This document analyzes the level of interactivity in online newspapers in Bangladesh. It finds that while all papers provide email contacts, few offer discussion forums, live chats or the ability to comment on articles. Polls are a popular interactive tool. Usage of interactive features is limited by a lack of localization of the Bangla language online and scarce resources. The document calls for government support to develop more interactive Bangla-language tools and increase two-way communication between readers and journalists.

1. Interactivity and Online Newspapers of Bangladesh
SHAMEEM MAHMUD
Dept. of Mass Communication and Journalism
University of Dhaka
Bangladesh
E-mail: s.mahmud@bracnet.net

2. Purpose
 The main aim of the paper is to study how the online
newspapers of Bangladesh are using different interactive
tools of the Internet.

3. Interactive Communication
Sender and receiver alternatively share the role of
communicator, with full and immediate feedback
Participants take an active role to fully benefit from the
communication
Challenges journalists’ traditional roles as the sole
gatekeeper of news
Users share information with journalists as well as other
users, may be anonymous
Multi-directional communication, not one way

4. Interactive Tools
 E-mail contacts with the news media (editor and journalists)
 Online discussion forums
 Live chat rooms
 Blogging
 Polls and surveys
 Archive and search options
 Links to related articles
 Rating the story
 Send the story to friends/others

5. Bangladeshi Online Newspapers
 This paper is based on a content analysis of 15
Bangladeshi online newspapers (mostly online editions of
daily newspapers).
 Language of 11 newspapers is Bangla, 3 in English and
one is bi-lingual (Bangla and English)
More than half of the users of the Bangladeshi online
newspapers are from outside the country (expatriate
Bangladeshis).

6. Major Findings
 All the newspapers provide at least one e-mail address to
contact the newsroom
 Seven newspapers provide a list of e-mail addresses of
their different sections (i.e. newsroom, sports, editorial,
culture, advertisement, circulation etc.)
 at least 10 newspapers provide e-mail addresses of their
editors.
 None of the newspapers provide e-mail address of the
article’s author for giving feedback

7. Continued…
 Only one newspaper (Daily Amardesh) has a link to a chat
room.
Quick polls are a popular tools, and seven newspapers
were found use the tool. [topics mostly on politics and
economy]
 Results of the polls are published in print edition of the
newspapers next day
 Only two newspapers (The Daily Star and BDNews24.com)
have small-scale online discussion forums
Users have a very limited scope to add information to a
newspaper website.

8. More
 Six newspapers update online editions on a round the clock
basis, while others only mirror the print edition.
 Almost all newspapers offer content free of charges, it does
not need registration. Only the daily Prothom Alo, the most
popular Bangla daily needs registraiton fees.
 None of the Bangla newspapers offer search option of its
archive

9. Nutshell…
 In can be concluded that users of Bangladeshi online newspapers,
specially the Bangla newspapers, have a very limited scope to add
information to the site.

10. Other Bangladeshi websites - Interactive
 www.somewhereinblog.net is first Bangla blog engine,
popular among the students and journalists also. It has
become a public forum to discuss social and political issues
as well posting poems and short stories in Bangla.
 One of the blogger of the site has already published a
book, collection of postings, while another volume is coming
soon.
 <drishtipat.org> is initiated by young Bangladeshi
expatriates. Its language is English and promotes human
rights issues in Bangladesh.

11. Continued…
Drishtipat is an initiative by elite class Bangladeshi
diasporas in North America, it has branches in UK and
Australia.
 Other online portals offer chat rooms, discussion forums,
download of Bangla music (MP3), and links to important
Bangladeshi sites and newspapers.
 In these websites, users have the scope to use different
interactive tools to add information in the sites.

12. Problems of Bangladeshi online newspapers
 Problems of localization of language (i.e. there is no Bangla
search engine, it is almost impossible to give feedback in
Bangla
Lack of adequate manpower to maintain the online edition,
as well as lack of training and funds

13. Suggestions
 Well-planned and combined efforts by government and
private sector to localize online technologies in Bangla
 Provide easy feedback options, like e-mail to the journalists
or discussion forums.
 Introduction of editor’s blog (i.e. BBC Online and Asian Age
of India)

14. Further Study
 Large-scale study to analyse the situation
 As well as to identify relations between diasporic
communication and online journalism
 Focus can also be given on citizen journalism, media and
politics (the recent case is Myanmar, situation of Bangladesh
can also be analysed considering its present political system
when a quasi-military regime has imposed censorship on
mainstream media)

15. Thank you
 Questions please…