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| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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What to write, what not to write? by Aditha Dissanayake "The role of the media in society; whether journalism should be constructive or destructive, in short, what to write and what not to write are questions that have existed for a long time and will continue to exist in the future because no exact answers can be given", said Matiur Rahman, the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication, Arts in a teleconference conducted by the Asian Institute of Management Policy Centre, Philippines in cooperation with the Distance Learning Centre, Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Press Institute on August 30, 2005. Matiur Rahman(53), the Editor of Prothom Alo, the vernacular newspaper with the largest circulation in Bangladesh was awarded the Magsaysay for his efforts to eliminate acid attacks and poverty in his country. A hardcore Marxist in his younger days who dreamt of a world where every deed was paid for and no surplus value was left for the capitalists, Rahman now asks: "But dreams are meant for shattering, and ideologies are for trembling, arn't they?" Recalling how he instigated the Protom Alo Acid Victim Assistance Fund, Rahman said he got interested when his senior sub-editor on women's affairs took him to see a victim of an incident of acid throwing, a fifteen year old girl whose cheek was burned with hydrochloric acid. He had wondered, "how often have I gone mad for breaking news in the bizarre forest of politics and economics? All those strikes and speeches, do they mean anything? In fact, how important are they compared to this tragedy? And how many times will this continue? Why should one burn someone's face with acid?" He had published a news item in Prothom Alo saying: "To help the acid burn victims with treatment, legal assistance, rehabilitation and overall to curb such incidents we have created a fund, we urge your conscience to donate generously to the fund", and was pleased when in eight months more than 950 people had donated around two million takas, for the fund. Today, Rahman says he will donate one third of the award money to the victims of acid attacks, one third to drug addicts and AIDS patients and one third to journalists who have been injured in the line of duty. Talking about a code of ethics for the media Rahman said the Prothom Alo has a set of ethics of its own especially when it comes to issues regarding women. According to Rahman, reporting in a balanced way should be the motto of all journalists. Summing up, the theme of the gathering Raman B. Magsaysay, Jr said journalism should be seen as the "bridge linking the gap between the powerful and the powerless." |
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