Abed Khan

Abed Khan

Abed Khan
Native name আবেদ খান
Born (1945-04-16)16 April 1945
Rasulpur, Khulna, Bengal Presidency, British India (now Bangladesh)
Occupation Journalist, columnist, author
Known for Editing Kaler Kantho, Samakal, Jugantor, Bhorer Kagoj
Spouse(s) Dr. Sanjida Akhter
Children 1 son (Asad Karim Khan Priyo)

Abed Khan (Bengali: আবেদ খান; born 16 April 1945) is a prominent Bangladeshi journalist and columnist. He has been influential in the Bangladesh news industry in various capacities for five decades. Khan is currently editor and publisher of the Dhaka-based daily Jagoran[1] and is the former chief executive officer and chief editor of ATN News.[2][3]

Childhood and tenure at Ittefaq (1945–1995)

Abed Khan was born in the village of Rasulpur, Khulna district, Bengal Presidency, British India. Both his father and maternal grandfather were renowned journalists in British India. Khan graduated from Dhaka University by 1962, after which he began working as a sub-editor at daily newspaper Jehad at the age of 17.[4] After working at Jehad for almost a year, he joined the daily newspaper Sangbad.[2] In 1966, he took a position at the influential daily newspaper Ittefaq; Khan would later become Ittefaq's chief reporter.[4]

Abed Khan fought in the Bangladeshi army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.[5] In 1972, after Bangladesh's declaration of independence, Ittefaq began publishing Khan's "Open Secret", an investigative column dealing with corruption in Bangladesh.[6] Ittefaq also published a series of Khan's columns entitled "Abhajoner Nibedon Iti", written under the pseudonym "Obhajan" (an ordinary man).[4] Khan became Ittefaq's assistant editor in 1978.[4]

Freelance journalist (1995–2003)

In 1995, after 31 years of service at Ittefaq, Abed Khan resigned and became a freelance journalist.[4] He continued to write for several top-ranked Bangladeshi newspapers, including Janakantha, Bhorer Kagoj, Prothom Alo and Sangbad. Janakantha published "Gaurananda Kobi Bhone Shune Punyaban" (Poet Gaurananda describes, that the pious listen to), Khan's highly popular series of satirical articles.[4] Khan briefly served as chief of incipient broadcast network Ekushey Television's news department in 2000.[4] Khan was also elected president of the East Pakistan Journalists' Union and the Dhaka Journalists' Union.[4]

Newspaper editor and media chief (2003–present)

Abed Khan joined the daily Bhorer Kagoj on 18 June 2003 as its editor. He worked there from 2003 until his resignation in 2005, helping Bhorer Kagoj polish its image and recover from financial instability.[7] Khan then acted as editor of the daily Jugantor from 2005 to 2006.[8] He also worked as editor of the daily Samakal.[9]

In January 2010, Abed Khan founded and served as editor of a new daily newspaper, Kaler Kantho, after securing a sponsorship from Bangladeshi business conglomerate Bashundhara Group.[10] Within months, Kaler Kantho's daily circulation had exceeded 200,000 copies.[10] Abed Khan resigned from Kaler Kantho on 30 June 2011, protesting against allegedly unethical articles printed in the daily and citing "the pressure to publish news that went against principle and journalism ethics" as a factor in his resignation.[11]

In late 2011, Abed Khan announced that he would publish and edit a new daily newspaper, Jagoran.[1] After the death of Bangladeshi television journalist Mishuk Munier, Khan served as chief executive officer and chief editor of Bangladeshi television station ATN News from 2011 to 20 April 2013,[2][3] when he resigned from those posts, alleging a "poisonous work environment".[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Media dialogue on trans-boundary resources management: Bangladesh and India perspective" (PDF). International Union for Conservation of Nature. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ethical journalism to prevail". The Daily Star. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Abed Khan Resigns from ATN News". Tazakhobor. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Abed Khan, Bhorer Kagoj Editor". The Daily Star. 19 June 2003. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Khan, Abed (12 October 2014). "The Long Road to Justice for Bangladesh's War Criminals". The Diplomat. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Rahman, Golam (2015). "Investigative Journalism in Bangladesh: Strengthening Democratic Process and Social Responsibility". academia.edu. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Abed Khan resigns from Borer Jagoj". The Daily Star. 6 January 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Resignation from Jugantor: Abed Khan clarifies his position". The Daily Star. 4 April 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Shawkat Osman remembered". The Daily Star. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Daily Kaler Kantho Circulation exceeds 200,000 copies". Bashundhara Group. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Editor Abed Khan quits on ethical grounds". The Daily Star. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  12. ↑ "Abed Khan quits ATN News citing 'conspiracy'". Dhaka Tribune. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2015.


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