Prof. Wongo Ahanda, an Advanced School of Mass Communication Lecturer in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Friday, cautioned journalists to be careful of political actors who influence the media and their reportage.
Ahanda gave the warning at a two-day regional workshop for journalists on “Improving Media Coverage of Issues Related to Terrorism and Violent Extremism” in the Cameroonian capital.
The workshop was organised by UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for Central Africa in collaboration with Union de la Presse Francophone (UPF) and supported by the Canadian Government.
Focusing on the topic “Terrorism, Hate Speech and Media Ethics’, he said that journalists were expected to be free from being judgmental in their reports and must respect people’s reservations and religion.
According to him, playing to the tune of political actors in the society can influence the reports of journalists and distort information.
He said that journalists had the obligation to publish accurate information and not plagiarise another colleague’s work without crediting the source.
“Journalists have the social responsibility to look for facts about issues they are reporting.
“A journalist is neither an activist nor a judge in any situation and must never take side.”
Ahanda said that with availability of information, anybody could pass for a journalist on social media.
He warned that journalists should avoid lifting information from social media platforms without authentication.
According to him, the media should be auto-regulatory, strategise means to monitor themselves and adopt penalties for media regulation violators.
“Words hurt or even kill. Journalists should mind the words they use in their reports and must carefully choose the words that will accurately and truthfully explain an issue or a situation.”
The don added that in reporting areas of conflicts, journalists should stay safe from locations of attack “because a dead person is no longer a journalist.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 30 journalists from Cameroun, Chad and Nigeria participated in the workshop.
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