Who Owns the Media in Bangladesh?

This reports explores media ownership in Bangladesh, provides relevant information and statistics of the different types of media outlets (print, electronic, online, radio) and the scope of press freedom. It finds that despite the numerical growth in media outlets, press freedom and freedom of expression have been increasingly curtailed, leading to a situation in which ‘many media outlets remain in the hands of individuals and/or groups close to the ruling party’. Critical outlets risk loss of government advertising revenue. According to the authors, ‘the government has ensured effective control over media houses through various legal and extralegal measures’. The analysis of media ownership (looking at family networks, political affiliation, business interests) and the political environment, is combined with a close look at the Digital Security and ICT acts next to providing an overview of acts, laws, and policy documents that regulate, control or contain information flows within Bangladesh.

Year Country Organisation Author Type
2016 Bangladesh Centre for Governance Studies Riaz, A. & Rahman, M.S. media landscape assessment
Theory of Change Keywords Download/link
Intermediate Outcome 1 media ownership Download/link