This book examines the role of 24/7 television news channels in Bangladesh. By using a multi-sited ethnography of television news media, it showcases the socio-political undercurrents of media practices and the everydayness of TV news in Bangladesh. It discusses a wide gamut of issues such as news making; localised public sphere; audience reaction and viewing culture; impact of rumours and fake news; socio-political conditions; protest mobilization; newsroom politics and perspectives from the ground.
An important intervention in the subject, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of media studies, journalism and mass communication, anthropology, cultural studies, political sociology, political science, sociology, South Asian studies, as well as television professionals, journalists, civil society activists, and those interested in the study of Bangladesh.
1 Introduction: television news and audience in Bangladesh 1
2 History and politics of news television in Bangladesh
in South Asia 21
3 On the ethnography of television: the field and the work 40
4 Television viewing culture: perspectives from below 76
5 Newsroom: culture and politics of news making 108
6 Social mobilization and the role of media 146
7 TV news, the public and localized public spheres 161
8 Television media culture: Hujug and the myth
of happenings 183
9 Conclusion: the said, unsaid and yet to be said 199
Biography
Ratan Kumar Roy is Research fellow at the Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He was trained in anthropology and sociology at the University of Dhaka and South Asian University, and has worked as a television journalist in Bangladesh. He was a Residency Fellow at Asia Culture Centre, Republic of Korea in 2018 and is a member of Early Career Scholars Advisory Committee of International Visual Sociology Association. He has authored many articles in journals and chapters in books. He has also made documentary films and feature stories for television.
‘There is a huge need for comparative studies of the world’s media audiences. Building on the work of Shakuntala Banaji on South Asia, Dr Roy’s important new book provides fascinating insights into the public and private practices of television watching in contemporary Bangladesh. Richly theorized, this study usefully complicates our understanding of the sites of media practices, including both news consumption and news production. Highly recommended!’
Nick Couldry, Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and author of Media Society World and Media Rituals
