It would appear that a war of words is brewing in Bangladesh.
On Sunday March 18, The Daily Star reported that the Bangladesh Daily, Prothom Alo, filed a plaintiff’s case with the Press Council against another Bangladesh daily, The Daily Sun. Matiur Rahman, the editor and publisher of the Bangla daily, Prothom Alo, initiated the action against The Daily Sun for allegedly publishing false reports about himself and the Prothom Alo daily. Rahman argues that The Daily Sun has published false and derogatory information about the paper and has therefore violated “the ethics of journalism.”
Rahman also claims that several other media outlets owned by the East West Media group have published negative or fabricated reports about him and Prothom Alo without just cause. Rahman asserts that these media outlets are simply partaking in “yellow journalism”- stories that exploit, distort, or exaggerate the news to generate sensation and thus attract readers.
On March 12, the Press Council served the notice against the editor of The Daily Sun, and asked that he appear before the judicial committee of the council on April 11. In addition, the Daily Sun was instructed to not publish any more reports about the case until it comes to a close.
As for The Daily Star, it seems to be standing on the sidelines, merely reporting the story – a relatively good and safe place to witness a war.
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