New accreditation policy titled “Press Accreditation Policy, 2025” has been formulated for issuing accreditation cards to Bangladeshi journalists working for both national and international media outlets within Bangladesh.
The newly formulated policy aims to update the current policy, according to the gazette issued on Wednesday by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mahbuba Farzana, reports BSS.
According to the new policy, a news organisation will be allowed to get accreditation cards for up to 30 percent of its journalists, with the maximum limit of 15 per media outlet.
Each media organization is required to submit a recommendation for issuing or renewing press accreditation cards for its journalists. This recommendation must be signed and stamped by the designated official of the organization and submitted to the principal information officer.
The application must be made using the official pad of the media organization.
Regarding freelance journalists, they must have at least 20 years of experience in journalism or be actively working on press issues to be qualified for accreditation cards.
If a journalist is denied accreditation, they will have the right to appeal. The appeal board will include representatives from different sectors, such as national newspaper editors and judges.
For district-level journalists, a system will be introduced to issue accreditation cards at the district level.
Instead of the previous two types of cards – permanent and temporary – a single accreditation card will be issued with a validity of three years.
Under the new policy, an accreditation card will not be cancelled solely because of a criminal case until a final verdict is issued against the journalist. However, if a final charge sheet is placed, the committee may suspend the card.
Bd-pratidin English/Fariha Nowshin Chinika
