Prothom Alo Head of Online, Shawkat Hossain, receives Latifur Rahman Award

Prothom Alo Head of Online, Shawkat Hossain, has received this year’s Latifur Rahman Award for Best Journalism, an award established in the name of Latifur Rahman, the late chairman of Mediastar Ltd., the publishing company of Prothom Alo, and the Transcom Group.

At a gathering of distinguished guests held today, Saturday, at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka to mark Prothom Alo’s 27th anniversary, the award was presented to him by Simeen Rahman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mediastar Ltd. and Transcom Group, and Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman.

Prothom Alo Head of Online, Shawkat Hossain, has received this year’s Latifur Rahman Award for Best Journalism, an award introduced in the name of the late Latifur Rahman, chairman of Mediastar Ltd., the publishing company of Prothom Alo, and of the Transcom Group.

The award was presented at a gathering of distinguished guests held today, Saturday, at the five-star Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka, marking the 27th anniversary of Prothom Alo. The event, attended by notable figures from various professions, featured the presentation of the award.

The prize includes Tk 500,000, a crest, and a certificate. The award was handed to Shawkat Hossain by Simeen Rahman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mediastar Ltd. and Transcom Group, and Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman.

The Latifur Rahman Award has been given since 2021 in recognition of special contributions to journalism, in the name of the late chairman of the Transcom Group, Latifur Rahman. This is the fifth time the award has been presented. The first recipient was Prothom Alo special correspondent Rozina Islam. The second recipient was Prothom Alo joint editor Sohrab Hassan, the third was special correspondent Shishir Moral, and last year the award went to deputy editor AKM Zakaria.

This year’s awardee, Shawkat Hossain, has been working at Prothom Alo since 2004. A renowned reporter and columnist on economic affairs, he now serves as Prothom Alo’s Head of Online. He has been leading the digital transformation of the newspaper’s newsroom. For these contributions, he has been selected for the award this year. Prior to this, he served in various positions at Prothom Alo, including Business Editor, News Editor, and Head of Reporting.

After receiving the award, Shawkat Hossain in his immediate reaction said, “Of my 32 years in journalism, I have spent more than 21 years at Prothom Alo. In all this time, today is the moment I feel most honoured—having received the Latifur Rahman Award for Best Journalism. My deep respect to our late chairman, and my thanks to our Board of Directors.”

Highlighting Latifur Rahman’s contribution to creating a space for independent journalism, Shawkat Hossain said, “And our editor has been teaching us continuously to uphold independent, honest, and good journalism. It is a great privilege for me and for all of us to be able to work under the leadership of someone like Mati bhai (Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman).”

Expressing gratitude and affection to colleagues, family members, and all those involved, Shawkat Hossain said, “I must continue to do even better journalism with all of you beside me—today’s award gives me that inspiration. Independent and honest journalism is not easy. Its style and methods are constantly changing. Many challenges lie ahead of us. We will move forward together through these challenges—this is the commitment I share today with the award in my hands.”