Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha - BSS

The Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), as the national news agency, has a unique place in Bangladesh. At home, it is the biggest news agency having strong network across the country. And abroad, its users are major international news agencies, including AFP.

Besides, BSS has news exchange agreements with some prominent national news agencies of different countries.

The main task of BSS is collecting news from different sources covering local, national and international issues and events and distributing those primarily to the government offices and clients in print and electronic media.

Managing Director & Chief Editor
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS)
National News Agency of Bangladesh
68/2, Purana Paltan, Dhaka-1000

Soon after the independence, one of the first acts of the government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was to create the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) by transforming the then regional office of the 'Associated Press of Pakistan' (APP) as the national news agency of the independent country.

Creation of the national news agency was very important particularly in a newly independent country where information was going to play a key role in reconstruction of the war-ravaged country and building up cohesion of the nascent nation.

BSS was, then, headed by noted journalist and poet Faiz Ahmed as the general manager and chief editor. The new administration had to grapple with the task of recruiting experienced staff by continuous talent hunt from newsmen working in different daily newspapers.

As most people had little experience of agency journalism at that stage, they had to learn and work as best as they could. And from a nucleus staff of about a dozen journalists and some technical and general employees, BSS grew into a sizeable organisation of more than 30 journalists and over 60 non-journalist employees in less than a year.

The government could not provide any financial assistance' for about six months to run the expenses in BSS and the then GM-cum-Chief Editor on his personal guarantee used to draw money from the Janata Bank to pay the staff salary and meet other emergency expenses. After about six months, the government provided an annual grant of Taka 5 lakh to the organisation.

On 31 March 1979, the BSS was given an institutional shape as a corporate body through an ordinance (Ordinance xx/79). The ordinance mentioned that the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, as the national news agency, shall gather all kinds of international and national news and supply those to the newspapers and other mass media. The same ordinance replaced the general direction, management and administration of the agency with an 11-member management board.

The ordinance also stipulated that the government would appoint a journalist with at least 15 years' experience as the managing director who will also act as the chief editor of the agency. According to the ordinance, the managing director-cum-chief Editor as the full-time official of the Sangstha, will be responsible to run the management, administration, fund and the news service.

MANAGEMENT BOARD

BSS has been given an institutional shape by the BSS ordinance of 1979. Under this ordinance the general direction, management and administration are governed by an 11-member Management Board. Of the members of the board of directors, the government appoints one chairman, five editors from the daily newspapers subscribing BSS service (of whom three shall be from Dhaka and two from outside Dhaka), the managing director of the BSS (ex officio), three senior officers (not below joint secretary) of the ministries of information, Finance and, Post and Telecommunication and one from among the employees of the BSS. The Board of Directors is constituted for a period of three years.

The overall management of the agency including framing of its rules is vested with the management board. The policy of the organisation is determined in the light of the decisions of the Board from time to time in the interest of the agency. The service of all the permanent officials/employees of the BSS is guided by the BSS service rules promulgated by the government through a Gazette notification in 1995.

ACTIVITIES

The Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha distributes news in two languages-- English and Bangla. BSS supplies news from home and abroad to radio, television and newspapers through internet, e-mail, fax etc. round the clock. BSS daily procures, on fixed subscription, news of political, diplomatic, commercial, cultural, scientific and sports events taking place in far comers of the world from the international news agencies like Reuters and AFP, and distributes those to its subscribers, BSS gets news of various international events from the Xinhua news agency of the people's Republic of China through earth satellite and communication and also from India's PTI through e-mail.

BSS collects important news of the world from these four international news agencies round the clock by internet, e-mail and fax set up at the office of the news agency and distributes those to the subscribers. The huge number of news items are properly edited, processed and distributed instantly to the subscribers including newspapers, radio, television, Prime Minister's office, PID, foreign offices and others.

The BSS has two news services, one in English and the other in Bangla. BSS sources of news are international news agencies, different national news agencies with which it has news exchange agreements.

Staff reporters and special correspondents in central office in Dhaka and divisional and district offices and correspondents in district, upazilla and important places regularly prepared reports and features.

BSS also receives news from its office in New Delhi and correspondent based in New York. After editing, these are transmitted in different files according to their categories such as national news, international news, district news, financial information service, sports news and features.

Besides the four major news agencies of the world mentioned above, BSS has news exchange agreements with some other national news agencies. These are Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Bernama of Malaysia, Antara of Indonesia, IRNA of Iran, Kabar of Kyrgyz, BSS of Nepal, Anadolu of Turkey, VNA of Vietnam, TNA of Thailand, KCNA of the People's Republic of Korea.

BSS distributes the news to the newspapers and other mass media at a fixed subscription fee. In fact, BSS supplies the major share of the international news, which are broadcast or published by radio, television and daily newspapers.

The agency has been modernised with updated computer technology with financial assistance of the government. This has been done to upgrade the technological base of the news agency so that it could work successfully in competition with other news agencies of the world. As a result, it has been possible to quickly gather news of all the happenings at home and abroad and disseminate those promptly at the national and international levels.

Besides its head office in Dhaka, BSS has a bureau office at Chittagong and local offices at Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangamati, Barisal, Bogra, Khulna and Rangpur.

Considering the need for distributing the news and opinion on important events and issues to the mass media directly in the Bangla language, the Bangla news service was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 21 February 1998. Introduction of this service was important because majority of newspapers published in Bangladesh are in Bangla. Nowadays a newspaper in any district of the country can collect BSS Bangla news directly with the help of modern technology. As a result, it has become possible for BSS to get clients among regional newspapers.

BSS has correspondents in all the 64 districts in the far-flung areas to collect news. Several desks and sections such as reporting, news desk, financial information desk, district desk, sports desk, feature desk, photo section and reference section are engaged in this vast journalistic work of the national news agency.

