Journalists@Work: Taufique Ahmed

Taufique Ahmed

Taufique Ahmed has been working at Channel i, Bangladesh’s leading private satellite TV channel, since 2003. Currently, Taufique is Manager of Program Development in the News & Current Affairs department at Channel i, which was launched in 1999. His tasks include responding to viewers’ questions, comments and/or complaints regarding news programming and scheduling. He also monitors and supervises social media in the Development Journalism department – and blogs regularly in Bengali and English.

What was the most exciting topic that you worked on in the recent past?
Farmers’ Voices in Budget, a TV dialogue session between farmers and policymakers was a great way to explore how thousands of farmers talk about their demands in front of the key policymakers of the country, mostly ministers. I was part of the production team covering this unique event and was able to see in depth how media has played a role in awakening farmers from the grassroots level in a country like Bangladesh.

Do you have a personal motto for your journalistic work?
I want to stay honest, dedicated and precise in my work. I respect journalism as the noblest of professions, where you don’t sell lies, but rather you inform people with the right information.

Is there a situation or story that has changed your life?
An audio slideshow that I produced in Berlin during my visit to Deutsche Welle in 2009 as a participant of a Web 2.0 workshop changed my life and still inspires me to carry on with my work. The link is here: Berlin stands on history.

Taufique Ahmed (left)

What do you love about your work?
I love the working environment. I have nice colleagues from whom I am learning endlessly.

And what do you hate?
Nothing much really.

Your journalistic dream would be…
I want to be an editor of an online news station who will be supervising the multimedia journalism department. I’d love to be a regular podcaster.

Your most important tool is …
…the internet and mobile phones.

What do still want to learn? Is there a question about your profession that you keep asking yourself?
I want to learn video and sound editing. It’s quite important nowadays for a journalist. ‘More systematic’ would be my earnest demand. If everything happened more orderly by the end of the day, it would have been much better.

Taufique Ahmed

Do you have a blog or website?
Yes: tfqhmd.wordpress.com and more. I don’t have a website of my own.

What is your favorite website? Which website do you visit every day?
Mashable, Radiolab and Media Helping Media.

How much time do you spend online every day?
Almost all day, in fact.

Do you use social networks? Twitter, Facebook or others?
Who doesn’t? Facebook.com/onlinejournalist, twitter.com/taufiqueahmed, twitter.com/iwesocial, facebook.com/iwesocial, about.me/tfqhmd

What makes social media special for you?
Social media is a broadcaster in itself. You get the news here before anyone actually plans to write it professionally. And, your network is the key to spreading your very own thoughts.

If you could write a text message to the world, what would it be?
Let us be humans in a true sense.