equally as irked as the chief of the parliamentary standing committee, if not more. Indeed, the broadcasts and commentaries are sycophantic. Not only do the news bulletins carry very little news value and, more importantly also, these crowd out news items that are in public interest to be telecast and disseminated.
After the parliamentary standing committee's words of counsel for the information ministry and the BTV to 'change the mindset', all that we look forward to is a paradigm shift in the policy direction of BTV underpinned by concrete steps towards attaining autonomy for the state-owned TV channel.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
Related News
India’s ‘push-in’ strategy violates international law
3 hour(s) ago
Editorial
Why build roads through a reserved forest?
8 hour(s) ago
Editorial
An alarming report on children’s exposure to climate risks
19 June 2026, 19:07 PM
Editorial
Why is safe water inaccessible for millions despite rising spending?
19 June 2026, 08:00 AM
Editorial
BB must confront bad loans’ true scale
18 June 2026, 18:38 PM
Editorial
Comments