Dhaka, Oct. 4 -- For nearly four decades, Toufique Imrose Khalidi moved through Bangladesh's changing media landscape with an unusual certainty about what journalism should be.

He expected precision in language, accuracy in information and discipline in the construction of a report. He also believed strongly in his own ability.

Facts had to be presented without adulteration, sources had to be named, and the newsroom had to be protected from interference.

Khalidi, the editor-in-chief of bdnews24.com, died at 59 after helping reshape how Bangladesh produced and consumed news.

When Khalidi died suddenly in London, friends and former colleagues found themselves remembering not only the digital platform he helped build, but the personality...