DW Akademie in Bangladesh

News coverage in Bangladesh has long been politically charged and polarizing, with the media favoring either the ruling party or the opposition. Independent, unbiased journalism has been rare. Instead, topics have been based on the economic interests of corporate groups that support various media outlets, and state radio stations have remained under the direct control of the Ministry of Information. Many journalists continue to censor themselves.  

Media representatives, opposition politicians and the non-governmental organization Transparency International say that a media law passed in August 2014 further restricted press freedom and people’s access to information. Ten years later, Bangladesh continues to slip on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index: in 2024 it ranked Bangladesh at 165 out of 180 countries, down two places from 2023. 

Nevertheless, following student protests, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country in August 2024. An interim government has since formed and aims to move Bangladesh towards a democratic future. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on journalism.  

Our activities

Since 2014, DW Akademie has focused  on improving the quality of journalism training at universities. This also includes partnerships between journalism institutes and the country's media industry. The long term goal is to improve journalistic reporting.

Download the newest evaluation report for Bangladesh here.

For this, DW Akademie supports the Communication and Journalism Educators Network (CJEN). It was established in 2018 to enable private and state universities to regularly discuss trends and best practices in journalism education – not just among themselves, but together with representatives from the media industry, civil society and political actors to foster dialogue and advocate for freedom of expression. Another focus is training talented students as Local Media Hub Fellows, especially regarding topics not offered at universities such as data journalism, fact checking, environmental reporting, constructive journalism, and diversity and inclusion. The overall objective of DW Akademie’s work in Bangladesh is to strengthen youth voices and capacity building, especially among young journalists from marginalized groups outside of Dhaka. These projects are part of DW Akademie's "Journalism of the Future" program. 

Funding: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Program Director: Karin Schaedler

Locations: Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barishal, Khulna, Cumilla, Rangpur 

Local partners: State and private universities countrywide, South Asia Center for Media in Development (SACMID), National Insitute of Mass Communication (NIMC)

Focus: Qualification, civic engagement, participation of disadvantaged groups, media and journalism education and curriculum development, professionalism and journalism networks