Development Journalism in Bangladesh: The Case of BDP 2100

The role of mass media in national development is well-established around the globe, and Bangladesh is no exception to that. Mass media not only provide information, but also play a catalytic role in shaping public opinion by providing a discursive space. In Bangladesh, development journalism has a long history, but has been criticized for “dehumanizing” development issues. The paper aims to understand this phenomenon by analyzing the coverage of Bangladesh’s largest long-term development project, Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100), in five leading Bangladeshi dailies from 2018 to 2022. Employing content analysis as the research method, the study found that coverage of BDP 2100 was “minimal” and centered mostly on event-based reporting. The stories were treated with “low” emphasis in terms of space given and with “low” prominence. There were only a handful of investigative reports; more importantly, the stories did not focus much on the humanitarian aspects. Rather, those focused more on funding, economic impacts, challenges in implementation of the project, corruption, etc. Political elites (especially people in the government), high government officials, and foreign delegates were mostly featured, which resonates with the arguments that media coverage is elite-centered, favors the elites, and serves their interests while undermining the issues of the ordinary people.