BY PRISCILLA CHRISTOPHER
Factual issues are usually known to
generate controversies- this is not an exception. Several negative reactions
greeted this piece when it was first published sometimes last year. Those
affected argued against the notion that journalism had a distance from politics
as opposed to the stance of the writer. However, the fact remains that
journalism profession has been ridiculed by so-called selfish and self-seeking
individuals posing themselves as secretaries to certain political office
holders without regard for the tenets of their profession. Without mincing
words, it can be asserted that today’s journalism suffers the problem of greed
and covetousness as opposed to that of military disruptions and attacks in
those days.
From the onset, journalism has been a
noble, reputable and dignified profession, having in its employ gallant
writers, reporters and correspondences who at all times, are alert and active
in their duty of informing, educating and entertaining the reading public.
Consequently, more gatekeepers
emerged, giving the society a feel of security and protection against the odds
in the society. Journalism has so far played a crucial role in educating
people, transferring values and getting them adequately informed on what goes
on in their environment and can be seen as a yardstick for measuring truth and
responsibility.
It is believed that just as the
watchdogs know their owners and those close to them, journalists know the norms
and values of their society and would not do anything to let go the public
trust.
All told, journalists have a history
of trying to minimise vices in the society by exposing them, it owes the
society an obligation to report events so that citizens would have sufficient
information to plan their lives and avoid danger.
Surprisingly, recent checks and
observations have revealed that the society watchdogs have thrown ethics
cautiousness in the air on the platter of fame and money. Reporting and
gatekeeping have long been replaced with name-calling and sides-taking which is
exhibited in a typical journalist’s news or feature stories.
Journalists practising today write
superfluous articles for people they support and paint opponents red before the
public. This idiosyncrasy gets worse during election periods where they
struggle to be read by their candidates; some aspiring to be Chief Press
Secretaries, Press Secretaries, Assistant Press Secretaries, a Personal Assistant
or a Special Adviser on media issues. So tense and heated does the race get
that they quarrel and strive amongst themselves at social gatherings, social
media networks and wherever they meet. Journalists took to PR publications and
left their primary duty of informing, educating and entertaining. Titles like
“If Governorship Requires Leadership, Udom is the Answer”, “Udom: Favoured by
God, Loved by Men”, “Why Udom Emmanuel is the best”, “Oba the King of Kings”,
“Nsima the Number One” and others filled newspaper pages that it became
difficult to differentiate a politician’s spokesperson from a journalist. This
is usually the trend during election periods. Journalists engage so much in
advocacy writing, specifically on politics for the sake of money and position.
Thus, the demarcation between politics and journalism was long erased and no
one seems to be sure of where the tie between journalism and politics ends.
Journalists have now gone so far with
their involvement in politics that they tilt stories to the favour of their
choice aspirants; accept bribes to defame others in print, and even on the
social media. They as well quarrel with colleagues who do not support their
stand hence, we now hear of ‘Owo Udom’, ‘Owo Nsima’, ‘owo OBA’ as the case may
be in a gathering of men of the press.
Issues of ethics have long been
forgotten as the usage of illicit and vulgar words can now be mentioned of
practitioners of this noble profession. Where then is our pride of place? If a
journalist cannot differentiate between sentiments and facts, where then lies
the professionalism of the profession we profess?
Journalism in Akwa Ibom state has
become a piece of rag whose service is only needed when a liquid is spilled due
to the unwholesome romance with politicians by journalists. A typical
‘newspaper’ report carries just political stories from its cover page to the
last. Some do not even mind giving credence to only one politician from its
cover page to the back page. Newspaper ownership is now a matter of looking for
a politician to fund the production of the newspaper so that an inexperienced,
over-ambitious and greedy young fellow can become an Editor-in-Chief without a
degree to show for it. Need I mention the proliferation of Newspapers? Our
stands are now filled with series of newspapers with ambiguous and
non-communication related names such that one would not be surprised to wake up
and see newspapers or magazines like ‘The Spoon’, ‘The Event’, ‘The Plate’ in
circulation (if they do not exist already). The politically incited papers have
so filled the air and with such ungodly, uncooked and cruel contents that the
neutral ones are not sought for.
If one may ask, is journalism centred
on politics alone or is it tied to it? Isn’t there any sector of this economy
worthy of report than or like politics? Must we continue to muddy our dignified
profession and reputation at the feet of those who look up to us? Our media
have become strong political actors, setting up their medium to propagate their
own view and that of their political parties. The stage is now a wrestling
field where journalists and their editors clash at all times. All does not seem
to be going well at all. The future of journalism in this state is at stake and
one wonders where the upcoming generation will begin from. What foundation are
today’s ‘stakeholders’ laying for tomorrow’s journalists? And what impression
do they create before the students working with them on Industrial Attachment
who will come back into the field after school when they fight at events for
meagre amounts of money? These are questions all journalists must answer if
they do wish their profession success.
None of these observations suggests
that journalists should be devoid of political views and judgement because they
would be less than citizens without them. Their views and judgement will be
acceptable as long as there can be confidence. The emphasis is on drawing the
margin between politics and our noble profession. Our worth is more than the
cheap publicity we have so long subjected ourselves to. Any politician or
aspirant who wishes to have his/her name in print should do it the right way
instead of ridiculing us after events with amounts we cannot but accept to pay
our transport back home.
We ourselves should stick to our
mandate of reporting objectively so that we can be known for what we stand for.
Advocacy and criticism should be restricted to editorials which are clearly
distinguished in a publication. News reports are intended to be objective and
unbiased, devoid of sentiments and opinions and nothing more. Advocacy
journalism intentionally and transparently adopts a non-objective viewpoint,
usually for some social or political purpose. It is not in our creed so we
should refrain from it.
It is elementary for journalists to know
that joining a political party or playing politics is not an option unless they
plan to make their career from the party’s publications. Those who want to be
credible reporters of news and politics for a mass audience cannot belong to a
political party. If they do, they would have to declare their affiliation
because it is a breach of their rights to citizens. It is often said that a
word is enough for the wise but critical thinkers believe that even a wink is
enough for the intelligent.
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