All Critics’ Eyes On Journalists, Unlike Other Professionals (OPINION)
By Isaac Asabor
Journalism as a profession, unlike law, engineering, medicine and other noble professions, is a line of duty that seems to be everybody’s business. Not few people, particularly netizens think that what a Journalist can do, they also can do. There is no denying the fact that they erroneously think so because they can speak eloquently and write legibly, but journalism when put into practice goes beyond writing and speaking. It has its own peculiarities which “outsiders” don’t know about. Given the foregoing, then one can say those who often exhibit the hutzpah to publicly tell a journalist how to cover news event, and how to sniff for news as they are trained to practice, should desist from such “Pull-them-down” behavior as it does not pay.
More than ever before, not few non-journalists are rapidly becoming censorious and unjustifiably critical toward Journalists across Nigeria. Most of these critics practically seem to know better than Journalists that they will not dither to humiliate them in public places by openly telling them that their reportorial and editorial standards are declining. They will argue that media distortion has become a regular feature on Nigeria’s media landscape. I heard one of them the other day scream, while reading a newspaper, to the consternation of other passengers in a bus I boarded at Obalende in Lagos on my way back to Ogba in Ikeja, my place of work, after covering a news event at Sango-tedo at Lekki, also in Lagos.
The “Baba” as I will chose to identify him in this context, putting on a thick reading glasses, obviously with a judgmental mindset intermittently glanced at the newspaper as he jiggled while flipping through the pages of the newspaper; almost covering his face with it, sighed and raised his voice, speaking in the mannerism of “Old school Shege” to no one in particular, “We are living in a society that doesn’t completely understand what proper journalism is. Many times we have to read the newspapers and see the inadequate reporting. That is a cheap way of disowning responsibility. It is far better that a story be deferred than an incorrect report published.
“Some newspapers go against the word of government and often criticize the way it is run. The private media houses are prime suspects of this, they deliberately do this to gain increased readership for its alternative viewpoints. Journalists can ethically publish a story based on what may turn out to be incorrect, provided it is not a complete fabrication, they are no longer a trusted name in news or its editorials which seem to have a slant towards melodrama or antagonistic hoopla, complete with talk down on the government’s officials’ involvement in massive corruption. Journalists should have a sense of decency and self-respect.
In a similar vein, I attended an event that dwelt corruption, with calls to the Federal Government to blacklist erring contractors and businessmen who hide information about their part ownership of companies. It was gathered at the event that some business owners fraudulently go as far as registering their children as shareholders of companies. While messages were being delivered at the event, whose name I can’t disclose in this context, and who represented a federal government anti-corruption agency, was all over the place castigating and accusing Journalists of not knowing their onions, that if they know, the soaring rates of corruption would not have been as they were. She alleged that Journalists have not been able to do investigative journalism in such a way that most corrupt leaders would be fished out. When it was my turn during the question and answer segment of the event, I ask the lady in this context if she would one day welcome me in her office asking for any given document that concerns any corrupt government official who is facing investigation in her office. I believe she was flabbergasted with the question.
Still in the same vein, I used the opportunity to elucidate that Investigative journalism is finding, reporting and presenting news which other people try to hide. It is very similar to standard news reporting, except that can assist Journalists with documented evidences, like herself will usually not help Journalists, and may even try to stop them from doing their jobs in that regard.
At this juncture, it is expedient to urge the public and the governments to always support worthy news outlets as news consumers. To my view, help can be extended to the media sector of the economy through purchase of advertisement, online news subscriptions, even by acknowledging journalistic services rendered to whoever, and in any form. Also, on the part of the government, the media sector should be recognized as a critical sector of the economy, and supported through interventionist policy when in distress as been done to some sectors of the economy. In fact, there are varieties of ways to show support to the media.
Be that as it may, permit to advise dyed-in-the-wool critics of Journalists that their criticism should always be constructive. To my view Nigerian Journalists are not doing badly in terms of professionalism. Again, it would be more decent and mature for anyone that wants to verify the veracity of stories in the newspaper to henceforth resort to the application of News Guard. What is News Guard? It is a journalism and technology tool that rates the credibility of news and information websites and tracks online misinformation.
