By Kemo Cham
Newspapers need to up their game by improving on content, the Guild of Newspaper Editors of Sierra Leone has urged its members.
Various speakers at its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) in a long time, lamented over the current state of the print media in the country, particularly in content production.
Media is about content, that’s why the Guild of Editors should encourage its members to invest in content product, says Francis Sowa a member of the Independent Media Commission who also represented the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG).
He said the Guild had a critical role to play in promoting peace and strengthening democracy, and urged editors to endeavor to prevent chaos by discouraging hate speech and other unethical behaviour.
MRCG is leading a major reform process of the media landscape in the country doing so through a review of the Mass Communication curriculum, among other measures.
Citing the need to put public interest before political interests, Sowa said leaders should be held to account but that this must be done with responsibility and within the confines of the ethics of the profession.
It is therefore incumbent for the Editors Guild to establish a peer review mechanism if they are to rectify the current anomalies plaguing the print media, he said.
“The MRCG believes that it is time to begin thinking about serious business models to run newspapers so that they become sustainable and viable, thereby not depending on political sponsors that will undermine their independence,” Sowa went on.
The AGM was convened last Friday to discuss “Elections and media, focus on the 2018 elections”.
The leadership of the Guild says it chose the theme in light of growing violence ahead of general elections expected in about 18 months.
The last few weeks have witnessed a dramatic rise in violent unrests, mainly involving youths, sometimes resulting in deaths.
This prompted the Internal Affairs Ministry to institute stringent measures within the last few hours, including a “stop-and-search” order, to counter the rise in violence said to have been fuelled by gangsterism.
The escalation of violence in the run up to the elections is a pointer to the problems ahead, says Donald Theo Harding, Chairman of the Guild.
“Sierra Leoneans and the international community are worried about how to mitigate this situation,” he adds.
Election periods are usually characterised by violence in Sierra Leone and often youths are used by some politicians to unleash violence.
Harding says the media can play a major role to minimise violence and help the public make informed choice at the polls.
Invited guest speakers from the National Electoral Commission, the Anti Corruption Commission and the UNDP, all touched on the role of the media in general and the print segment in particular in fostering peace and democracy.
The theme of the AGM is a clear indication that the media is aware that election is a process rather than event, says Miatta French, a NEC Commissioner who gave the keynote speech. In a marathon speech, she warned against sensational journalism, a practice she said gradually eroded credibility.
Through the media public opinion is shaped and at times manipulated, she went on, reminding editors of their responsibility to ensure the right information is provided for the public to make informed decisions at the polls.
The Guild was resuscitated in 2010 in Bo after a long hiatus.
During last week’s AGM delegates resolved to postpone a planned election for a new executive so that a number of unresolved issues such as membership status, a constitution, could be addressed.
A three-man committee was appointed to review a draft constitution within two months.
Harding was authorised by the plenary to select a team of his choice to work as an executive. They have one year from now to conduct elections.
(C) Politico 2016
