Every year when the auspicious occasion of the Daily Sun’s anniversary of publication appears, we look back with pride and a sense of responsibility to assess whether our efforts in presenting in-depth reports and impartial views were enough to quench readers’ thirst in the past year and vow to renew our commitment to them and ourselves to mirror nothing but the truth.

15 years is never a long time for a newspaper to claim its all-out success, but it certainly indicates the trust and reliance that readers have put on us over the years. When the Daily Sun began its journey on 24 October 2010, the newspaper industry was going through a transition. It was a time when many established newspapers were struggling for credibility as they arbitrarily catered news supplied by different agencies to tarnish the image of politicians and businesspersons during the Fakhruddin-Moeen Uddin 1/11 caretaker government.

A number of newspapers and television channels were about to enter the media scene with fresh promises, though all of their intentions were not similar. It was an opportunity to win the people’s heart and risk losing readers’ confidence through going with the flow and entertaining the narratives created by the new government.

Options were clear. And the Daily Sun chose its own way with a vision to be the voice of the people. Any new media needs adequate groundwork to know the demand of readers and satisfy them. The new generation English broadsheet left no stone unturned in this regard before hitting the newspaper stands. It started operations at the end of a period of intense preparations that can be divided into two parts – one of recruitment and training of journalists and the other is the dummy period extended over more than three months from 15 July 2010 to 23 October 2010.

When the Daily Sun was first published, it literally stormed the newspaper industry. Its fearless reporting and impartial views attracted readers and impressed the media experts as well. Numerous reports exposed corruption and mismanagement and made the government in power bound to change its decisions to skip criticism. Even its features in several magazines offered unique taste to the readers, highlighting various interesting aspects.

But the dream of establishing independent media gradually went through tough times. Constitutional institutions were collapsed, the electoral system destroyed (through uncontested, rigged and exclusive polls), incidents of human rights violation made routine, all records of financial irregularities broken, and the administration forced to play a partisan role. The Daily Sun has been a witness to these turbulent years. Freedom of expression was severely curtailed, and dissent met with reprisals. Amid this little or no space to criticise such attempts, the Daily Sun tried to remain true, despite limitations, to its commitment, raising its voice against all the steps of the government that created obstacles before people to practise their rights. The unwavering support of our owners helped us navigate through this challenging period.

Since its inception, the Daily Sun has been trying to remain responsive to evolving circumstances — embracing technological advancements and adapting to the shifting preferences of its readers. The online and multimedia sections have been added with a handful of skilled journalists to offer a complete package to the readers. Apart from the innovative approach, the daily, in the last several years, focused on impactful journalism to bring meaningful change in society.

Perpetrators involved in corruption and ill practices were unmasked through our reports. They repeatedly tried to exert pressure and undue influence on our reporters to prevent them from publishing investigative reports. But with the relentless backing of the Daily Sun management, our reporters never compromised and continue their endeavours of digging deep into incidents and presenting the truth.

Due to our reports, a massive IELTS exam paper leak racket comprising some IDP and British Council officials was uncovered, and police arrested perpetrators following our tip-off. The report brings about postponing IELTS results and further investigation. Due to another report, the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) for the first time began arranging training programmes and workshops to detain money launderers and speed up investigation of such cases. Another Daily Sun investigative report has exposed that some 41 persons recommended for the post of non-cadre government officers were appointed as cadre officers through a gazette notification during the last regime. Now these officers’ promotion to the post of deputy secretary has been halted, and the government is investigating the whole process of their appointment.

Our report has also uncovered how NRB Bank’s sponsor directors were removed from their posts and the bank was occupied by the people close to the ousted regime. Later, Bangladesh Bank dissolved the old board and reconstructed it.

Our reporters have also revealed DNCC’s costly walkie-talkie deal with a fraud firm, GCC’s buying of mosquito-killing chemicals from fraud firms, a DNCC engineer’s shadow contracting business through his brother-in-law’s licence, fraudulence in the feasibility study for the Tk900cr DSCC canal project, price gouging in DNCC’s larvicide procurement, and how a couple controlled 32 of 37 privately run trains for a decade.

These are only a few among many stories of our impactful journalism in recent times. And the outcomes of these are evident. Our readers have appreciated our work, the government in many cases has changed its stance, and different organisations have recognised our reporters with various prestigious awards.

These appreciations and awards are the results of the combined efforts of our whole Daily Sun family. Our reporting section’s endeavours are perfectly complemented by the industrious members of our news section. They enquire about every single detail of our reports and polish those. Our graphic sections treat those with their creative inputs. The infographic has turned into a new feature of the DS in the last couple of years, bringing a new face to the newspaper. Our editorial team has made the DS one of the most trusted sources of impartial views, blending our editorials with analytical expert opinions. Our photography section always impresses readers with their newsworthy as well as aesthetic photographs. Our online section presents reports to meet the instant thirst of readers, while the multimedia section offers visuals for the people who prefer watching reports to reading.

Our IT team remains always ready to support us in case of any technological difficulties. Our advertisement and marketing section brings advertisements which are the lifeline for our survival. Our accounts department also plays a pivotal role in meeting all our necessary financial demands. Be it the staff and employees who support the DS journalists in the office, workers in the press, or hawkers who ultimately deliver our products to the doorsteps of readers, all have contributions behind success.

Hardship and resilience both define our journey. We always upheld the sacrifices this nation has made to be independent through a bloody War of Liberation in 1971 and in the consequent democratic movements. We believe that with all these, the people of this country deserve a better Bangladesh. We humbly put our contributions to fulfil this aspiration.

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The writer is a Sr Staff Correspondent at Daily Sun