The reportage in the course of the day presents a slightly more nuanced take on the government shut down of the private Channel 1 television station.
On the one hand, though the channel has gone through several iterations of leadership and journalistic talent, the news programming certainly was less frivolous than other outlets. On the other, shutting down an outlet that, in the past, charged sitting ministers with wrong-doing, outwardly, can be a smart move. On the one hand, the management of the station broke the rules that dictated that each station should broadcast its content through equipment it owned. On the other, senior management of the station argue that due to non-payment on a contract the station still owns the equipment it is alleged to have sold.
Whatever the case, this is hardly a circumstance where the move was forced onto the government by force majeure. If timing is everything the timing of this move speaks volumes. There were surely many legal and administrative channels the relevant government agencies could have pursued to wind down the matter in a mutually advantageous way. Now, given Bangladesh’s stronger presence in the international arena and pressing problems at home, a move that on the whole seems thoroughly partisan can only grind down private fears into public action.
