Bangladeshi Journalists Prepare for Election Reporting

In the tumultuous run-up to national parliamentary elections, Bangladeshi journalists in rural districts around the southeastern city of Chittagong are receiving training in covering the political process. Many of the journalists have never before had any support in building the skills needed to report on campaigns and voting, according the Bright Bangladesh Forum, the Chittagong-based nongovernmental organization conducting the training in partnership with IREX.  

The Forum developed the Capacity Building for Rural Journalists in Bangladesh project in consultation with local reporters who expressed the urgent need for training in covering elections, which were originally scheduled for January 22. (After weeks of violent protests, the vote was postponed indefinitely in mid-January by President Iajuddin Ahmed, who declared a state of emergency for the country of 147 million people.)

Journalists face great challenges in rural areas of Bangladesh, with many not receiving regular salaries and finding even ordinary day-to-day coverage difficult. The Forum noted that there is little experience in covering major events such as elections, with the rules governing the process, the provisions of the Constitution, the Parliament’s structure and functions, and covering a constituency on election day all unfamiliar subjects. The Forum noted that no provisions had been made to prepare rural journalists for this important national event, and that they did not have the tools to help citizens better understand the process and judge whether it was free and fair. The training workshop program developed by the Forum in response to this need secured a Small Grant Fund award from IREX, allowing 120 journalists to receive training through a cycle of workshops that started in late December.

During each five-day program, the journalists worked with senior editors and other experts to understand the Election Commission, consider ethical issues related to elections, learn how to analyze election data, and perfect story structures. The participants practiced preparing reports and shared critiques of their results, while field exercises saw the journalists interviewing such audiences as minority fishing communities and collecting data on the street.