Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Democracy under Threate...

Hei Friends,
To Understand the reality, we should put our eyes widely, plz don't be penic...to save democracy...to save your life...to save national economy...to lead our life...for sustain Bangladesh....this reality....please go ahead with following story...this was published in The Daily Star on July 17, 2007. written by Mahfuz Anam, Editor, of The Daily Star...

Commentary
This is no way to strengthen democracy
Just as "command economy" failed, so will "command politics"
Mahfuz Anam

The only reason that the caretaker government has survived six months in power, and the chief advisor acknowledges it every time an occasion arises, is because the general public think of it to be an instrument to strengthen democracy. But now if this very instrument of 'strengthening democracy' becomes a symbol of mindless and arbitrary use of power, then how will the public distinguish it from such previous abusers of power and continue to lend it support?
As a newspaper which supported the reform process of this government, we raise the above question in all seriousness. For we think by arresting Sheikh Hasina on charges that can easily be tried without her internment, the government has put at risk all its achievements of the last six months. To us Sheikh Hasina's arrest is totally misconceived and smacks of arrogant use of power without due process of law. To say that nobody is above the law must also mean that law is not the handmaiden of anybody either.


Examine the arbitrariness with which Sheikh Hasina's has been treated. She was allowed to go abroad and just because she spoke out against some actions of this government, (having earlier promised to ratify everything) suddenly several cases were filed against her. Then, when every government would want an accused to return to the country to face the charges, the government decided that she would not be allowed to come. Why and under what law and whose authority, we still don't know. In a most childish move all foreign airlines were asked not to take her on board, ignoring specific international laws that govern international travel. Then, just as suddenly she was allowed to return to a tumultuous welcome at the airport, which then resulted in cases against 5,000 unidentified attendees. (How these cases will be pursued only God knows).


Things were quiet for a while as the AL chief kept mum. She was allowed some movement but stopped whenever she would make a comment. In the latest instances of arbitrariness, Sheikh Hasina was allowed to visit the ailing Sabina Yasmin but Khaleda Zia was not.


In Khaleda Zia's case a comedy was enacted with her going abroad. The plan was to send her into exile and the bargaining was whether or not she will be allowed to take her two sons with her. We saw the drama of Koko -- being charged with extortion (same as Sheikh Hasina), arrested and then released within a day with the case still pending. The drama continued for days which later turned out to be a farce as the BNP chief did not even have a visa for any country willing to host her. She had to negotiate to visit her husband's grave and seek clearance every time she went anywhere. Again the question is why, and under what law her movements are curtailed.


We trust the chief of staff when he says that the Army is not involved in politics or forming any new party. But what do we do when we receive reports from our correspondents that district administrators are making lists of so-called clean politicians and that many of them are being visited by the powers that be goading them to join the new so-called king's party? What do we do when senior leaders of both the BNP and the AL tell us of powerful visitors asking them to move against their party leaders or face corruption charges?

We would like to strongly suggest that this is no way to strengthen democracy. Just as 'command economy' failed so will 'command politics'. The core of democracy is people's right to choose their leaders and those who will represent them in the government. We accept that we made some bad choices in the past. We accept that our leaders, including Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, betrayed our trust in many cases and over many years. We also agree that we got tired and fed up with confrontational and destructive politics and that we all yearned for a change. But we never agreed to bargain our democracy for 'knights in shining armour' to save us from dire straits.


We repeat that we welcomed the emergency for the simple reason that the election that was looming before us was going to further destroy our democracy, which had been battered by years of partisan politics from both sides. We supported the caretaker government, and we still do, simply because we want to go back to democracy, albeit greatly strengthened and made free of corruption. But arresting leaders at whim and 'punishing' them for making critical comments is no way of doing that.


In reference to the economy our Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus had told an earlier government: "We do not need your help, just remove the obstacles and let people do the rest." We say the same thing today about politics to the caretaker government and to the armed forces that are helping them. We don't need your help in doing politics. Just remove the obstacles and let people do the rest. Here obstacles means corruption, lack of appropriate laws, necessary oversight mechanism, independent judiciary, Election Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, Public Service Commission, depoliticised bureaucracy and law enforcement agencies.

