| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Transcom Group |
| Publisher | Matiur Rahman |
| Editor | Matiur Rahman |
| Founded | 4 November 1998 |
| Language | Bengali |
| Headquarters | CA Bhaban 100 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue Kawran Bazar Dhaka Bangladesh |
| Circulation | 466,573 (at October 2011)[1] |
| Official website | www.prothom-alo.com |
Prothom Alo (Bengali: প্রথম আলো Prothom Alo "First Light") is a major daily newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka in the Bengali language.
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Prothom Alo was founded on 4 November 1998. As at January 2009, it had an average circulation of 435,000.[1] It has distinguished itself by its investigations of acid attacks and violence against women, pushing for tougher laws against the sale of acid, and for being the first Bangladeshi newspaper to report on the training of militants at Islamic schools (or madrasas).[2] Prothom Alo helped to popularise Mathematics in Bangladesh. It organized Mathematics Olympiad for the first time in Bangladesh in 2003. It is one of the main sponsors and the main organizer of Bangladesh Mathematics Olympiad.[3]
Prothom Alo publishes a special edition every year at Eid ul-Fitr. This feature, called প্রথম আলো ঈদ সংখ্যা Prothom Alo Eid Shôngkha (Prothom Alo Eid edition), includes fiction, historical articles and photos.[5] It costs 120 Taka.
Matiur Rahman is the current and the first editor of the newspaper. He received the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts in 2005[6]
Noted columnists regularly write columns for Prothom Alo. Writer and columnist Muhammad Zafar Iqbal regularly contributes his column "Shadashidhe Kotha". Another writer and Deputy Editor of Prothom Alo Anisul Hoque regularly contributeS his satirical column "GodyoCartoon". Other regular columnists include Syed Manzoorul Islam, ABM Musa, Syed Abul Maqsud, Abul Momen, Abul Hayat, and Abu Ahmed.
Prothom Alo is often criticized as anti-Islamic publications. A similar protests and demand for banning the paper again came from them after a cartoon was published in Alpin about Islamic prophet Muhammad. A subsequent order was given from the government to ban the supplement for an indefinite period of time after rallies were held by common people.[7]
In 2000, the newspaper established the Prothom Alo Aid Fund to help people who are victims of attacks with acid, which frequently cause disfigurement. As of 2005, the fund had raised $140,000 and provided services for 140 people.[8]