Watching America's Soap-Opera Election - Roads & Kingdoms - Roads and Kingdoms

Taher, the CEO of Time TV and its print affiliate, is sitting in an executive chair in his cabin reading the headlines from the newspaper’s latest edition. It includes a banner story about a Bangladeshi man from Brooklyn who was indicted for running a prostitution racket; an aggregated interview with Sheikh Hasina, who was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly; a round-up of news about the first U.S. presidential debate; and a story about escalating hostility between India and Pakistan.

In 1996, four years after he arrived in New York, Taher started Weekly Bangla Patrika with a mandate to avoid simply cribbing from Bangladeshi newspapers. Instead, he wanted to invest in original storytelling about the diaspora in the U.S. “From first page to last page, everything was Bangladesh politics. But the people who are buying the newspaper, putting the advertisement, their face is not appearing,” he says.

“Our main motive is to enlighten the community. They have to vote here, they have to bring up their kids here, build their future in this country,” he says. “We show American news that is relatable. Say about immigration, welfare, jobs. In elections, we try to give a message about both candidates, whoever he is, even if he is a loser. What is their program, track record, how will they work with the community?”

In the early days of the newspaper, Taher reported and wrote stories, laid out pages, and even distributed newspapers himself. Even today, although he employs 15 journalists, he attends important press conferences to make connections. He saw himself as a mediator between power brokers in Bangladesh and in the United States, advocating for the diaspora. In the early 2000s, he proudly reports, he met Hillary Clinton, who was then a U.S. senator representing New York.

In the neighboring room, Alam is searching for ideas for tonight’s U.S. news package: Bernie Sanders joined Clinton on a rally in New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich claimed Trump won the first debate, the former Miss Universe Alicia Machado struck back at Trump for calling her Miss Piggy. He pauses for a second.

“We used to think that mean and dirty politics only happens in the third world. But everyday, I am seeing the same here,” he says. “I enjoy watching the politics here more than any other popular opera show.”

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