Times Of Swaziland: LECTURING CABINET ON MEDIA ROLE ESSENTIAL

LECTURING CABINET ON MEDIA ROLE ESSENTIAL
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Mfanukhona Nkambule on 21/09/2024 08:13:00


As humans created by one God, we sometimes differ in opinion, exchange strong
words so that we can sit down tomorrow and build ourselves to be ready for the
hard times ahead.
On Friday, I was one of those who witnessed what I may want describe, for
purposes of this ‘thesis’, as an event punctuated by blunt and direct
speech. This is in reference to the editors’ breakfast meeting with Prime
Minister Russell Dlamini held at Mountain View Hotel in Mbabane. My superiors
have spoken and public responses and reactions have been published in mainstream
media and also posted on social media platforms. I presime that we are now fully
abreast of what Bheki Makhubu and Prime Minister Russell Dlamini said during the
breakfast meeting and I need no other reason to dwell on a concluded argument.
Of a major concern to me at this point in time is a boggling question that
requires honest answers. What is the way forward? What is the solution? It is a
daunting task, I am aware, but we are all equal to this challenge because it
gives us an opportunity to get to know one another. We can know one another
better and fruitfully when we “allow” ourselves to get equipped to
understand, separate and respect our “defined” responsibilities.
Defined and spelt out
When responsibilities are defined and spelt out in a pellucid manner,
trespassing on either party’s professional or political terrain is mitigated
in an effective way. During Cabinet retreats, it is very important that
ministers and other politicians are oriented on the media’s role in society
and in present day context. Since journalists are also voters, and form part of
the electorate, they are aware that politicians are holding public office solely
to offer quality services to the local and international community. That is the
gist of being a public officer. In the context of citizenship and
constitutionalism, the ministers, including the prime minister, are in office to
offer services to the journalists themselves.
However, some ministers and other politicians may still hold the assumption or
belief that the media is a tool to embarrass and discredit them so that they
look bad in society. The Press Council of India elucidates that media is a very
strong mode of communication as it helps in spreading knowledge; disbar false
beliefs and alter incorrect or outdated information and helps in forming public
opinion which has the power to change world politics. I just want to add
something. Quite often, we forget that the media is a business. Therefore,
stakes remain absolutely high whenever its image is dented or when it is
understood to have been unfairly criticised to an extent that its clients begin
to doubt its integrity.
For emphasis sake, I want to make it clear that news media is a business that
creates jobs and pays taxes to the government. It contributes significantly to
local and global economy. AI and the internet are part of the media. The radios
and television stations are part of the news media. We are in the business of
news. The Press Council of India educates us that the media, around the world
has played a very significant role in transforming feudal societies into a
modern one, whose effect is most visible in the western regions of the world. In
wartime the media has always remained by the side of the people and made them
aware of the future of the world politics.
We cannot deny the fact that government has a relationship with the media. From
time immemorial, governments have relied on media to communicate with citizens.
Politicians cannot afford to always call people to a meeting to announce fuel
price hikes or reshuffles, if not government’s launched or effective ones,
which the public ought to appreciate. To ensure emaSwati receive the information
that will shape their day-to-day decisions, government informs them through the
media. It would have been difficult for NERCHA to achieve its goals without the
media’s support.
Importance of the media
I am pretty sure that Senator Lizzie Nkosi, the former Minister of Health, can
tell a nation-building story about the importance of the media in disseminating
information to the public.
From March 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Eswatini,
Nkosi interacted with the media effectively until her term of office as a
minister expired in 2023.
Contextually analysed by the GDNET Research Communications in a research paper
published by the UK Government, the media is a conduit through which voices,
perspectives and lives are brought into the public sphere.
I agree with researchers that the media performs its functions based on the
guiding media principles of fairness, accuracy, diversity and balanced
representation. The research paper published by the UK Government refers to the
ability and efficacy with which journalists perform their work guided largely by
the political and legal environments in their countries.
