omson Foundation joins the fight to stamp out corruption in Bangladesh

Four journalists in Bangladesh have received awards for their investigative reporting through a programme organised by the Thomson Foundation.

The 2012 - 2013 Inquirer Award seeks to highlight the work of journalists, which exposes corruption in Bangladesh. This years winning entries included work that digs deep behind the numbers, often using freedom of information requests and official audit reports to get to the heart of the story.

The three winning entries are:

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Series report, in two instalments, on corruption in the health sector by Shishir Moral, special correspondent and Kamrul Hasan, special correspondent of Prothom Alo newspaper.

Md. Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury (Alamgir), senior staff Reporter, Daily Jugantor for his coverage of corruption in public bank mortgages.

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Muhammad Saurav Rahman, staff correspondent, Massranga TV for his series on report irregularities and corruption in Bangladesh railway.

All four journalists win an all expenses paid study tour to the UK, hosted by the foundation. The winners will spend a week meeting with leading reporters on south east Asia, parliamentarians, diplomats and leading figures in the UK Bangladeshi community.

Tackling corruption in any society is a constant struggle, one that's helped by determined reporting that shines a light on shady places.

Corruption Index In Bangladesh this is especially challenging for the media. Ranked 144th in Transparency International's 2012 corruption index, between Nepal and Syria, there is a long way to go before business and public finances are clean in Bangladesh.

That's why the Thomson Foundation, alongside its Bangladesh partner MRDI and the British High Commission in Dhaka launched the 2012 2013 Inquirer awards.

The award aims to encourage high profile reporting of public finance and corruption issues for the widest possible audience. With MRDI, a Bangladesh based NGO which specialises in media and public finance outreach, the foundation has been at the leading the charge to get more coverage on these issues.

As well as the awards, the project has included training for Bangladeshi journalists by Thomson Foundation trainers focusing on transparency and investigative reporting skills.

Transparency MRDI executive director Hasibur Rahman said the award will help push public finance and corruption issues up the news agenda. I believe to ensure transparency and accountability, newsroom leaders should be more attentive on publishing investigative reports on public finance management more frequently. This initiative is just a tip of the iceberg.

The high profile judging panel, made up of Moazzem Hossain, editor of The Financial Express, Farid Hossain, bureau chief Associated Press Bangladesh, Sharier Khan - deputy editor of The Daily Star, Shawkat Hossain Masum news editor of Prothom Alo and Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury of the business desk, Massranga TV.

The judges said the level of research was consistently high and that making a final decision on the winners was difficult.

LINK:	http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/news-and-features/2013/03/19/thomson-...
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