The head of the Media Reform Commission, Kamal Ahmed, today criticised the continued abuse of journalists in Bangladesh, including the filing of murder cases against them, calling such actions "unacceptable."

He made the remarks at an event titled "Brave New Bangladesh: Reform Roadmap for Press Freedom", held at the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) office in Dhanmondi to mark World Press Freedom Day.

The event was jointly organised by the Unesco Dhaka Office, TIB, and the Embassy of Sweden.

Addressing criticism over the commission's proposal to convert media outlets into public limited companies, Kamal defended the idea as both practical and necessary.

"An analysis of financial statements from the office of the registrar of joint stock companies shows that over a dozen media outlets are profitable. This clearly shows the proposal is neither irrational nor unfeasible," he said.

Critics have argued that most media houses are financially fragile and that public listing would be unrealistic.

However, Kamal said the real issue lies in the oversaturated media market, where many outlets lack professional standards and survive through political patronage and vested interests.

"These organisations offer unreasonably low advertisement rates despite lacking audience reach. This harms the entire industry," he said.

He also criticised the growing climate of fear and self-censorship in the media, fuelled by threats on social media and orchestrated "mob violence."

"Such attacks are the primary cause of self-censorship. Although the government is supposed to strictly control such behavior, little progress is evident," he added.

Kamal emphasised that the government has committed to implementing media reforms.

The discussion was moderated by TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman.