Safety Measures of Journalists during Corona Pandemic in Bangladesh

Abstract

Among other frontline fighters, journalists have been the first responders to the pandemic of the "COVID-19" virus. Because of following professional responsibilities, they have become highly vulnerable to get exposed to the risk. As a result, providing safety measures to them has received the highest priority at this time. It has been urged by national and international organizations and associations to media employers to provide safety measures to their respective journalists. This study aims to examine the management of media employers of Bangladesh in providing safety measures to journalists. The study interviews 48 journalists of 12 newspapers and 12 television channels, selecting one reporter and one copy editor from each media. The results reveal that the majority of journalists received inadequate, non-standard, irregular, imbalanced, and improper safety measures while the rest got nothing because of the employer’s total negligence and financial crisis. The study also shows that the media employers failed to distribute safety measures between reporters and copy editors equally. Based on the findings, the study concludes by calling for a proper safety plan to protect journalists from health risks.