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Tincoming month of May carries with it some major society-defining events; International Workers Day, World Press Freedom Day and Mother’s Day. It is the less popular of the three that defines our daily lives more and deserves due diligence.

The media is generally regarded a foe because of its ability to expose corrupt acts and poor service but in actual fact it is a friend of development that helps weed out bad acts that stifle the growth of economies. It is only when there is disinformation that one can argue that the media is a foe, but when presenting accurate information, both negative or positive, they do it for the socio-economic development of any country.

When the current Cabinet began its term, my biggest wish was that their main priority would be media and its development and how to use it as a critical tool in the country’s development.

I hypothesised that if the media could work at its highest level, then the nation would reap the rewards of rapid economic growth driven by the critical areas of focus illuminated by the media.

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MSHORTAGES

After all, the media reminds us of drug shortages in hospitals, shortcomings in the education sector and frowns against corruption.

It is also the same media that catalyses growth by celebrating the achievements the country makes and helps attract foreign direct investments by positioning the country as an investment destination of note. Either side of the coin, media is a vital cog in development.

My hypnosis was validated by a publication by the World Bank entitled: The Right to

people would probably say that strategic thinking is essential to achieve future success. Yet most of us don’t know how to be more strategic or ensure that the things we’re doing today will help us tomorrow. We fall into the trap of just doing what we need to do, ticking things off our to-do list, without considering the bigger picture.

So how do we rise above the dayto-day and adjust our perspective to prioritise long-term strategy over short-term success? Don’t be afraid of the ‘long’ in ‘long-term’. Some goals may seem unattainable to us, but that’s often because we’re thinking too short-term.

We can attain many things that we set our mind to - just not instantly. Long-term success takes

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Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development.

In its abstract, it states: “Media helps market work better. They can facilitate trade, transmitting ideas and innovation across boundaries. The media is also important for human development, bringing health and education information to remote villages.” The media is essential.

HIGHLIGHTED

Recently when a horrific minitruck accident claimed 10 lives, it was the media that highlighted the tragedy and society came through for the families with one company donating all coffins and another a cow for the mass funeral. Imagine with no media how the families would have dealt with those unforeseen costs.

Celebrated every May 3, this year’s theme for World Press Freedom Day will be “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for all other Human Rights” (working title), signifying the enabling element of freedom of expression to enjoy and protect all other human rights. time, and it can be slow when we set out to do something meaningful. However, almost anything is possible if we have a long enough runway.

Something might be unattainable right now, but we could achieve it in 10 years if we work towards it consistently.

Setting ambitious goals is an excellent approach to achieving what it is that’s important to you, as long as you think strategically about how you will get there and you’re realistic about the time and effort it will require. And it’s OK if things change too.

FRUITION

The goals we create for ourselves won’t always come to fruition in exactly the form we want, but the fact that we’ve worked towards them gets us a lot further than if we hadn’t pursued these goals at all.

So don’t be scared of the ‘long’ in ‘long-term,’ and don’t just think of your next few steps. As is the nature of any achievements that take time, there will likely be a few twists and turns in the road.

Interestingly, this will also be the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. Over the past 30 years, World Press Freedom Day celebrations worldwide had taken the public on a journey, giving prominence to the right to free expression and emphasising various aspects of press freedom’s importance.

The UN notes, though, that in the face of multiple crises, media freedom, journalist safety, freedom of expression, and other human rights are increasingly under attack. You need only to click on your television set to see how some journalists are arrested in other countries for reporting on protests and other national issues.

The UN states that as we enter the final decade to meet all countries’ ambitions for the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to fulfil the commitments made by every member State of the United Nations to the future of the planet, World Press Freedom Day is a call to recentre and reaffirm freedom of expression, as a necessary precondition for the enjoyment of all other human rights. Hence in my introduction,

Of course, you will across setbacks and at times when come challenges you’re I noted that it is the most important of the three days. I will touch on May Day a bit, and Mother’s Day will have its own feature.

In two days’ time, the world will join hands in commemorating International Workers Day. A day that we all get a chance to reflect, appreciate and honour the daily hard work of those in employ. It is quite interesting that Worker’s Day comes just before Media Day because media also forms part of the workers but has its own day because of its massive societal role.

STORMS

SDGsWhile Workers’ Day comes at a time when the world is still grappling with high unemployment rates and the deep scars left behind by the COVID-19 pandemic leading to job losses, it is still befitting to celebrate those who continue to soldier on despite all the storms that have come.

This day, which assumes many names, is also called World Labour and International Workers Day or May Day. It is commemorated consistently on May 1. A public occasion in working towards goals that are meaningful to you. If you want to set yourself up to deal numerous nations, including Eswatini that has since made it a holiday. It is celebrated to honour the achievements of the working class.

World Labour Day is significant because it underscores the significance of the regular workers and the commitments they make in the public eye.

It fills in as an update that labourers’ common freedoms should be secured and regarded. This day is likewise an opportunity to bring issues to light about the challenges looked at by labourers all over the planet, like low wages, long work hours, separation, and hazardous working circumstances.

Workers Day is huge in that it praises the accomplishments and commitments of work development.

The advantages some labourers worldwide currently appreciate, for example, the eighthour average business day, end of the week off, paid excursion, and different advantages, are the consequence of long periods of work activists and associations’ penances. This day respects these accomplishments and energises labourers in the battle for their privileges.

Now back to media and press freedom. As we place media and a free press at the centre of driving human rights, it is vital that the profession is also given the due respect it deserves. While some believe that being a journalist is the easiest job one could have, it is actually not true. Journalists are people with society at heart.

They sacrificed their lives to participate in national development; hence they were dubbed the Fourth Estate.

There needs to be more regard and engagement for the media, given their due role in national development, and seen as partners rather than distractors of progress. All journalists mean well; they must be given the correct and accurate information to curb disinformation.

In the absence of information, then disinformation takes charge of the room. As we commemorate this day, let us give the media a chance to be treated as professionals and partners in the economy, not a threat. With that, the vision of media being critical in economic development will be a reality. After all, the media is a friend not a foe.

with challenges effectively. Strategic thinking doesn’t necessarily take a lot of time, but we can’t do it if we’re frenzied over all of the immediate tasks at hand.

It’s essential to find moments to take a step back and ask ourselves some fundamental questions. What is our long-term plan? Are we doing things every day that align with that?

If not, what can we get rid of, and what should we focus more on? This requires creating space for ourselves by making better choices about what goes on our calendar every week.

I call it ‘finding white space.’ Carve out dedicated time - even as little as half an hour a week to review what you’re doing and consider whether it’s serving your long-term goals.

Reflect on what’s important to you, and question if what you’re working on day-to-day supports that.

This could be both on a smaller scale, like whether a phone call could be an email, and on a larger scale, such as considering whether your current job is taking you in the direction you want to go.