Broadcast policy-making in an electoral authoritarian regime: From hope to despair | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Special Issue: ‘(Re)Iterations, Transgressions, Recognition: Politics and Practices of Media Policies in South Asia’
  • ISSN: 2516-3523
  • E-ISSN: 2516-3531

Abstract

How are communication policies made in a hybrid regime that is democratically elected but essentially authoritarian? Exploring the inner-workings of the policy-making processes in Bangladesh, the article employs a critical analysis of the major communication policies under the incumbent Awami League-led government (in their third term consecutively), including the Private Television Ownership, Establishment and Operation Policy 2012 Draft, National Broadcasting Policy 2014 and the most recent Digital Security Act 2018. Drawing from field-based data, document analysis and in-depth interviews, the article delves deeper into the politics of inclusion and exclusion of policy stakeholders, as well as the compromise, trade off and their consequences that often remain hidden from public scrutiny. The findings show, as Bangladesh moves towards a single party-ruled country, orchestrating an absolute control over broadcast media ownership and communications policy-making in general, the hope for media democratization through policy reforms becomes unattainable and turns into despair.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00094_1
2022-03-01
2024-04-16
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abdullah, T.. ( 2014;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 17 June.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Ahmmad, T.. ( 2017;), telephone interview with the author. , 29 October.
  3. Anon. ( 2017;), ‘ Section 57 to be scrapped. ’, The Independent, 30 November, https://theindependentbd.com/home/printnews/125991. Accessed 16 September 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Anon. ( 2020;), ‘ Digital Security Act: HC asks govt why 2 sections aren’t unconstitutional. ’, The Daily Star, 24 February, https://www.thedailystar.net/country/digital-security-act-2018-why-2-sections-arent-unconstitutional-1872358. Accessed 16 September 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Association of Television Channel Owners ( 2013a;), feedback letter to National Broadcast Policy 2013 Draft. , 2 October, unpublished , Dhaka:.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Association of Television Channel Owners ( 2013b;), feedback letter to Private Television Ownership, Establishment and Operation Policy 2012 Draft. , 3 February, unpublished , Dhaka:.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Bhattacharjee, P. P., and Adhikary, T. S.. ( 2018;), ‘ Draft of Digital Security Act approved: Gag on freedom of expression. ’, The Daily Star, 30 January, https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/draft-digital-security-act-approved-gag-freedom-expression-1527013. Accessed 16 November 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bhuiyan, A. J. Md. S. A.. ( 2014;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 19 June.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Bulbul, M. A.. ( 2013;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 8 December.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Cammaerts, B.. ( 2011;), ‘ Power dynamics in multistakeholder policy processes and intra-civil society networking. ’, in R. Mansell, and M. Raboy. (eds), The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy, Oxford:: Wiley Blackwell;, pp. 13147.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Chakravartty, P., and Sarikakis, K.. ( 2006), Media Policy and Globalization, Edinburgh:: Edinburgh University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Deacon, D.,, Pickering, M.,, Golding, P., and Murdock, G.. ( 1999), Researching Communications: A Practical Guide to Methods in Media and Cultural Analysis, London:: Arnold;.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Digital Security Act 2018 ( 2018;), Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. , 8 October, http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-1261.html. Accessed 16 November 2021.
  14. Freedman, D.. ( 2008), The Politics of Media Policy, Cambridge:: Polity;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Freedman, D.,, Obar, J.,, Martens, C., and McChesney, R.. (eds) ( 2016), Strategies for Media Reform: International Perspectives, New York:: Fordham University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Hackett, R. A., and Carroll, W. K.. ( 2006), Remaking Media: The Struggle to Democratize Public Communication, New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Haq, F.. ( 2014;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 18 June.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Haq, F.. ( 2021;), ‘ Making cinema within authoritarian codes: The case of Bangladesh. ’, in A. E. Ruud, and M. Hasan. (eds), Everyday Life in a Hybrid Regime: The Case of Bangladesh, Singapore:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. 5771.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Haroon-or-Rashid, S. M.. ( 2014;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 17 June.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Hossain, A.. ( 2013;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 3 December.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Bangladesh Computer Council, Government of Bangladesh ( 2013), Information and Communication Technology (Amendment) Act 2013, 9 October, Dhaka , http://www.bcc.gov.bd/site/page/31309623-287a-4430-811b-d354f6d6cbeb/ICT-Act-2013-. Accessed 16 November 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Islam, F.. ( 2013;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 27 and 28 November.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Islam, G. S.. ( 2014;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 17 June.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Khan, Md. A. R.. ( 2013;), ‘ Private television ownership in Bangladesh: A critical qualitative inquiry. ’, Ph.D. thesis, Pokfulam:: The University of Hong Kong;, http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/195981. Accessed 16 November 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Levitsky, S., and Way, L.. ( 2002;), ‘ Elections without democracy: The rise of Competitive Authoritarianism. ’, Journal of Democracy, 13:2, pp. 5165, https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2002.0026. Accessed 16 November 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Marshall, C., and Rossman, G. B.. ( 2011), Designing Qualitative Research, Los Angeles:: Sage;.