Dhaka, Nov. 1 -- These are hard times for the media in diverse parts of the globe, for it is an age when for governments and regimes any mention of truth is grating to the ear. Of course, it sometimes cheers people when the media are referred to as the fourth estate. But how much of the truth is there in that statement?

In an era where political leadership has been going all-out to assert its dominance over journalism, where even elected governments are tempted to resort to authoritarianism, there can be no illusion that the press, that freedom of the press, is of any consequence. Add to that the silence of the media in conditions where political illegitimacy runs riot. Add too the fear generated by a rise of mobs, enough to push nations...