Communication scholar and University don, Professor Lai Oso,has spoken of the need for journalists to always strive to uphold journalism ethics as this is one of the fundamentals of journalism for them to cope with societal demands and goals.
He spoke while delivering a paper on Ethics in journalism at a virtual Post- Election Workshop on Bayelsa State, organised by the Media Career Services in conjunction with the United States Consular General in Lagos.
Professor Oso, former dean of school of communication,Lagos state University,(LASU) said as the mirror of the society, journalists owe it a duty to strictly adhere to journalism ethics which are rooted in moral values which itself are principles guiding the practise of journalism like very other profession which has their ethics.
He said the self enforcement of moral ethical roles by journalists is crucial if they must sustain the theory of social responsibility of the press as this is necessary to maintain freedom of the press as enshrined in the nations constitution.
As for him,for journalists to perform their roles well,they are expected to be free from certain attachments as their reports could be used by people in forming their opinion on crucial issues.
This he said,will help protect the integrity of the journalists,give them reasonable autonomy and independent without which there can be no freedom of the press.
“You must also define your relationship with all personalities and institutions in the society in order not to be compromised in the course of doing your job” he asserted.
Professor Osho ,however spoke of the need for the Nigeria Union of Journalist(NUJ) to take steps to prevent operational abuses like non payment of salaries which could compromise the practise of the profession and lower standards.
In his own paper titled Tools of Reporting, Lekan Otufodunrin,the Executive Director, Media Career Development Network, harped on the need for practitioners to sharpen their reportorial skills to be able to inform, educate and influence governance positively in their interest and that of the profession.
Besides, practitioners are also reminded that they owe the society in which they operate to ask questions and hold government and institution a responsible as part of their vocation as conscience of the society.
Speaking further,he urged journalists to use the various tools for effective reporting and coverage of their various beats for maximum effect and ensuring that news disseminated meet the required standard and give the correct public perception to the job.
He said reporters have to ensure depth of reporting and devise appropriate tools of investigation by giving necessary details which will go a long way in giving credibility to stories published and thus hold those in government responsible.
“Reporters must adopt new models of news gathering,sourcing and also using significant data to tell their stories for maximum impact and credibility. They must always verify their stories and sort out hidden information in government statements and claims all in a bid to hold those in government responsible.”
Otufodunrin,a former managing editor of the online version of The Nation Newspapers, observed that reporters don’t necessarily have to break stories but that they must inform the public about impact of such stories on societal development adding, “they must at all times examine what they are doing and pay more attention to details, carry out fact checks of government claims and give concise analysis of government budget claims and programmes implementation.
