Govt didn't order Deepto TV to stop news operations: Information Adviser

Information and Broadcasting Ministry Adviser Mahfuz Alam has said the government did not ask Deepto TV to shut down its news operations. He claimed that the channel made the decision on its own after one of its journalists questioned support for a mass killing.

He made the comments during a discussion meeting titled “Reality of Media During 15 Years of Fascism”, held at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Dhaka’s Secretariat on Tuesday (April 29) evening.

Mahfuz Alam said, “In the six months since taking office, we haven’t called or pressured anyone. A journalist from Deepto TV was dismissed, and their news section was shut down. Now people are assuming that the government did it.”

He added, “In January last year, I myself went to a TV channel looking for a job. They offered me a salary of just 13,000 taka. How can someone live in Dhaka on that amount and support a family?”

The discussion was attended by senior journalists and academics, including Kamal Ahmed, head of the Media Reform Commission.