Document details

Who Owns the Media in Bangladesh?

Dhaka: Center for Governance Studies (CGS) (2021), 57 pp.
"This report documents a snapshot of media ownership in Bangladesh in late 2020 and identifies its major patterns. By no means is this report exhaustive nor does it cover all aspects of ownership of media in Bangladesh. In the absence of baseline data, our primary objective was to build one with the possibility of further addition and exploration. The information provided in the report should allow researchers to examine these media and others which remained outside the ambit of this report. Drawing on data about selected 32 business entities and associated 48 print and electronic media outlets, this report has shown that family ties, political affiliation and business interests largely shape the ownership patterns in the mediascape. The fact that large business groups are dominating the Bangladeshi mediascape is not a unique phenomenon. But a combination of these three factors points to an alarming picture and raises concern. These do not augur well when the legal and extralegal measures are used rampantly to curtail freedom of speech and when the democratic space is shrinking fast. The overall political environment has created a situation where the pattern of media ownership facilitates ongoing democratic backsliding. The current pattern of ownership also warrants exploration of media content. It is necessary to examine whether the extent of the monopoly of the few groups over the industry and the incumbent government's politics impact media content." (Concluding remarks, page 26)
Bangladeshi Mediascape, 2
Background, 2
What do We Know? 4
How did We Gather Data? 5
Arguments on Politics of the Media Freedom and Ownership, 9
Key Observations, 15
Conclusion, 28
Appendix 1 List of Media Enlisted Newspapers, 35
Appendix 2 List of Radios in Bangladesh, 48
Appendix 3 List of Approval Dates for Private Television Channels, 52