Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) is the official news agency of Bangladesh. It was established in 1972 following the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
Media assets
News agency: BSS
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
The BSS was established as a state corporation. An Ordinance of 1979 (later amended) regulates its activities. The agency is governed by a board of directors who are appointed by the government. In July 2020, a former Dhaka University vice-chancellor, Arefin Siddique, was appointed by the government chairman of the BSS board, according to information from the information ministry.
Source of funding and budget
BSS is majority funded by the government. BSS is directly accountable to the Ministry of Information, which is the agency’s budget holder.
Editorial independence
BSS is known as an official agency of the government of Bangladesh. The agency only publishes content that is in line with the government’s editorial requirements, hence its coverage of the government is overtly positive. As a result, BSS is known as a government mouthpiece.
No domestic statute and independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate the BSS’ editorial independence have been identified.
September 2023