Abed Khan

Abed Khan ( bn, আবেদ খান; born 16 April 1945) is a Bangladeshi journalist and columnist. He has been an influential figure in the Bangladeshi news industry in various capacities for five decades. Khan is currently editor and publisher of the Dhaka-based daily ''Jagaran'' and is the former chief executive officer and chief editor of ATN News.

Childhood and tenure at ''Ittefaq'' (1945–1995)

Abed Khan was born in the village of Rasulpur, Khulna district, Bengal Presidency, British India. Both his father and maternal grandfather were renowned journalists in British India. Khan graduated from Dhaka University by 1962, after which he began working as a sub-editor at daily newspaper ''Jehad'' at the age of 17. After working at ''Jehad'' for almost a year, he joined the daily newspaper ''Sangbad''. In 1966, he took a position at the influential daily newspaper '' Ittefaq''; Khan would later become ''Ittefaqs chief reporter.

Abed Khan fought in the Bangladeshi army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1972, after Bangladesh's declaration of independence, ''Ittefaq'' began publishing Khan's "Open Secret", an investigative column dealing with corruption in Bangladesh. ''Ittefaq'' also published a series of Khan's columns entitled "Abhajoner Nibedon Iti", written under the pseudonym "Obhajan" (''an ordinary man''). Khan became ''Ittefaqs assistant editor in 1978.

Freelance journalist (1995–2003)

In 1995, after 31 years of service at ''Ittefaq'', Abed Khan resigned and became a freelance journalist. He continued to write for several top-ranked Bangladeshi newspapers, including''Jagaran'', ''Janakantha'', ''Bhorer Kagoj'', ''Prothom Alo'' and ''Sangbad''. ''Janakantha'' published "Gaurananda Kobi Bhone Shune Punyaban" (''Poet Gaurananda describes, that the pious listen to''), Khan's highly popular series of satirical articles. Khan briefly served as chief of incipient broadcast network Ekushey Television's news department in 2000. Khan was also elected president of the East Pakistan Journalists' Union and the Dhaka Journalists' Union.

Newspaper editor and media chief (2003–present)

Abed Khan joined the daily ''Bhorer Kagoj'' on 18 June 2003 as its editor. He worked there from 2003 until his resignation in 2005, helping ''Bhorer Kagoj'' polish its image and recover from financial instability. Khan then acted as editor of the daily ''Jugantor'' from 2005 to 2006. He also worked as editor of the daily ''Samakal''.

In January 2010, Abed Khan founded and served as editor of a new daily newspaper, ''Kaler Kantho'', after securing a sponsorship from Bangladeshi business conglomerate Bashundhara Group. Within months, Kaler Kantho's daily circulation had exceeded 200,000 copies. Abed Khan resigned from ''Kaler Kantho'' on 30 June 2011, protesting against allegedly unethical articles printed in the daily and citing "the pressure to publish news that went against principle and journalism ethics" as a factor in his resignation.

In late 2011, Abed Khan announced that he would publish and edit a new daily newspaper, ''Jagoran''. After the death of then-chief executive officer of ATN News Mishuk Munier in 2011, Khan served as its chief executive officer and chief editor. He resigned his posts in April 2013, alleging a "poisonous work environment".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Abed
1945 births
Living people
Bangladeshi journalists
Bangladeshi columnists
People from Khulna
People from Khulna District
Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy