আমাদের সম্পর্ক

4 November 1998. With the very first light of dawn, Prothom Alo (The First Light), started its humble journey. Because of its courageous journalism, rich content, and presentation with unique layout and design, Prothom Alo quickly won the hearts of people, even the most sophisticated and fastidious readers extended their loyalty toward it. Since then, Prothom Alo has been lighting up every nook and corner of Bangladesh along with 200 other countries and territories across the world through its print and digital offerings.

Values and Principles

The most contributing factor behind the unparalleled popularity of Prothom Alo is the values and principles we adhere to:

• Professional Journalism
  With exemplary courage, we practice transparent and objective journalism
• People Focus
  We talk of the people; we stand by the people
• Change Catalyst
  Every day we speak of positive change
• Innovation
  We look beyond the ordinary; we progress with innovation and uniqueness
• Integrity
  We march together

Sources of Our Uniqueness

Prothom Alo is firmly committed to the ideals of democracy, communal harmony and the spirit of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. Our bias is only toward the country and its people and not toward any party or group. Prothom Alo is objective, uncompromising, and neutral in presenting news. We are equally respectful toward women, children, and all minorities and we value everyone in a family, from the oldest to the youngest.

Our journalists follow the strict journalism ethics that Prothom Alo has formulated as policy. These dedicated journalists are scattered across districts to cover every nook and cranny. Moreover, Prothom Alo has also drawn up a mandatory code of ethics for reporting on women and children related issues. Prothom Alo has compiled a ‘Language Usage Guide’ to uphold the purity of Bangla and promote uniform usage of the language.

If the strength of Prothom Alo lies in its values and principles, then its source of inspiration is its readers. They are its final arbiters, its ultimate owners. They keep Prothom Alo alive each day, and encourage it to march toward the future. Prothom Alo is, thus, ultimately accountable to its readers.

Prothom Alo Print

Along the path of its journey, Prothom Alo has broken all the prevalent circulation landmarks of the print news media industry of Bangladesh and is relentlessly pursuing to take itself into newer heights. This leading newspaper is printed from press facilities located in Dhaka, Chittagong and Bogra.

According to National Media Survey 2018, every day 6.6 million people read the print edition of Prothom Alo. Prothom Alo’s readership number is not only way ahead of any other newspaper in the country, but it also reaches to the most sophisticated and highly erudite readers of Bangladesh.

Beyond the border of Bangladesh, Prothom Alo is also being published from outside Bangladesh - Weekly North America Edition is printed in New York and distributed to the expatriate Bangladeshis residing across USA.

Prothom Alo Digital

The online portal of Prothom Alo is the Number-1 Bangladeshi and Bangla language website in the world. Our portal is accessed by 13 million visitors from around 200 different countries and territories across the world with around 300 million pageviews per month.

Based on Facebook fan following, Prothom Alo is one of the most engaging Facebook pages of Bangladesh with around 15 million followers. Prothom Alo is also in the list of top 100 media companies of the world based on the number of followers in Facebook. In Tweeter, Prothom Alo has one of the largest accounts in Bangladesh. Number of follower and level of engagement that Prothom Alo enjoys in other social media platforms is unrivaled in the country.

Events

Prothom Alo organizes a number of events regularly on various topics and also to commemorate special occasions. Some of the most popular events of Prothom Alo are:

• Gonit Utshab (Math Olympiad)
• Bhasha Protijog (Language Competition)
• Borno Mela (Alphabet Fair)
• Tarunner Joyotshob (Youth Fest)
• Debate Competition
• Science Carnival
• Priyo Shikkhok Shommanona (Favorite Teacher Award)
• Krishi Puroshkar (Agricultural Award)
• Programming Contest
• Structural Design Competition
• Meril-Prothom Alo Puroshkar (Media and Entertainment Award)
• Bridal Festival
• Kianando (Adolescent edutainment festival)
• Best Book of the Year Award
• Best Sportsman of the Year Award
• Women's Day Celebration

