Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul (born 30 November 1959) is a Bangladeshi journalist and former president of a faction of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists. In recognition of his contributions to journalism, the

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy (, ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in Bangladesh. It is an autonomous institution funded by the Government of Bangladesh that fosters the Bengali language, literature and culture, works to develop an ...

awarded him an honorary

Bangla Academy Fellowship Bangla Academy Fellowship is an honor organization that recognizes notable people from the Bangla Academy. This fellowship is awarded annually in recognition of special contributions to their respective fields. So far, those who have received Bangl ...

in 2020. Bulbul is former chief executive officer and chief editor of

Ekushey Television Ekushey Television (; , in reference to 21 February), also known by its acronym ETV, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language privately owned satellite and cable television channel. It is headquartered in Kawran Bazar, Dhaka, and is Bangladesh's first ...

. Throughout his career, he has worked with several television channels, including

ATN Bangla ATN Bangla (), 'ATN' being the acronym of the unused Asian Television Network, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by Multimedia Production Company. It is based in the Kawran Bazar neighborhood of Dha ...

and

Boishakhi TV Boishakhi Television, (; , referring to the first month of the Bengali calendar) also known as Boishakhi TV, stylized as boishakhi tv, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language privately owned satellite and cable television channel, headquartered in Moh ...

. He was the editor-in-chief o
TV Today.
He is the former chairman of

Association for Social Advancement The Association for Social Advancement is a non-governmental organisation based in Bangladesh which provides microcredit financing. History The association was established in 1978 by Md. Shafiqual Haque Choudhury and a team of people who were t ...

Early life

Bulbul was born on 30 November 1959, in Nalitabari,

Sherpur District Sherpur District () is a district in northern Bangladesh. It is a part of Mymensingh Division. Sherpur District was a sub-division of Jamalpur District before 1984. It was upgraded to a district on February 22, 1984 under Hussain Muhammad Ershad's ...

, then part of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). His father was Amzad Hossain Talukder, and his mother was Begum Rowshan Ara.

Career

Bulbul was the executive editor of the daily Sangbad in 2006. He was the Chief of News of ATN Bangla in 2007. He served in a committee to monitor the textbook distribution by

National Curriculum and Textbook Board The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB; ) is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Education (Bangladesh), Ministry of Education in Bangladesh, responsible for the development of curriculums, production and distribution of ...

. Bulbul was the editor-in-chief of ATN News. He was a chief editor of Boishakhi Television. In 2015, he said a culture of impunity was threatening the press in Bangladesh. He received a death threat from

Ansarullah Bangla Team The Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) (), also known as Ansar-al Islam Bangladesh or Ansar Bangla is a militant organization in Bangladesh, implicated in many terrorist activities including attacks and murders of atheist bloggers from 2013 to 2015. B ...

, an

Al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

affiliate. In 2016, following the death of then-president Altaf Mahmud, Bulbul was elected president of the pro-

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

faction of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists through a by-election. Prior to that, he had already served two consecutive terms as president. He called for the 9th Wage Board to be implemented for journalists. He served in the

Bangladesh Press Council Bangladesh Press Council () is an quasi-judicial institution that protects freedom of speech and regulates the press in Bangladesh and is located in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, Bangladesh. History The act to establish the institution was passed in 1974 ...

in 2015 and 2017. Bulbul was a member of the jury board for the National Film Awards 2022. He served as an election commissioner for the Economic Reporters' Forum election. He was critical of the

Digital Security Act, 2018 The Digital Security Act, 2018, was a digital security law in Bangladesh. This act was passed with the aim of preventing the spread of racism, sectarianism, extremism, terrorist propaganda, and hatred against religious or ethnic minorities throug ...

and called on the government to release everyone detained under the act. Bulbul worked as the CEO of

. Bulbul was then appointed the editor-in-chief of ‘TV Today,’ a newly approved television channel. He was awarded by the

National Board of Revenue The National Board of Revenue (NBR; ) is the central authority for tax administration in Bangladesh. It is a statutory authority attached with the Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance. The NBR collects almost 97% of tax revenue ...

for being one of the highest tax-paying journalists in Bangladesh. As chairman of the governing body of the

, he ordered the distribution of 550 billion BDT (4.5 billion USD) loans by the non-profit. In 2023, he was appointed an independent director of the

Chittagong Stock Exchange The Chittagong Stock Exchange () is a stock exchange based in the port city Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is one of the twin financial hubs of the country, alongside the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Established in 1995, the exchange is located in the A ...

. Following the fall of the

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

-led

government, Bulbul's press accreditation was revoked by the Muhammad Yunus led interim government along with 167 journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists raised concerns for the revokations. The

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit is a government agency of Bangladesh responsible for investigating money laundering, suspicious transactions, and cash transaction reports. The unit works under Bangladesh Bank. A F M Shahinul Islam is t ...

ordered the freezing of his bank accounts along with those of nine other senior journalists, including the former president of the

National Press Club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...

References

{{Reflist 1959 births Living people People from Sherpur District Bangladeshi television personalities 21st-century Bangladeshi journalists