With a note of assurance to extend all kinds of support to the mass media, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal termed the mass media as an industry and said the government is pledge-bound to protect it.
“The mass media is not a small industry… We have to protect the industry”, he said this as the chief guest on Friday while addressing the second session of a day-long conference organized by the Broadcast Journalist Center (BJC) held at the Teachers Student Center (TSC) of the Dhaka University.
Praising the role of the media, the finance minister said the media is portraying the achievements of the country before the world. “I [Finance Minister] as part of the government am always with the media”, he added.
Terming the media as an industry of Taka 20,000 crore, State Minister for Information Dr Murad Hasan said, “We have to keep the industry alive.”
Addressing the conference, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Ihsanul Karim said the government is working for the protection of the mass media, adding that there exists some professional hassles in the media, and the government is taking steps to address those.
Highlighting the freedom of the press, Acting British High Commissioner in Dhaka Javed Patel said “Freedom of mass media is very much important for democracy, so the protection of the media employees is also necessary”.
