Gatekeeping the gatekeepers: Interference of intelligence agencies in the newsrooms of Bangladesh

Abstract

This study examines how Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies interfered with editorial decision-making in private television newsrooms during the Awami League regime (2009–2024). Drawing on in-depth interviews with senior gatekeepers from five major 24/7 TV channels, it reveals how extralegal interventions—from direct editorial directives to surveillance and intimidation—created a parallel system of media control. Framed within the Hierarchy of Influences model, the study argues that intelligence agencies operated as a dominant extramedia influence, creating a condition of media capture. By controlling the terminal gate of newsrooms, these agencies became de facto news gatekeepers, undermining journalistic autonomy. This study thus expands the definition of ‘extramedia’ influences. The findings deepen understanding of media-state relations in authoritarian and hybrid regimes and provide a foundation for evaluating journalist resilience in compromised democracies.