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Paper short abstract

Do movements like the July uprising in Bangladesh especially in a political transitional period, enhance independent journalism? Or they instead constrain it? Following Chenoweth’s concept of smart repression, this study aimed at identifying the particular indicators used to constrain journalism.

Paper long abstract

The July Movement-2024 was widely seen as an opportunity for democratic renewal, particularly through the expansion of free speech, expression and a free journalism. It generated hope that journalism in Bangladesh would finally free from heavy censorship that was widespread during the previous political regime. Contrary to these expectations, journalism appears to have narrowed rather than expanded after the uprising. Thus, this contradiction raises a vital issue, do movements like the July uprising in Bangladesh especially in a political transitional period, enhance independent journalism? Or they instead constrain it? Following Chenoweth’s concept of smart repression that emphasizes control strategies that avoid direct violence rather an environment of suppression and fear within the news organizations, this study aimed at identifying the particular indicators used to constrain journalism. Using purposive snowball sampling, participants (n=25) were recruited from ten (n=10) different mainstream news organizations both from urban and rural area. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were followed focusing on the suppression model indicators. Both deductive and inductive approaches were followed as guided by the smart repression model, the analysis also followed themes emerged inductively from the data. The findings show that repression of journalism did not fade after the uprising rather, it continued in more strategic ways. During the interim regime, mob lynch, political labeling, pressure from multiple authorities expanded an atmosphere of fear that encouraged journalists to censor themselves.