By Ivan Kimuli Kigozi
The death of the King of Tooro has left the Kingdom grieving and facing difficult questions about succession.
But there is another uncomfortable issue: the conduct of some journalists and media houses covering this crisis. Have we forgotten what journalism is?
A journalist is not a microphone for whoever speaks first. A journalist is not a WhatsApp forwarding machine. And a newsroom should never become an amplifier of confusion.
When a society is grieving and uncertain, the journalist’s job is to investigate, verify, question and explain.
Let us l not just tell the public who said what.
Let us say the true. Don’t simply publish accusations, Investigate them. Don’t amplify rumours because they are trending.
Establish the facts.
The people of Tooro Kingdom doesn’t need more noise. The public already has social media for that.
What Tooro needs from journalists now is courage to ask the difficult questions: What does the Kingdom’s tradition say? What is the established succession process? Who has legitimate authority? What are the facts and what is merely speculation?
The media must not become a participant in the confusion.
In moments of crisis, journalism should be the torch that helps society see not the megaphone that makes the darkness louder.
History will remember the people who shaped this moment.
It will also remember the journalists who covered it.
Did you inform the public or did you simply amplify the confusion?
#Tooro #Journalism #MediaResponsibility #ResponsibleJournalism