Much of the above the government is doing, and creditably so. But the tragedy is that it is doing something more. It is attempting to manipulate our politics by trying to predetermine who will be and who will not be a part of its future. This is neither desirable nor doable and even if forced, not sustainable. Every leader possessing slightest bit of integrity will shy away from being a part of this process. Those who will be forced to participate in this process will lack credibility to command any respect and thus be unable to provide stability. And those who will volunteer to be part of this process, and there will be many as there has been in the past, will not be worth the paper their names will be written on.

If anybody expects to bring about a dynamic Bangladesh through such group of opportunists can only be termed as being totally devoid of any knowledge of history, especially of this part of the world, and specifically of Bangladesh.

The chief election commissioner's roadmap of Sunday had cleared the air considerably about the coming elections. But yesterday's arrest of Sheikh Hasina brought in some dark clouds over the election horizon. Suspicion has been sown that though the process and mechanics of the coming election may be free and fair, through "command politics" those participating in it may be pre-selected and thereby predetermining the outcome. Simply put "command politics" will yield "command victors" and thus instead of elected government we'll have a puppet government.


We hope that the above nightmarish scenario will not happen. It is imperative that immediate and credible steps be taken to remove all suspicion about it. For a start we think Sheikh Hasina should be set free. Let all credible cases be brought against her and let her face the law and the courts and let the people judge her for what she is. Further, we need lifting of ban on indoor politics. This will allow the reformists and the old guards to fight in the open and give the public a chance to understand the issues and make their judgment. It is our firm belief that there is a groundswell of support for reforms in every aspect of our politics. The leaders who will oppose reforms will be rejected by the voters, if not by the party activists and supporters. But the reform process has to be open and free, and not manipulated.

We conclude by urging the army-backed caretaker government not to jeopardise the whole reform process and the considerable success that this government has achieved in fighting corruption and bringing some institutional reforms by wittingly or unwittingly becoming over-ambitious and taking more on their plate than they can digest. The fundamental mistake committed by past proponents of "command politics" was to underestimate the wisdom of our masses. We cannot afford a repeat of that mistake.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Expansion of TV Media in Bangladesh

Expansion of TV Media in Bangladesh



History of Television in Bangladesh is not that much ancient. But After Liberation war, especially late ninety of twentieth century it expanded around the country with a very good prospect. Earlier there was only TV media BTV, which is state owned terrestrial channel, but now there are a number of satellite channels set up in the country. It put a great faith to the citizen of the country specially the educated people. It becomes well entertain as well as information source to people. Because of technical advancement satellite I mean cable TV expanded around the country not only in urban area but also in rural area. At present almost 65% area of Bangladesh is connected by satellite. That’s why entrance of cable TV becomes easier. Earlier people have only option i.e. BTV so they were bound to watch it, to get true fact they had no other option to become infotainment. But technical development brings a change in the whole society. Beside, local channels there are a number of foreign channels also very much popular among the people. Some cases, those foreign channels try to dominate the society as well as culture, especially Indian satellite channels. All are significant initiative to expand TV media in Bangladesh. Before enter in the main topic it’s necessary to clear the term TV.



TV Media:
Television is now capable of bringing the world into everybody's drawing room within a fraction of a second. TV technology was invented towards the end of 1920s and Arthur C Clerk played a significant role in promoting its further development. He said in 1945 that by placing three satellites over three oceans it would be possible to bring any part of the world on to the TV screen.

Television is a common telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving picture and sound over a distance. The term "television" may also be used to refer specifically to a television set, programming or television transmission.

Starting from the late 1940s, the television set has become a common household reception device found world-wide and It is now ubiquitous in most residential homes, particularly in the first world, as a source of entertainment and news. Since the 1970s, video recordings and later, digital playback systems such as DVDs have extended its uses. (Source: www.en.wikipedia.org).


