Food basket for editor’s blue-eyed boys, bonus cut in pandemic

Prothom Alo has always been an institution where its ordinary journalists and staff regularly become victims of discrimination. No matter how dedicated they are and what types of contributions they make, it is impossible for them to satisfy Editor Matiur Rahman if they don’t have other “necessary” qualities.

Author, journalist, teacher and a former photojournalist and content creator of Prothom Alo, Sudeepto Salam, in his book “Photosangbadiker Journal: Prothom Alor Ondormohol” shows though Prothom Alo advocates for democracy and equality, the amount of discrimination and inhumane and undemocratic attitude is unimaginable in it.

Describing his activities during pandemic days in May 2020, Sudeepto recalls, “I traveled from one end of Dhaka to another all the day. During coronavirus pandemic, despite knowing the risk, I was going to covid hospitals, even inside ICU, mixing with people, taking pictures and making video stories. I took pictures of the lifeless city using someone else’s drone and those pictures also went viral.”

Sudeepto’s duty was not limited only in taking photographs or shooting video stories as he used to go to Saiful Karim Shuvo’s house to record voice so that he could publish those after completing editing. Sudeepto was worried about his family members. Yet he continued to work as he considered it was his duty. 

Prothom Alo office was closed and most of the journalists were working from home. One day Sudeepto came to know that food baskets were being sent from the office to the journalists and staffs’ homes, appreciating their contributions amid coronavirus pandemic. And many of them were sharing the photos of food baskets on social media.

One of the journalists posted the letter of Editor Matiur Rahman in Prothom Alo pad with a photo of food basket on Facebook where Prothom Alo chief wrote, “Despite various difficulties during this corona epidemic, you are carrying forward the work of Prothom Alo. Thank you very much.”

Sudeepto was quite sure that he was about to get a food basket. He was anticipating for it as he considered it recognition for hard work and dedication. 

Few days later, when he found that no basket reached his home, he thought those were sent to the house of seniors only but he surprisingly discovered that juniors with no real outdoor efforts were also receiving baskets while many, including him, who risked their lives for collecting news and photographs during pandemic were deprived of the recognition. He then one day came to know that distribution of food basket among journalists and staff has ended.

Prothom Alo later realised that many journalists and staffs were dissatisfied due to irrational distribution of food baskets.

Sudeepto writes, “We found that photos of baskets were disappearing from Facebook gradually. At one point, everyone—who proudly posted pictures of the basket—had the pictures removed. Later I came to know that the head of the administration department, Utpal Chakraborty, called all who posted photos and ordered them to delete the posts as such posts and photos sparked dissatisfaction among other journalists and employees.”

It is to be mentioned that Prothom Alo implemented several anti-journalist decisions during coronavirus pandemic. One of those was sudden deduction of Eid bonus.

Sudeepto, in his book, stated, “On 18 May 2020, I was stunned like others after receiving the Eid-ul-Fitr bonus. On Eid, we used to get twice the basic salary as bonus. We thought we could get one during the pandemic and we were expecting for that. But we got half of the basic salary! I used to get about Tk40,000 in one Eid, now I got only Tk9,763! The authorities did not even consider it necessary to explain this decision.”

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He also mentioned that Prothom Alo provided bills for two newspapers for all third grade employees but during the pandemic it reduced to one. This deduction of facilities was not remained limited to bonus and newspaper bill cut but many deserving journalists were deprived of promotion and increment. And Prothom Alo did all these spreading a fear of manpower cutting so that no one protests its decision.