The Daily Star View Exchange Meet

Call to publish positive news

7 July 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Sylhet

Speakers at a view exchange meeting on Tuesday night called for more coverage of positive news and success stories in national newspapers, including The Daily Star. Coverage of success stories in newspapers would inspire the achievers to get more involved in such activities for the well-being of the people, they said. Publishing negative stories in newspapers only makes frustration in the society, they observe. The Daily Star organised the meeting at a hotel in Sylhet city while Editor and Publisher of the English daily Mahfuz Anam moderated it. Prof MA Aziz, vice-chancellor of Metropolitan University, thanked The Daily Star for giving good coverage on education related issues. He also stressed the need for using simple and easy English in the newspaper so that readers can easily understand the language. Success stories from grass-roots level should also be given more coverage in national newspapers, he said. Dr Zakaria Hossain, chairman of Sylhet Tourism Foundation, said the press should give more coverage on tourism in Bangladesh to attract tourists from home and abroad. Private sector is contributing "in a big way," Hossain said, adding Bangladesh need a tourism-friendly atmosphere for attracting tourists. Faruque Mahmud Chowdhury, TIB's conscious citizens' committee convener and Sylhet Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) administrator, said the process of setting up of the long desired Special Economic Zone in Sylhet is underway. It would open a new era in investment especially by the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs), he added. Md Shah Alam, regional director of Bangladesh Betar, requested The Daily Star authorities for organising events for the meritorious students of English medium schools in Sylhet region. Prof SMA Khaleque, chairman of Sylhet Education Board, said the newspapers should give more focus on education related issues. He stressed the need for regular evaluation on the education boards' activities and monitoring the education institutions to increase their standard of education, he said. Nasim Hossain, city unit BNP general secretary and former vice-president of SCCI, said opportunities for setting up small and mid level industries in greater Sylhet should be increased as the two existing BSCIC Industrial estates have no scope for expansion while a good number of expats are ready to set up new industries. He also emphasised setting up a Special Economic Zone in the region soon. It would create ways for the NRB investors. Nasim also requested for more coverage of positive news and success stories. Muktabis Un Noor, president of Sylhet Press Club, said new generation NRBs are losing interest towards Bangladesh for some reasons. The government should increase facilities for the NRBs and immediate steps should be taken for keeping them in touch with the country, he said. He said harassment at the airports and by the national carrier Biman is yet to be stopped. Marian Mammi Chowdhury, veteran women sports organiser and former national athlete, said newspapers should focus more on the decaying facilities for female sports, especially in the districts including Sylhet where playgrounds are disappearing fast. Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star, said though there have many problems, journalism of Bangladesh is far better. The Daily Star is trying to overcome the problems to ensure quality journalism, he said. He requested all to identify the problems and loopholes in media so that The Daily Star and other media can focus on those issues more effectively. Rumi Hossain, managing director of Rangs Toshiba, Golam Rabbani, Sylhet divisional commissioner, Sazzadul Hasan, deputy commissioner, SP Shakhawat Hossain, Misbah Uddin Siraj, public prosecutor, Dr. Ehtesham Ul Haque Chowdhury, Sylhet BMA secretary, Inrfanuzzaman Chowdhury, BLAST regional coordinator, Ahmed Nur, press cub general secretary, barrister Arosh Ali, president of Udichi, Sylhet and cultural activist and writer Nizam Uddin Lashkar also joined the programme.