Journalists have a duty to the country
Dear Editor,
Journalists carry out a core function in any society, especially as many citizens rely on broadcast, digital, and print media to disseminate information for daily consumption in order to keep abreast of what is happening locally, regionally, and internationally.
Journalists play a crucial role in dictating the narrative of current affairs and social issues. Many people consider them to be guardians of the truth, which means that most of the content they put out is considered the gospel among a large cohort of the population. Consequently, journalists have a responsibility to ensure that the information they present is truthful, especially as some recipients of news are faithful subscribers to specific journalists or media houses.
In journalism ethics, six core values are often cited: accuracy, independence, impartiality, humanity, accountability, and integrity. However, too often we find that the news is inaccurate or partly accurate or impartial. In an era with increasing competition among newsrooms and the propagation of social media journalism, there continues to be the lightning-bolt attitude of always wanting to break the news first, but repeatedly, what is shared is not properly investigated. Sometimes there are missing pieces, which take away from the comprehensive context of the situation being presented.
Jamaicans are highly suspicious and speculative people. Many people do not read; many lack critical reasoning abilities; many do not corroborate news items. Therefore, journalists have to be responsible in how they report the news: how they frame contexts and the choice of words they use. It is natural for those who watch, listen, or read the news to engage in discourse analysis, whether consciously or subconsciously, and form conclusions based on the overall presentation of a piece of news.
Jamaica moved up eight places — from 32 to 24 — on the latest World Press Freedom Index, which was released last Friday on World Press Freedom Day by the French-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Of the 180 countries assessed, Jamaica is now the number-one ranked country in the Caribbean, slightly ahead of Trinidad and Tobago.
RSF noted that “in the past two decades, freedom of the press as a whole has continued to improve in Jamaica. However, there is a growing gulf of distrust between government officials and the media that has contributed to a decline in institutional respect for press freedom”. Notwithstanding, minister without portfolio with responsibility for information in the Office of the Prime Minister, Robert Morgan, has welcomed the improved ranking, describing it as commendable and significant, especially as Jamaica is ahead of many First-world countries.
In addition, Morgan said, “All we can continue to do is to improve our ranking and work to ensure that media workers and the media, generally, have a very free and accessible avenue to do their jobs, because the better the press freedom, the studies have shown, is the better the governance of the country, and that is something that we are very interested in.”
Indeed, there is always room for improvement and the Government should ensure the requisite provisions are made to facilitate the work of journalists. Although welcoming the improved ranking, the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) has expressed concern about the delay in conducting the review of the Access to Information Act. The PAJ has also called on the Government to ensure the new Data Protection Act is not used to deny journalists critical information for their work.
Additionally, the association has raised concerns about the uncompetitive salaries in the industry, which have led to loss of significant journalistic talent. This undermines the effectiveness of the media, as experienced journalists are needed to conduct rigorous work. Another critical point raised concerns cyberbullying of journalists, which can be particularly terrifying for female journalists.
The Government has a responsibility to journalists, but journalists also have a duty to the Government and the people of the country. They need to report facts and do so in full. For example, there have been many times the Government and Opposition send out press releases but media houses select the most controversial point to report and omit other salient details. In the same breath, journalists are to help bring clarity to issues, but many times the public is left more confused. Not every press release needs to be a news item. For example, the results of the recently held local government elections were rather chaotic. Both the Jamaica Labour Party and the People’s National Party sent out numerous releases stating they won the election. For many days, the average citizen was left confused.
Another issue is the lack of balance on many talk shows. Inviting the same so-called neutral attorneys and civil society representatives to talk on national and political issues is rather disingenuous. It is not rocket science to figure out that there is often a political and destabilising agenda that is being pushed.
Another quick issue to raise is the matter of sources. Understandably, not all sources of information can be revealed; some people do request anonymity. However, how are we so sure that when a media house says “according to our sources” they are referring to actual and credible sources?
All things said, our journalists play an important role in investigating, unearthing, and reporting news. They need to be protected and given the requisite legislative resources to conduct their duties. However, they must uphold journalistic ethics when presenting their findings.