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. McCulloch, G.. ( 2004), Documentary Research in Education, History and the Social Sciences, London:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Ministry of Information, Government of Bangladesh ( 2008), Community Radio Installation, Broadcast and Operation Policy, 2008, Dhaka:: Ministry of Information;, http://old.moi.gov.bd/Radio/crp2_UNI.pdf. Accessed 16 November 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Ministry of Information, Government of Bangladesh ( 2012), Private Television Ownership, Establishment and Operation Policy 2012, draft, unpublished , Dhaka:.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Ministry of Information, Government of Bangladesh ( 2013a;), ‘ Meeting notice. ’, 30 July, unpublished , Dhaka:.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Ministry of Information, Government of Bangladesh ( 2013b), National Broadcast Policy: 2013, draft, unpublished , Dhaka:.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Ministry of Information, Government of Bangladesh ( 2014), National Broadcast Policy: 2014, Dhaka:: Bangladesh Gazette;.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Raboy, M.,, Landry, N., and Shtern, J.. ( 2010), Digital Solidarities, Communication Policy and Multistakeholder Global Governance, New York:: Peter Lang;.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Raghunath, P.. ( 2020), Community Radio Policies in South Asia: A Deliberative Policy Ecology Approach, Singapore:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Rahman, A.,, Reza, S. M. S., and Haq, F.. ( 2017;), ‘ The politico-commercial nexus and the broadcast policy reform in Bangladesh. ’, in S. Udupa, and S. D. McDowell. (eds), Media as Politics in South Asia, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 11026.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Rahman, A.. ( 2017;), ‘ Television journalism, market orientation, and media democratization in Bangladesh. ’, Ph.D. thesis, Vancouver:: Simon Fraser University;, https://summit.sfu.ca/item/17884. Accessed 16 November 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Rahman, A.. ( 2020;), ‘ The politico-commercial nexus and its implications for television industries in Bangladesh and South Asia. ’, Media, Culture & Society, 42:7&8, pp. 115374, https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720908182. Accessed 5 January 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Reuters ( 2018;), ‘ Factbox: Bangladesh’s broad media laws. ’, 12 December, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-election-media-factbox/factbox-bangladeshs-broad-media-laws-idUSKBN1OC08S. Accessed 16 November 2021.
  39. Reza, S. M. S.. ( 2012;), ‘ From elite perceptions to marginal voices: Community radio in Bangladesh. ’, in J. Gordon. (ed.), Community Radio in the 21st Century, Oxford:: Peter Lang;, pp. 97113.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Reza, S. M. S.. ( 2014;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 19 June.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Reza, S. M. S.. ( 2017;), telephone interview with the author. , 29 October.
  42. Reza, S. M. S.. ( 2021;), telephone interview with the author. , 20 September.
  43. Reza, S. M. S., and Chowdhury, M. D. S. A.. ( 2010;), ‘ Jatio Somprochar Nitimala: Ekti Kalanukromik Somikkha O Uddoger Mullayon’ (‘National Broadcasting Policy: A chronological study and evaluation of endeavors’). , Social Science Journal: Dhaka University Studies, 4:4, pp. 97104.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Riaz, A.. ( 2019), Voting in a Hybrid Regime, Singapore:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Riaz, A.. ( 2020;), ‘ The legislature as a tool, executives’ power grab, and civilian authoritarianism: The Bangladesh case. ’, in I. Khmelko,, R. Stapenhurst, and M. L. Mezey. (eds), Legislative Decline in the 21st Century, London:: Routledge;, pp. 10517.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Riaz, A.. ( 2021a), Digital Security Act 2018: How Is It Being Enforced, Dhaka:: Center for Governance Studies;, https://www.cgs-bd.com/cms/media/documents/613fcf3e-d73b-4cb8-8999-60440acf4c11.pdf. Accessed 16 September 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Riaz, A.. ( 2021b;), ‘ The pathway of democratic backsliding in Bangladesh. ’, Democratization, 28:1, pp. 17997.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Riaz, A.. ( 2021c;), ‘ What will happen to the “questionable” elections across the country. ’, The Daily Prothom Alo, 16 September, https://www.prothomalo.com/opinion/column/. Accessed 16 September 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Riaz, A., and Parvez, S.. ( 2021;), ‘ Anatomy of a rigged election in a hybrid regime: The lessons from Bangladesh. ’, Democratization, 28:4, pp. 80120.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Schedler, A.. (ed.) ( 2006), Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics of Unfree Competition, Boulder, CO:: Lynne Rienner;.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Scott, J.. ( 1990), A Matter of Record: Documentary Sources in Social Research, Cambridge:: Polity Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Seraj, S.. ( 2013;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 7 December.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Talukder, Md. A.. ( 2013;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 4 and 5 December.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Talukder, Md. A.. ( 2014;), in-person interview with the author. , Dhaka:, 17 June.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Zhao, Y., and Hackett, R.. ( 2005;), ‘ Media globalization, media democratization: Challenges, issues, and paradoxes. ’, in R. A. Hackett, and Y. Zhao. (eds), Democratizing Global Media: One World, Many Struggles, Lanham, MD:: Rowman & Littlefield;, pp. 133.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Rahman, Anis. ( 2022;), ‘ Broadcast policy-making in an electoral authoritarian regime: From hope to despair. ’, Journal of Digital Media & Policy, 13:1, pp. 12139, https://doi.org/10.1386/jdmp_00094_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00094_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00094_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error