“Quality
journalism enables citizens to make informed decisions about their
society’s development. It also works to expose injustice, corruption,
and the abuse of power…Freedom of expression and press freedom are not
luxury attributes that can wait until sustainable development has been
achieved – it is an enabler for the enjoyment of all human rights and,
therefore, vital to good governance and the rule of law.”
-
Part of a joint statement for the 2015 World Press Freedom Day issued by
the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, UNESCO Director-General, Irina
Bokova, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al
Hussein.
On May 3, 2015, the world celebrated another Press
Freedom Day under the theme, “Let Journalism Thrive: Towards better
reporting, gender equality and media safety in the digital age.” It has
been an annual ritual laced with symposia and awards. This year’s theme
is very fitting given the escalating danger of media practice globally.
According to Time Magazine of December 16, 2014, “Media activists say
attacks on journalists are becoming increasingly barbaric.” At least, 66
journalists were killed across the globe in 2014 while another 178
media workers were imprisoned, according to industry monitoring outlet,
Reporters without Borders. They also noted that the number of kidnapping
cases skyrocketed dramatically in 2014 with 119 journalists reportedly
being abducted, a 37 per cent increase year-on-year.
This
year’s World Press Freedom Day got me reflecting on the state of media
practice in Nigeria. Journalism practice in the country has come a long
way since its debut in 1859 and there is no doubt that the Nigerian
media has helped in the birthing and consolidation of democracy in the
country. The media in the country has been described in superlative
adjectives as being vibrant, fearless and resourceful. However, media
practice is becoming increasingly endangered.
Using
the just concluded 2015 general elections as a mirror of the state of
media practice in the country, it is noteworthy that the members of the
Fourth Estate of the Realm performed creditably well in the discharge of
their duties. The members of the Nigerian media were trained by the
Independent National Electoral Commission and some other agencies ahead
of the elections. In discharging their duties, they did inform and
educate the masses about the electoral process. They wrote editorials,
did news analyses, conduct opinion polls, and organise political debates
among the candidates and their political parties. Many electronic media
outlets also designed political education programmes through which
election experts were invited to shed light on some knotty political
issues. Between March 10 and April 23, 2015, I participated in 25 of
such events, both on radio and television, many of which were live
discussion programmes.
No doubt, it was a cocoa season for the
media. A season of harvest of megabucks. Many of the media houses
laughed to the banks as politicians heavily patronised them through
placement of advertisements, live coverage of political rallies,
sponsored documentaries, commercial interviews, political jingles and
paid news reportage. The political billboards mounted in strategic
places across the country were part of political media expenses. In the
course of the electioneering, the media kept the electorate and the
citizenry informed about the process enabling them to make informed
decisions on Election Day. Even the Nigerian Union of Journalists keyed
into peace education by urging journalists to embrace conflict sensitive
reportage.
As the saying goes, there are two sides to every
coin. The media in the course of their political reports also exhibited
some excesses. A number of the reports of some of the media houses were
not only sensational and exaggerated but were also patently biased. Some
of them threw ethics and standards to the wind and acted recklessly.
They dished out falsehood, half-truths and jaundiced reports for public
consumption. They concocted stories and forecast winners based on
primordial sentiments. There is no doubt that the ownership structure
has a lot of influence on the orientation and service delivery of many
of media outfits. Many otherwise apolitical news media outlets came
under political pressure of their owners or due to pecuniary gains.
Truth be told, most of the private media houses are owned by politicians
or politically exposed persons and like the saying goes, he who pays
the piper dictates the tune.
In a bid to optimise their
financial gains from the electoral process many aired or published hate
speeches, and inflammatory comments. Others also breached the provisions
of Section 100 subsections 3, 4 and 5 of the Electoral Act 2010, as
amended, which talk about equal treatment of political parties and
candidates. Many state governors also infracted on Section 100 (2) of
the Act by employing state media to the advantage of the ruling parties
and the disadvantage of the opposition political parties in the state.
The
ugly aspect of the media practice during the 2015 elections was the
attacks carried out by politicians and their agents on journalists. On
Saturday, November 29, 2014, suspected political thugs smashed the
camera and tore the clothes of Channels Television crew members that
were at Yebumot Hotel Ilorin, Kwara State, venue of the local government
congress of the Peoples Democratic Party. In another incident, Charles
Eruka, a Channels TV reporter was attacked by political thugs while
covering an All Progressives Congress campaign at Okrika, Rivers State
on February 17, 2015. On April 27, 2015, unknown gunmen stormed the
office of TAO FM, a community radio station in Okene, Kogi State. They
bombed the radio station with Improvised Explosive Device and reportedly
killed four people in cold blood. The barring of the crew of the
African Independent Television from covering the activities of the
president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari on April 27 based on some nebulous
security concerns as well as ethical issues is another worrisome
development that left a sour taste in the mouth because as it turned
out, the president-elect was not even aware of such order which means
his aides were just being overzealous.
Aside from the physical
attacks and molestations suffered by journalists in Nigeria, one other
sad thing the members of the pen profession have had to endure is the
poor condition of service. Many journalists are being owed salaries and
allowances. They are asked to use their identity cards as meal tickets
and have had to depend on tips and bribes euphemistically referred to as
“brown envelopes” to survive.
The regulatory bodies of the
various media cadres have a lot of work to do to sanitise the industry.
The NUJ, the Nigeria Press Council, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission,
the Nigerian Guild of Editors, The Radio, Television and Theatre Arts
Workers Union of Nigeria and the Newspaper Proprietors Association of
Nigeria need to build a synergy to ensure that the noble profession of
journalism maintains high ethical standard in accordance with the
profession’s code of conduct.
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