Desk Report:
Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan has said that independent media is one of the main means of ensuring accountability in a democratic state system. He said that the responsibility of the government elected by the people’s votes is to be accountable to the people and to consolidate the path of that accountability by creating a strong and independent media.
The minister said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of the new committee of the University Journalists’ Association at the Senate Building of Jahangirnagar University on Monday (May 4, 2026).
The minister said that the current government was elected by the people’s direct votes and has been constantly trying to ensure accountability to the people. He said that journalism is not just a profession; it is inextricably linked with patriotism, humanity and social responsibility. Many people join this profession not for financial gain, but out of responsibility to society. He congratulated the young journalists for choosing this important and challenging profession.
Zahir Uddin Swapan said that the media should never be turned into a propaganda machine of any industrial group or vested interest group. The job of a journalist is to speak for the people, not to act as a ‘PRO’ of any individual or group. He said, ‘Journalism is a noble profession, the only beneficiary of which should be the people.’ He mentioned that the country’s media has sometimes been used against the people and the standards of journalism have been undermined, there is a need for research on this issue and urged journalists to evaluate their own role in this regard.
The minister said that no professional identity can exempt anyone in the rule of law. Just as no journalist will be a victim of injustice, similarly, if someone commits a crime in the name of journalism, he will have to come under the law. He hopes that the creative thinking and critical outlook of the youth will further strengthen the media in the future.
Members of the outgoing and new committees of the Jahangirnagar University Journalists’ Association and university administration officials were present at the event.
