Verdict in absentia, empathy in short supply: Reading Bangladesh through its Hasina coverage

'A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.' That is how Arthur Miller, eminent US playwright and, incidentally, Marilyn Monroe’s husband for a few turbulent years, defined journalism’s role. Whenever a landmark event hits a country, it is worth listening closely to how the media is reporting it, not just to what is being said, but to what is being left unsaid, either out of compulsion or because it suits the prevailing mood. Political scientist Bernard Cohen once said that the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. Omission, in other words, is a pertinent editorial decision. Seen through that lens, Bangladeshi newspapers and news websites after former pri