Bangladesh greenlights 92 newspapers to register websites

The government has given permission to 92 daily newspapers to register their online portals.

The list includes 57 newspapers published from Dhaka, two from Mymensingh, 10 from Chattogram, four each of from Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna and Barishal, and seven from Sylhet, the information ministry announced on Thursday.

Earlier on Jul 31, the government drew up a list of 44 online news portals and newspaper websites for registration. The ministry subsequently revised down to 34, leaving out the online editions of the daily newspapers.

The newspapers and portals now have until Sept 23 to complete the registration process.

The government began taking applications from online news portals at the back end of 2015. The process spilled over to 2016 following several extensions of the deadline. The move aimed to curb ‘yellow journalism,’ and extend government benefits to registered outlets, the government had said.

On Sept 1, the government introduced a separate registration process for online versions of newspapers and radio and television stations after amending the National Online Media Policy.