By Ivan Kimuli Kigozi
As long as Professional Journalists turn themselves into cheer leaders, society will loose trust in us and community Journalism will gain trust and value in society.
We nolonger do what Journalism was created for, many of us struggle to be the news other than delivering the news that the society needs, we long lost the script.
Again being on that screen or being behind that microphone doesn’t make you knowledgeable more than the people who watch or listen to you, thinking that way you cease being a Journalist and become a cheerleader ordinarily chasing for personal interests.
I totally agree with Counsel Nicholas Opio “The journalist should do everything not to become the news himself/herself, especially when delivering news. When the journalist becomes the news, the news they seek to deliver will be lost your Job is to deliver the news, not to become the news itself”
Therefore going forward let us go back to the basic principles of Journalism.
Journalists must be independent voices; we should not act, formally or informally, on behalf of our special interests. We should declare to our editors or the audience any of our political affiliations or personal interests that might constitute conflict of interest.
What we publish or broadcast may be hurtful, but we should be aware of the impact of our words and images on the lives of others.
Let us not be immediate competitors of drama and comedy groups or turn our Media houses into theaters, We should remember we are the eyes and ears of society and that should be seen in our day to day work.
We don’t go into journalism to seek popularity or fame, but to serve the society and this has become another problem among we Journalists, fame has occupied our minds and forgotten our major role in society.
Comrades, we should not confirm that “Media is a word that has come to mean bad journalism” as stated by Graham Green
If we don’t change this, it’s a Shame and the society is watching!
Ivan Kimuli Kigozi, the author is a Journalist and Media Trainer