Practical television systems include equipment for selecting different image sources, mixing images from several sources at once, insertion of pre-recorded video signals, synchronizing signals from many sources, and direct image generation by computer for such purposes as station identification.

Transmission was originally over the air from land-based transmitters. The quality of reception varies greatly, and this led to the proliferation of large antennas on house roofs for best signal in the 1960s. In most cities today, cable systems deliver television over metal or optical cables, but for a fee. It can be delivered by radio from synchronous satellites, which were large for analog and smaller dishes for digital broadcast, which were large for analog and smaller dishes for digital broadcast, also for a fee, often less than cable systems, small dishes outside houses. (Source: www.en.wikipedia.org).



TV Media in Bangladesh:
Regular transmission of TV programs began immediately after the Second World War. TV appeared in this subcontinent two decades later. The first TV transmission in Bangladesh (Earlier East Pakistan) began experimentally on 25 December 1964 with the help of a 300-watt transmitter from the DIT (now RAZUK) building in Dhaka. The daily broadcast for three hours in the evening used to cover a radius of 16 km. Ten years later on 6 March 1975, the TV centre moved to its own spacious house at Rampura. In view of its importance as a vehicle for helping reconstruction of the war-torn country, the autonomous Television Corporation was nationalized in 1972 and made a government department named as Bangladesh Television (BTV). The limited range of its transmission gradually improved with the installation of 12 satellite transmitters around the country and spread of electrification at the viewer level. Now over 95% of the country is covered by transmission. Its Chittagong station has already started originating programs while the other stations relay Dhaka programs. The relay stations are located at Sylhet, Mymensingh, Brahmanbaria, Rangpur, Natore, Thakurgaon, Jhenaidah, Khulna, Satkhira, Patuakhali and Noakhali. The Dhaka station has a 20-kw transmitter while the other stations except Satkhira are equipped with 10 kW transmitters. Satkhira has a 2-kw transmitter.

In 1980, Bangladesh Television started transmission in color and a new milestone was reached in 1999 when a Tk 690 million modernization program was completed. At present, 1,520 officers and staff work in eight departments 204 in program, 32 in news, 132 in camera, 116 in design, 540 in administration, 95 in accounts and 23 in sales. As part of its program for expansion of transmission, BTV is establishing other four satellite stations at Rajshahi, Rajbari, Rangamati and Ukhia.
There is no accurate account of the number of TV receiver sets in use in the country. The licensed sets number about 600,000 but unofficially, the number is estimated to be about two million. This shows that an average of 65 persons of the country's 130 million people have one TV set. Most sets are owned by the urban families leaving a vast majority of the rural people out of coverage.
The government took a number of steps to globalize BTV’s transmissions. A project funded by the Spanish government was undertaken to make BTV's programs available to the overseas viewers. With the help of the ground stations at Betbunia and Talibabad, BTV can report any event happening anywhere in the world. Under arrangements with Asia vision, SAARC and other international organizations, BTV regularly exchanges coverage on news and program. The government lately approved three private sector channels to operate transmission for viewers of both home and abroad. More such channels are expected to come in the near future. BTV transmits private sector package program to bring in variety in its fare.



Expansion of Satellite Channels in Bangladesh:
Satellite TV Channel introduced in Bangladesh in the 1990s. On 29 September 1992, the US news network CNN started relaying its transmission here for a few hours everyday using the BTV channel. The same year, BBC started the same under similar arrangements. Permission to use dish antennas for receiving satellite transmissions directly by general users opened up new opportunities for the Bangladeshi viewers to see programs from the outside world. Between 1992 and 95, more than 10 international TV channels entered Bangladesh homes. Today, this number stands at more than 50.


The satellite television channels are now among the most popular means of entertainment for the people. New channels introduced in 1992 in Bangladesh in addition to CNN and BBC were basically those of the Star Television Network, Zee TV network, Indian TV and Pakistan TV. Some early starters bought dish antennas for very high prices and installed them on their roofs. Very soon, the innovative entrepreneurs, foreseeing a lucrative business, started operating private cable networks, which mushroomed throughout the country. The number of channels subscribed increased substantially in the major cities.

