With contributions from a diverse group of media and communications scholars from around the globe, Bangladesh’s Changing Mediascape presents a pioneering study of the trends, patterns, and prospects shaping the contemporary Bangladeshi media. Among the many topics discussed here are the difference among specific media formats, including television, newspapers, radio, film, and photography; policy issues; and the challenge that new media poses to governance in a developing nation faced with innumerable economic, social, and political problems. Eschewing the currently dominant development communication model, the editors argue that market forces rather than planned state interventions will contribute to a more equitable communication environment.
Table of Contents
List of Tables, Boxes, and Matrices
List of Figures and Photographs
1 Bangladesh’s Changing Mediascape: An Introduction
Brian Shoesmith and Jude William Genilo
2 From Few to Many Voices: An Overview of Bangladesh’s Media
Brian Shoesmith and Shameem Mahmud
Part I: Histories
3 The Transformation of the Bangladesh Press
Shameem Mahmud
4 Radio in Bangladesh: Growth, Decline and Transformation
Jude William Genilo, Bikash Ch. Bhowmick, and Brian Shoesmith
5 Rickshaw Puller’s Dreams: From a Cultural History to an Economic Geography of Bangladesh Popular Cinema
Zakir Hossain Raju
6 Mülafhireejawa (back to the root): Photojournalism and Documentary Photography in Bangladesh
Norman Leslie
7 Fragile Fourth Estate: A History of Censorship in Bangladesh (1972-2012)
Naeem Mohaiemen
8 Media Law in Bangladesh
A B M Hamidul Mishbah
Part II: Social and Political Contexts
9 Negotiating Identity: Islam in the Films of Tareque and Catherine Masud
Juditha Ohlmacher and Anis Pervez
10 Women in Bangladeshi Soap Operas: Myth or Reality?
Monami Haque
11 ’Digital Bangladesh’: Technology, Inequality and Social Change
AJM Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan
12 Narratives on Digital Bangladesh: Shared Meanings, Shared Concerns
Jude William Genilo, Shamsul Islam, and Marium Akther
13 A Political History of Television in Bangladesh
Brian Shoesmith, Shameen Mahmud, and S M Shameem Reza
Part III: Media Practices
14 The Profile and Activity of Citizen Journalists: A Study on Bangla Blog Community
Fahmidul Haq
15 Independent Cinema in Bangladesh: Its Roots, Growth, Challenges, and Opportunities
Fahmidul Haq and Shanthi Balraj
16 Politics of Restraint: The Media and the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Hana Shams Ahmed
17 Television, Discursive Spaces, and the Public Sphere of Bangladesh
Jude William Genilo and Ashik Mohammad Shafi
18 Public Relations in Bangladesh: Past Discourses, Future Trends
Jude William Genilo and Imtiaz Ahmed Chowdhury
19 Challenging the Hegemonic Gaze: Women and Representation in a Cross-cultural Context
Caitlin Harrison
20 Conclusion: A Final Word on Market Forces and the Bangladeshi Mediascape
Brian Shoesmith and Jude William Genilo