Prothom Alo Trust

Breaking the typical role of a newspaper, Prothom Alo proactively involves itself in various philanthropic activities through Prothom Alo Trust, which was established in May 2009. Not only we speak for the people who have been subjected to injustice, but also, we extend our support to the humanitarian causes as much as we can. The initiatives of Prothom Alo Trust, which have been highly praised both locally and internationally, include:

• Combat Against Acid Violence and Rehabilitation of Female Acid Survivors
• Anti-drug Awareness Campaign
• Fund for Disadvantaged Meritorious Students – Adamya Medhabi (Indomitable Students)
• Fund for Disadvantaged Females Students who are Eldest in the Family – Aditiya (Inimitable)
• Relief Fund
• Primary School Project – Alor Pathshala (School of Light)
• Social Welfare Project

Prothom Alo Bondhushava – Friends by the side of Friends

Bondhushava (Cohort of Friends) is another vibrant wing of Prothom Alo that began its journey on 11 November 1998 and has around 80,000 volunteers at present, known as ‘friends’, living in different corners of the country. The volunteers of Bondhushava are engaged with numerous types of philanthropic, cultural, and social activities across the country. They have distinguished themselves through their activities, learning, and sophistication. They are always ready to provide relief to victims of monga, cyclone, flood, drought, and other natural disasters, protest against acid violence, raise awareness against the use of drugs, create mass awareness on various social issues including HIV/AIDS, and work with dedication for any humanitarian cause.

Recognition

Prothom Alo, under the leadership of its editor, Mr. Matiur Rahman, has been carrying on a crusade against acid violence, drugs, HIV/AIDS, and religious terrorism. For his contribution to this crusade, the Philippines-based Ramon Magsayysay Award Foundation has described Mr. Matiur Rahman as ‘the guiding force in the positive changes in society and culture’ and in 2005 honored him with a Magsaysay Award, which is considered to be the Nobel Prize of Asia. Mr. Rahman has donated the prize money in equal proportions to the three funds that Prothom Alo Trust has set up to help and support acid-burnt women, anti-drugs campaign, and persecuted journalists.

Mr. Rahman, together with 23 other eminent personalities, was awarded by The Daily Star on the eve of its 25th anniversary on 5 February 2016 for their lifetime contribution to nation building. He was awarded for his nonpartisan and uncompromising stance towards presenting the truth as a journalist as well as for constructive advocacy and unsparing editorials by Prothom Alo under his able stewardship.

He is currently a board member of the South Asia chapter of International News Media Association (INMA) that aspires to be an essential resource in the multi-platform transformation of media companies producing quality journalism and relevant content. Mr. Rahman was also the president of Newspapers Owners Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) - an association of newspapers entrepreneurs that aims to protect and promote the interest of the newspaper industry and works collectively to promote best practices within the industry.

Sister Concerns

Prothom Alo, which belongs to Mediastar Ltd., has the following sister concerns:

• Kishor Alo: A monthly magazine for the youngsters, started its journey from October 2013. Stories, novels, poems, quizzes, magic, adventures, traveling, science, drawing, and many other interesting features are published in this colorful monthly magazine. prothomalo.com/kishoralo
• Bigganchinta: A monthly science magazine. prothomalo.com/bigganchinta
• Cholti Ghotona: It is a monthly magazine on current affairs.
• Protichinta: A quarterly journal on social, economic, and political issues. prothomalo.com/protichinta
• Prothoma Prokashon: Prothoma Prokashon started its journey in 2008. This publication house has been highly lauded for its quality publication. Prothoma Prokashon received awards from Bangla Academy in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
• Prothoma Boier Dunia: Prothoma Boier Dunia is a book selling chain with outlets located in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi.
• Prothoma.com: Prothoma.com is an online book selling ecommerce platform. prothoma.com
• Pro Prokashon: Pro Prokashon is a paperback book publication house which publishes popular books in Bangla.
• ABC Radio: One of the most popular FM channels that began commercial operation from 7 January 2009. Besides Dhaka, it is also being aired from Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar stations. abcradio.fm