Journal Abstract

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, there was renewed hope for press freedom in Bangladesh. Over the past 15 years, journalists and news organizations operated under an authoritarian regime marked by censorship, draconian laws, threats,etc. This study examines whether the current interim government has led to any substantial improvement in press independence. Using Hallin and Mancini’s Media System Theory, the study took a qualitative approach to create interview questions that focused on journalists’ experiences, comparing the media situation under the old government and the current interim government. A total of eleven (N=11) in-depth interviews were conducted with veteran journalists from both urban and rural regions. Thematic analysis wasdone using an inductive approach, which involved open and axial coding to findpatterns in the data.Findings suggest that while the regime has changed, the same power structures of control over the media remain the thesame.Ownership concentration, political interference, and fear continue to suppress the press freedom.