''The Daily Star'' is a leading
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
i English-language daily newspaper. It is the largest circulating daily English-language newspaper in the country. Founded by
Syed Mohammed Ali on 14 January 1991, as Bangladesh transitioned and restored
parliamentary democracy, the newspaper became popular for its outspoken coverage of
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
, corruption and
foreign policy. It is considered a
newspaper of record for Bangladesh. The newspaper is known for its "reputation for journalistic integrity and liberal and progressive views - a kind of Bangladeshi ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''". Its slogan is "Journalism Without Fear or Favour".
Mahfuz Anam
Mahfuz (or Mohammed) (Harari language, Harari: መሕፉዝ, ar, محفوظ; died July 1517) was a Harari people, Harari Garad, Emir of Harar and Governor of Zeila in the Adal Sultanate.
Life and reign
Mahfuz led raids into the provinces of Et ...
serves as editor and publisher of ''The Daily Star''. Its motto, "Your Right to Know", appears above its logo on the front page. ''The Daily Star'' is owned by Mediaworld, in which a major share is held by the
Transcom Group. ''Star Business'' is the business edition of the paper and highly popular.
History
In the late 1980s, plans for a major English newspaper in Bangladesh were drawn up by Syed Mohammad Ali and Mahfuz Anam in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
. Ali previously served as Editor of ''
The Bangkok Post'' in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and the ''
Hong Kong Standard
''The Standard'' is an English-language free newspaper in Hong Kong with a daily circulation of 200,450 in 2012. It was formerly called the ''Hongkong Standard'' and changed to ''HKiMail'' during the Internet boom but partially reverted to ''T ...
'' in
British Hong Kong. Anam was working in
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
when he teamed up with Ali to establish a newspaper in Bangladesh. They secured funding from leading Bangladeshi financiers, including Azimur Rahman, A. S. Mahmud,
Latifur Rahman
Latifur Rahman (1 March 1936 – 6 June 2017) was the 10th Chief Justice and the 2nd Chief Adviser of Bangladesh.
Early life and education
Rahman was born in Jessore on 1 March 1936. His father was the lawyer Khan Bahadur Lutfur Rahman. His m ...
, A. Rouf Chowdhury and Shamsur Rahman. The newspaper was set up in 1991, which coincided with Bangladesh's return to parliamentary democracy after 15 years of military rule and presidential government. ''The Daily Star'' gained popularity for its outspoken coverage of politics in Bangladesh, including the rivalry between the
Awami League led by
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...
and the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...
(BNP) led by
Khaleda Zia
Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...
. It became the country's largest circulating English language newspaper and quickly overtook ''
The Bangladesh Observer
''The Bangladesh Observer'', founded by Hamidul Huq Choudhury in 1949, was the oldest, continuously published English-language daily newspaper in Bangladesh until it ceased publication in June 2010.
History
Since its inception as ''The Pakista ...
'' and ''
Weekly Holiday''. It gained a wide readership in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
and
Chittagong, particularly among the urban elites, the business community and the
diplomatic community.
In 2007, ''The Daily Star'' editor Mahfuz Anam called out army chief General
Moeen U Ahmed
Moeen Uddin Ahmed is a former Bangladesh Army general and the 12th Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army from 15 June 2005 to 15 June 2009 with last one-year extension during the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed. He has worke ...
for suggesting political reforms, arguing that it was beyond the mandate of the army chief to speak about politics. In a widely read commentary titled "This is no way to strengthen democracy", Anam also blasted the military-backed caretaker government for the arrest of Sheikh Hasina in 2007. In 2009, an
investigative report by ''The Daily Star'' implicated former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's son
Tarique Rahman and close aides from
Hawa Bhaban in the
2004 Dhaka grenade attack. Tarique Rahman was later sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the attack. In 2015, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina suspended all tender notices and government adverts in ''The Daily Star'' as a pressure tactic because government ads generate a significant share of revenue for the newspaper; this suspension was later lifted. In 2021, a commentary by Mahfuz Anam criticized army chief General
Aziz Ahmed for controversial remarks in which Aziz suggested that criticizing the army chief was tantamount to criticizing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Staff
After the death of Ali, Anam took over as editor and publisher of the newspaper. Anam has been credited for steering the paper's editorial independence. Financial affairs are overseen by a six member board of directors, including the current chairperson
Rokeya Afzal Rahman.
Aasha Mehreen Amin serves as head of the
Op-Ed section, which was previously headed by
Zafar Sobhan. Amin, who previously ran the paper's ''Star'' magazine supplement, was promoted to Senior Deputy Editor. Amin has increasingly taken charge of the paper's editorial views and content which have become highly critical of the Awami League government and sympathetic to the BNP.
Controversy
In recent years, the paper has complained of growing restrictions on
press freedom in Bangladesh. It also faced pressure from the government which affected its ad revenues.
PEN America strongly criticized the lawsuits filed against Mahfuz Anam, including as many as 83 lawsuits and 30 counts of criminal defamation lodged by members and supporters of the
Awami League. During the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...
government in the 2000s, Anam faced defamation lawsuits from ruling BNP leaders. He was co-accused with
Matiur Rahman, editor of the Bengali newspaper ''
Prothom Alo'', in defamation cases filed by
Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. Anam was represented in court by
Kamal Hossain
Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937) is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "father of the Bangladeshi constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subcontinent. Hossain currently ...
.
In 2016, speaking at a panel discussion on
ATN News,
Mahfuz Anam
Mahfuz (or Mohammed) (Harari language, Harari: መሕፉዝ, ar, محفوظ; died July 1517) was a Harari people, Harari Garad, Emir of Harar and Governor of Zeila in the Adal Sultanate.
Life and reign
Mahfuz led raids into the provinces of Et ...
admitted that ''The Daily Star'' ran stories fed to the newspaper by military intelligence outfit
DGFI
The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence ( bn, প্রতিরক্ষা গোয়েন্দা মহাপরিদপ্তর), commonly known as DGFI, is the military intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tas ...
during the military-backed state of emergency and caretaker government in 2007 and 2008. The stories accused Awami League and BNP leaders of corruption.
Website blocked
The newspaper's website was briefly blocked on 1 June 2018 after it reported the
extrajudicial
Extrajudicial punishment is a punishment for an alleged crime or offense which is carried out without legal process or supervision by a court or tribunal through a legal proceeding.
Politically motivated
Extrajudicial punishment is often a fe ...
killing of Ekramul Haque by members of the
Rapid Action Battalion.
The killing took place while the victim was speaking with his family on the phone. The
(BTRC) did not give any explanation for the block.
See also
*
List of newspapers in Bangladesh
This list of newspapers in Bangladesh is a list of newspapers printed and distributed in Bangladesh. Newspapers published in Bangladesh are written in Bengali or English language versions. Most Bangladeshi daily newspapers are usually printed in b ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daily Star
Publications established in 1991
English-language newspapers published in Bangladesh
1991 establishments in Bangladesh
Newspapers published in Dhaka
Daily newspapers published in Bangladesh