By: Abdul
Mansaray
While some
will see journalism as “organized gossip”, the majority will agree that it’s a force for progressive social change that
maintains democracy. The role of journalism in any given society is so
central that, it is often fondly described as the 4th Estate. Many
see its role as the barometer of society
and thermometer of opinion. It occupies the vacuum of alternative opinion
to governments and seen as voice of the voiceless and downtrodden people.
Although we cannot overemphasize the role of journalism in our society, it is
equally nauseating that where an issue of public interest is concerned; there
is the temptation of trial by media; even before due process of the law. Guilty
as charged.
In other
cases, it is the pursuance of truth and truth to power, without fear or favours
that separate the patriot from the jingoist or nationalist. It is the sacred
duty of journalists to inform, educate and entertain. As a call of duty, one of
its roles is to protect the people from its governments. When a government fears its people, it is liberty. But when a people
fear its government, it is tyranny. But in spite of its sanctity, we cannot
hide away from the fact in some cases, while pursuing the truth, truth becomes
the first casualty. We see how truth has become the enemy of Donald Trump’s
presidency.
The right to
free speech and freedom of expression are the palm oil with which journalism
can be eaten. Unfortunately, and in spite of all the benefits of the digital
age, our present day journalism has been fraught with the very vices it is supposed
to fight against: corruption. Most media houses are owned by media moguls, who
have successfully weaponries the noble art to
psychologically re-engineer minds en masses.
Religion used to be the opium of the masses,
but journalism is claiming a monopoly on that now. Journalism used to be about
the public’s right to know, but slowly becoming what you need to know. Who
decides what I need to know? With
“alternative truths” reaching the height of perfection, the average man on the
street is the biggest loser here; as the acceptance of disinformation slowly
crawls its way into our psyche. It is
the osmotic acceptance of the views of the few by the many, which has left this
world wealthy in knowledge but poorer in wisdom.
Unfortunately,
the world of journalism is now running on the axis of political persuasions.
The unavoidably symbiotic relationship between politics and journalism has only
created a poverty of thought; where the diet of information is gastronomically
prepared to suit the palates of the paymasters. Information is power, but like
all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves.
Journalism has
unfortunately become a weapon of mass destruction; to stop us from thinking for
ourselves. Most media houses have unashamedly now become the echo chambers of
their political paymasters. In America today, we see how Donald Trump takes his
political lessons from the Fox media group. This is also the case with the
Democrats drinking from the fountain of CNN and others.
The case in
America is the universal blueprint today. In Sierra Leone, even where genuine
national issues need addressing is synthesized along political lines. But
unlike America, the temptation and propensity to be a corrupt or coerced
journalist is becoming too obvious. But before you rush to send your comments
in, let us make it clear that this is no way a summary condemnation of the
great job, some of our journalists are doing. But we cannot hide from the fact
that this noble profession the world over has attracted some rogue elements. In
my country and in many others today, the lack of opportunities, laced with the
unenviable level of poverty has not been forgiving.
We all know
that advertisements, sponsorship and many other cash generating schemes are
the life blood of media outlets. Sales from newsprint materials in the form of
newspapers are not enough to keep the pulse newspaper houses ticking. Take for
example the cost of an average 8 page newspaper is Le 2000.00(two thousand
Leones).
That does not even cover the production cost. In this harsh economic
climate, it goes without saying that the survival of most newspapers will be
dependent on the advertising market. Sierra Leone has a lot of businesses that
depend on advertising to keep them going. But even among those businesses, a
lot of them depend on the “word of mouth” as their most effective sales pitch.
So who or what is the biggest advertiser in our country?
You guessed
right; the Government of Sierra Leone. And which political party is running the
government? Don’t answer that. But before you start accusing me of bias, this
has always been the case; be it APC, SLPP, NPRC or AFRC. The government of the
day has always been the biggest advertiser in our country. So with the
government of the day at any given time in our political history, how would a
media house go about attracting and securing regular adverts from the biggest
advertiser in the land; when your very existence depends on it? Don’t answer
that either. Sometimes, the corruption of the best gives
rise to the worst.
Now you are
beginning to understand why a lot of our media houses are political party
friendly, right? You wouldn’t expect a ruling government to flood a media house
that is critical of them with adverts, would you? Yes, some will say that there
are other sources and businesses that can generate advertisements for those
that don’t toe the government line.
That is true, but what is the percentage?
But lest you forget, every business, organization, NGO etc. needs a very good
listening ear from the government of the day. With that in mind, how would such
entities advertise with media houses that run contra flow to the government of
the day? Because the friend of an “enemy” (I use it loosely here please) is my
enemy. Even some business would be scared to associate themselves with such
newspapers.
But let’s
also look at the impact the digital age has had on our media landscape. No New
is old news, but we have known news as the most perishable commodity known to
man. The digital age has made it even worse. Most of our newspapers used to be
on daily production. Nowadays, many would be lucky to have a once a week
edition.
In a situation where one copy of newspaper is read by a whole “area”,
how many copies would a newspaper house need to sell to break even? In an
environment where everyone has become a journalist, thanks to a smart phone,
data and the click of a button, the newspaper is becoming increasingly
asphyxiated. By the time the newspaper gets to print, the news would have
expired; and the only thing that would keep it going would be the
environmentally friendly recycled versions. Even those versions would depend on
the political palate of the teller. As
if that is not enough, they have to compete with “kehkeh” and “PodaPoda talk”.
This is just
a window into the tough world of the journalists in our country. With this in
mind, is it time to outsource subsidy for our ailing media houses? If we are to
generate an atmosphere of free speech and freedom of expression as the blood
circulation for democracy, should the 4th estate be subsided?
Cue
the Independent Media Commission (IMC). The IMC, under the Ministry of
Information is custodian of the rules and
regulations governing the establishment and operations of the print and
electronic media in Sierra Leone. All media houses sign up to adhere to its
rules and regulations. With the IMC grounded in the independence of our media
houses, and with some media houses struggling to keep their head above water,
is it time for the IMC to subsidize them; in the interest of maintaining their
independence, if not already? Just a utopian thought, I know.
Lest we
forget, the symbiotic relationship between some media outlets and any sitting
governments is neither new, nor a monopoly of Sierra Leone. It is universal. We
still have a lot of good journalists; and they are in the majority. I am not a
journalist. I just think aloud. Do the Right Thing: It will gratify some
people and astonish the Rest.
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