"Sometimes many news stories come from baseless sources, and journalists should check the information with different sources before writing a news involving the prestige of anyone," he said while he was addressing the closing ceremony of a daylong workshop and the launch of an English language book titled 'A Handbook for Professionals' written by Moslem Uddin Ahmed.

The minister urged the journalists to develop "code of conduct" or self-regulatory mechanism on their own. "If the control goes to the government, then it may be different," he said.

The Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) and the United News of Bangladesh (UNB) jointly organised the workshop on 'Challenges of Professional Journalism' at Cosmos Centre auditorium.

UNB Chairman Amanullah Khan presided over the concluding session. UNB Editor-in-Chief Enayetullah Khan also addressed the function.