Dhaka, July 5 -- Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Saturday called for an honest and critical assessment of the state of journalism during more than 15 years of the Awami League rule and emphasised the need for a fresh start aimed at rebuilding public trust in Bangladesh's media landscape.

"We are not discussing the kind of journalism we had during that period. I believe there should be an honest conversation about it," Alam said while speaking at a discussion organised by the Broadcast Journalist Centre (BJC) in the capital.

He said the government is reaching out to the United Nations, seeking expert involvement to evaluate the journalistic standards of the past decade and a half.

"We are writing to the United Nations, ...