Critically acclaimed for the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical journalism, bdnews24.com is a first-of-its-kind venture, being the first Internet-only newsgathering operation in Bangladesh and one of the first — if not the first — in the world.
The 24/7 news publisher draws on the resources of over 500 journalists and photographers around Bangladesh and beyond. For over 18 years now, it has brought accurate news and unique insights to a widely dispersed audience.
It had begun primarily as a news agency with a few clients in the print and broadcast industry. The bilingual news service quickly grew to be the world’s window on Bangladesh. The numbers kept changing for the provider of essential news, information, analysis and comment – with tens of millions of unique visitors turning to the site.
The story for the nation’s ‘first Internet newspaper’ dates back to mid-2006 when a friendly takeover led to boardroom changes at Bangladesh News 24 Hours Ltd, the owning company.
Back to the drawing board, the takeover turned out to be the perfect opportunity to rebrand what had started out as BDNEWS – a news agency service delivered online, a business which had become difficult to sustain for the original founders.
In June 2006, Toufique Imrose Khalidi, journalist and former BBC broadcaster, took over as Managing Director/ Chief Executive of the company, and the news outfit re-emerged as bdnews24.com, effectively becoming Bangladesh’s first dotcom company.
Months later, its content was opened to public for free, earning it the now-famous label ‘Bangladesh’s first online newspaper’.
bdnews24.com, as a free-to-access 24/7 news source, turned 18 on October 23 2024.
Toufique Khalidi, as Editor-in-Chief, put together a new team of experienced, talented, and tech-savvy professionals from across the journalistic spectrum. Eighteen years on, the team continues to innovate, lead and set new standards for the digital generation.