DHAKA, Dec 31, 2024 (BSS) - Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam today stressed the need for preventing content theft to protect the news outlets and journalists, saying stealing of photos, videos and text news is a major threat to the country's media industry.

"We need to protect our news outlets and journalists from this widespread content theft. The unions should step forward. The NOAB and the Editors Council should also run a massive campaign against content theft," he wrote in a Facebook post today.

If possible, Alam said, they can invest in softwares and Apps which can easily detect the theft.

He said if a news outlet is found to have stolen content from another outlet or a photographer and video journalist, it should be warned. For repeat offence, it should be taken to court and penalised, he said, adding that journalist unions should boycott these outlets.

"We need to make journalism ethical and responsible. And we need to make journalism expensive. Only then we can protect our thousands of journalists from poverty wages," the CA press secretary said.

Citing his personal experience during his stay in global news agency - AFP, he said in 2023, AFP came up with a software to track down the news outlets printing its photos illegally and it was a game changer.

"With just a click, we could detect who was stealing AFP photos. We ran the software on a number of Bangladeshi TV, print and online news outlets and we found that each of them was stealing AFP photos worth thousands of dollars. We duly sent notices to these outlets. Some complied. Some grudgingly became our clients," Alam said.

He said top media outlets invest hugely in investigative journalism, day-to-day news gathering and breaking news, while they send photographers and video journalists to shoot photos and videos in hostile environment spending enormous amount of money.

The press secretary said covering a cricket series in places like Zimbabwe, New Zealand and England can cost more than US$ 10,000 and sending a reporter to cover an evolving story in Teknaf and Kutupalong can cost thousands of dollars.

"Yet, once these news outlets publish these news contents, thousands of "Baanger Chhatar Moto" (mushroom growth) online outlets steal those news and republish them. The practice has become so rampant that it has spawned a massive online Mom and Pop, Mama-Bhaigna or Mayer Doa cottage theft industry," he said.

Alam said it also has a pernicious or debilitating impact on the industry and it has played a big role in lowering the wages of the journalists.

"Any news outlet can tell his young recruits they should take Taka 5000 as a monthly wage since it knows it can steal hundreds of news every day. And there is a culture of impunity here," he added.