Bangladesh’s Media in Crisis: Journalists Under Attack, Out of Work, and Silenced

Journalism in Bangladesh is facing an unprecedented and multifaceted crisis. Once seen as the fourth pillar of democracy, the independent media is now under siege—not only by political forces but also by rising threats from extremist fundamentalist groups. Across television, print, and online platforms, journalists are being persecuted, silenced, and terrorized into submission.

In today’s Bangladesh, criticizing the government can result in false legal charges, accusations of sedition, or even militant violence. Journalists find themselves trapped between the aggression of state authorities and the intimidation of radical factions.

Following August 5, 2024, the media sector has experienced what many are calling a brutal "purge." Estimates suggest that over 2,000 journalists have been laid off from television stations, newspapers, and digital outlets. Their only offense: refusing to toe the government line, practicing impartial journalism, or daring to pursue investigative reporting.

For these displaced journalists, life has become a struggle filled with uncertainty and fear.

Even those still employed are not spared. Most news organizations are failing to pay salaries on time, if at all. Many media workers have gone unpaid for two to three months. The legally mandated minimum wage is being widely ignored. In some outlets, junior reporters are forced to work full-time for as little as 10,000 to 15,000 taka—a blatant case of labor exploitation.

This intersection of political suppression, religious extremism, financial instability, and internal exploitation has brought Bangladesh’s media industry to the edge of collapse. The toll is being paid by journalists—the very people tasked with holding power to account.

Yet this is not merely a media problem. The erosion of press freedom strikes at the heart of a nation's conscience. When journalists are silenced, truth is buried. When truth is buried, democracy suffocates.

What Bangladesh needs now is a unified response—solidarity within the journalistic community, guaranteed protections for media workers, fair and timely wages, and a resolute state response to extremist threats. If the media survives, the nation survives. If journalists live to tell the truth, then truth itself can live.