According to a survey conducted in 1998 by Dhaka daily, BBC, Channel-V, CNN, DD-7, DD-Metro, Discovery, Zee India TV, ESPN, Prime Sports, Sony, Star TV Network (Star Movies, Star Plus, and Star Sports), Zee TV and Zee Cinema are among the most watched and most popular channels. CNN, TNT, MTV and Cartoon Network were found to have a high viewing rate. Among the relatively new entrants, Star World, National Geographic, HBO, AXN Action TV, and Alpha TV also made good impression among the Bangladeshi viewers.
The invasion of satellite channels into the living rooms of Bangladeshi viewers undoubtedly put government-owned BTV into a hard test. However, for some special programs like weekly drama or the popular magazine titled ‘Ityadi’ people still tune BTV.


Private owned Terrestrial channel:
Ekushey Television (ETV) was the first private terrestrial channel in Bangladesh. It started its official transmission on April 14, 2004. During its short transmission period, it gained immense popularity among the viewers through its distinctive news, documentaries, talk shows, dramas, etc.

It was closed down in 2002 on August 29, by the government citing that its license was illegal. Since then, the authorities of ETV have fought cases in the High Court and are trying very hard to restart its transmission.

On the 1st of December, 2006 ETV restarted its test transmission after being absent for four years and three months. It officially restarts broadcasting from April 14, 2007.


Expansion Private owned Bangla Satellite Channels:

ATN Bangla is the first digital satellite channel of the country, which started broadcast in South Asia on15 July 1997. Broadcasts to Europe began in 2001.

The channel is now also transmitted in the Middle-east, Europe, and North America. The channel offers a wide variety of programming including news, movies, dramas, talk shows, and more.

Channel I is a privately owned Television network in Bangladesh.. It currently broadcasts satellite transmissions using Pan Am Sat, which covers most of Asia and parts of Australia and Europe. It’s owned by Impress Tele film and started its operation from October 1, 1999.

Channel One is another Bengali language satellite television channel from Bangladesh. It started broadcasting from Dhaka on 24 January 2006.

NTV is another Bengali satellite television channel of the country. It started operation in 2003. It is one of the most popular Bengali TV channels in the country.

RTV is a satellite television channel broadcast from Bangladesh. It started operation on 26 December 2005. It mainly broadcasts programs in Bengali language.



Some Relevant Information:

Number of Television Stations:
15
Number of Television Sets:
770,000
Television Sets per 1,000:
5.9
Number of Radio Stations:
26
Number of Radio Receivers:
6,150,000
Radio Receivers per 1,000:
46.9
Number of Individuals with Computers:
200,000
Computers per 1,000:
1.5
Number of Individuals with Internet Access:
100,000
Internet Access per 1,000:
0.8




Pathetic story of TV Media in Bangladesh:

26 February 2007: NTV, along with its sister station RTV, was forced off the air temporarily due to a massive fire at the station building. Three people died and over 100 were injured in the blaze. The fire caused NTV to broadcast reruns of programming.



Barriers of Satellite Channels to expand foreign Countries:

Expatriate Bangladeshis in many countries cannot get access to all satellite channels of Bangladesh because of government policies; cable operators ‘interests, and technical hurdles. Viewers need several dish antennas to downlink programs of all channels.

This is costly, as the channels don’t use the same satellite. If all Bangladeshi TV channels use a single satellite to uplink programs, people across the world can watch Bangladeshi channels.




References:
Electronic Media History of Bangladesh
Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB)
Press and Information Department (PID)
Internet
All TV Channels
Media Guide

By,
Ahmed Raqib
Staff Reporter
Channel One

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Gone Are The Days....

Dear Viewers,
It's Me Raqib....
MY Blog is Now Under Construction....
So Probably You Will Not Find Any Special Thing At This Moment to Read....

But I'm Promising To Post LOTS OF Informatic POst...

Promise....


Regards

Raqib

Tuesday, April 17, 2007