Besides its news workforce, there is a strong non-journalist employees group working in sections like administration, accounts, IT, and engineering.

BSS also sells its news to foreign news agencies, electronic media and newspapers. It sends news to national news services of different countries with whom BSS has news exchange agreement.

BANGLA SERVICE

The Bangla Service of BSS was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 21 February 1998. The demand for the Bangla service is constantly increasing because 95 percent of the newspapers published in the country are in Bangla. Besides Dhaka city, the Bangla service is being subscribed by daily newspapers in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Bogra and some other districts. Major newspapers in Dhaka city take both the services, that is, English and Bangla.

The Bangla service of BSS is not a separate entity. No separate rules have been framed for the Bangla service. It is being run as a division/section of BSS as any other division/section under the overall organogram of the news agency.

Since its inception, BSS had been national news medium in the English language. As the national news agency its importance and necessity are immense. The BSS is discharging the onerous responsibility with competence for a long time.

Publication of newspapers has increased greatly due to the establishment and growth of democracy in the country. Most of the newly published newspapers in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country are in the Bangla language. At the same time, the bulk of news broadcast by the radio and television is in Bangla. Therefore, for a long time it was felt BSS should initiate a Bangla service.

Considering all these factors, the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha took the initiative to supply news in Bangla. BSS ran the "Bangla service project" from June 1998 to July 2000, which was implemented as a project with success.

The Bangla service has already become popular among the newspapers and other subscribers. Initially news began to be sent by fax and discs to the national dailies, radio and TV, Despite shortage of manpower for the Bangla service and other limitations, the demand for this service was increasing the BSS Bangla service began its operation from August 2000.

MODERN TECHNOLOGY

BSS started to send news through the new computer network established under a project from 1 January 2001.

1. This was for the first time in Bangladesh that the newspapers and the electronic media got the opportunity to download news to their computers directly through a network server. There are arrangements in this system to supply news, features and pictures. A cell has been set up at the news room located on the 7th level of the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) Bhaban. Computers have been installed there so that news can be sent directly and quickly to its subscribers from the news room at the parliament.

2. Besides the daily newspapers, radio, BTV, and other TV channels broadcast BSS news.

3. News is being supplied to the district-level dailies through e-mail.

4. Arrangements have been made to transmit news and pictures quickly by using mobile telephones, digital cameras and laptops.

5. English and Bangla news and feature services are being provided abroad through e-mail.

WEBSITE

BSS has its own web-site installed on 5th May 2002. It is regularly updated with current news. The website visitors can also find information about Bangladesh, its people and leaders, resources, economic activities and investment opportunity. The website address is www.bssnew.net

FINANCIAL INFORMATION SERVICE (FIS)

Recently a new financial information service named FIS has been inaugurated. This service will supply data from national and international monetary, commodity and share markets to cater to the ever-increasing demand of the business houses, banks, insurance and other commercial institutions in the country. Besides, the service is equipped to provide for instant supply of all information on commodity prices and money markets at home and abroad to all importers and exporters of the country. Encouraging response on this service from the country's banks and commercial institutions is being received, BSS is the first to introduce such a service in Bangladesh.

PHOTO SERVICE

Recently the national news agency BSS has started its own photo service. Arrangements have been made to supply pictorial reports of all official and unofficial events and also of all incidents/accidents occurring in the country. All the newspapers in the country are regularly publishing pictures transmitted by BSS.

CORRESPONDENTS ABROAD

BSS has a special correspondent posted in New Delhi in India. There is a proposal to open an office in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Besides, a proposal is under active consideration of the government to set up office in six important places like New York, London, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bangkok and Geneva.

TOTAL MANPOWER

Enam Committee formed by the government in 1984 fixed the staff strength of the BSS at 127. At present, the Establishment Ministry has approved an organogram of 165 persons for BSS. Of these, number of journalists is 91 and non-journalists is 97 The service rules of the agency stipulate that any journalist or non-journalist employee working in BSS shall retire on completion of 60 years age.

SOURCES OF REVENUE

In accordance with the ordinance, a full-fledged one-year budget for the agency is placed through the ministry of information to the finance ministry before the formulation of the national budget for each fiscal year. This budget mentions the yearly income, expenditure and the deficit, and seeks allocation to meet the deficit. The government grants a lump sum allocation every year against that deficit.

It has, however, two other sources of earnings-its subscribers being newspapers, news agencies and electronic media, and its own three-storey house at 4 Dilkusha, Motijheel Commercial area. The authorities have taken up a plan to replace it by a 20-storey building, which will be obviously a major source of earnings for the agency.

AUDIT

Every year a government (commercial) audit is done in the agency under the provisions of the ordinance. After the year-wise broad-sheet reply on behalf of the organisation on the audit objections, bipartite and tripartite (commercial audit, information ministry and BSS) meetings are held. After the bipartite and tripartite meetings, the audit objections are resolved and decisions are taken. Serious audit objections are sent to the public accounts committee of the parliament (Jatiya Sangsad). Further steps on the objections are then taken in the light of the decisions of the public accounts committee.

OVERALL SITUATION

In line with improving overall working environment in BSS, sound disciplinary actions as well as strict regularity measures are taken. Attendance in office and performance of duty by each journalist/non-journalist is ensured.

Each journalists/non-journalist is accountable for his work. A careful eye is kept on the day-to-day performance of all the journalists and non-journalists. As a result, the volume of quantitative and qualitative work is increasing to the satisfaction of BSS Subscribers.

The BSS head office is housed in a disputed abandoned old building for last 32 years, with the increasing problem of accommodation and working atmosphere for the expanding news agency. When completed, the authorities have the plan to shift head office to its new building at Dilkusha.