In her comment published by The National, a newspaper headquartered in Abu
Dhabi, Maryam Eid AlMheiri, the Director of Abu Dhabi Government Media Office,
states that a strong media assesses information, analyses and instigates
stimulating discussions that ensure a nation’s identity is always evolving in
a positive and insightful way, and never stifled.
In essence, the news business also helps an economy grow by creating confidence
in the market through the dissemination of knowledge that is objective and
information that is accurate.
The media is a source of information for foreign investors. It is a mirror
through which a country’s image is projected. Redowan Dhrubo, writing for
Medium publication, points to the fact that, in a democratic society, it is
essential that the media plays a crucial role in holding elected officials
accountable. Redowan says it is the responsibility of journalists to provide
information that keeps the public informed and ensures that those in power are
held responsible for their actions.
He says the media’s role in this process is vital, and it is essential that
they are independent and free from external influence. I fully concur with this
writer of note that one of the primary roles of the media in holding elected
officials accountable is to provide accurate and timely information about their
activities. This includes reporting on their policies, decisions, and actions in
office. I hope Bheki Makhubu will agree with Redowan when he says (I quote):
“the media is also responsible for investigating potential abuses of power,
exposing corruption, and highlighting issues that affect the public interest.”
Several challenges
However, there are several challenges that the media faces in fulfilling this
role. One of the biggest challenges is the potential for outside influence,
including from powerful individuals or organisations that seek to control the
narrative. There is also the risk of bias, where journalists may have personal
beliefs or opinions that affect their reporting. To overcome these challenges,
professors and journalists themselves concur that it is essential that the media
operates with transparency and integrity. According to Redowan, “this means
ensuring that journalists are well-trained and follow strict ethical guidelines,
including reporting factually and impartially.”
“It also means that the media must remain independent and free from external
influence, whether from advertisers or politicians,” he continues to argue his
point.I have realised in my few years as a journalist that another critical
aspect of the media’s role in holding elected officials accountable is to
provide a platform for public discourse and debate and set agenda for
constructive critiquing of the activities of the government. Politicians
oftentimes confuse the media with journalists. There is a thin line. Basically,
the media are the people and the people are the media. People, as a matter of
fact, speak to government through the journalists. That is why the media
provides opportunities for individuals to express their opinions and
perspectives on current issues, as well as offering a platform for politicians
and public officials to engage with the public directly.
The government scandal that a newspaper publishes on its front page is primarily
being exposed by the people through the journalists. Whenever a journalist
telephones a minister, the honourable minister must realise that the people are
calling upon him to account. The American Press Institute also points to the
fact that there are many kinds of journalism, but at the heart of their
constitutional responsibilities, journalists are in the business of monitoring
and keeping a check on people and institutions in power. Journalists, valuing
this function, often refer to this job as “watchdog” journalism.
The Press Institute states that reporters keep an eye over their communities,
especially the actions of government leaders, in order to protect them. As we
keep them on their toes, the government leaders learn to deliver quality
services to our people. I am not surprised when politicians accuse journalists
of being negative. Ideally, the Bible says man was created to do good things.
When man does a bad thing, it becomes noticeable. When man does good things, of
course, we will report on those good things, but it is the primary
responsibility of man to do good things. After all, he was created to do good
things.
Already cause friction
Subhu Vincent, the Director, Journalism and Media Ethics at the Markkula Centre
for Applied Ethics, says political journalists operate within a moral frame
(liberal for example) that may already cause friction with a politician
(conservative for example) they are interviewing or vice versa. “They may say
or propose criticism that easily allows the politician to simply accuse them as
biased,” Vincent states in his research paper published by Santa Clara
University. In conclusion, it is incumbent upon all of us, including media
professors, lecturers and relevant institutions, to organise a special session
in which government leaders and politicians will have an opportunity to learn
about the role of the media in society, in its present-day context rather.
Reconciliation is a virtue, and it is a value in politics.
Pertaining to what happened on Friday at Mountain View Hotel in Mbabane;
reconciliation is a virtue as it prevents, once and for all, the use of the past
as the seed of renewed conflict.
It consolidates peace, breaks the cycle of violence and strengthens working
relationships.